NEW Delia s Classic Christmas Cake Exclusive to Waitrose For the first time ever, Delia Smith has transformed one of her most iconic recipes, famous for over 40 years, into an at home ingredients pack to assist even the most novice of cooks. All the dried ingredients are contained in one pack, helping hundreds of Christmas bakers across the nation make a Christmas cake to be proud of. The new Delia s Classic Christmas Cake, Prepared Ingredients Pack will be available in-store from 11 November at 10. This Christmas cake recipe removes all of the hard work. No presoaking required, no weighing out of flour or sticky black treacle. All the ingredients have been accurately measured and the dried fruit has been pre-soaked in brandy to provide a succulent and moist cake. Simply the least stressful Christmas cake you will ever make. Delia says, This, my original Classic Christmas Cake, is possibly the most popular recipe I ve ever done. Here, precisely the same recipe has been unbelievably simplified. No need to shop for, or weigh out, a long list of ingredients. Not only have we done this for you, we have even pre-soaked the fruits in brandy. All you do is empty the packs into a bowl, add eggs, butter, orange and lemon zests, mix it together, and bake. So happy Christmas baking!.
At 10 Delia s Classic Christmas Cake Prepared Ingredients pack is excellent value, as to buy all the ingredients separately would cost over 23. -ends- For product samples and further information please contact Amanda Parkinson or Jennifer Lawlor at ZPR on 0207 7896 3404 or email: amanda@z-pr.com or jennifer@z-pr.com Notes to editors: Waitrose Waitrose has 235 shops in England, Scotland and Wales. Regularly voted 'Britain's favourite supermarket, Waitrose combines the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop - dedicated to offering quality food that has been responsibly sourced combined with high standards of customer service. (www.waitrose.com <http://www.waitrose.com/> <http://www.waitrose.com/> ) *Currently Verdict, Telegraph Magazine Shop Awards, Which? Magazine Supermarket Satisfaction Survey. RECIPES: The Delia s Classic Christmas Cake Pack: Method: All you do is empty the packs into a bowl, add eggs, butter, orange and lemon zests, mix it together, and bake. Ingredients:
Fruit Mix with brandy (containing currants, sultana's, raisins, chopped glace cherries, mixed candied peel and brandy) Plain flour Mixed spice and nutmeg Soft dark brown sugar chopped almonds black treacle You will also need: 5 medium eggs 225g butter 1 orange & 1 lemon To decorate: Apricot Jam Armagnac or Brandy 250g marzipan 500g ready made icing Icing sugar Silver balls Delia s regular Christmas cake recipe taken from Delia Smith s Christmas : Method: You need to begin this cake the night before you want to bake it. All you do is weigh out the dried fruit and mixed peel, place it in a mixing bowl and mix in the brandy as evenly and thoroughly as possible. Cover the bowl with a clean tea cloth and leave the fruit aside to absorb the brandy for 12 hours. Next day pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275 F (140 C). Then measure out all the rest of the ingredients, ticking them off to make quite sure they're all there. The treacle will be easier to measure if you remove the lid and place the tin in a small pan of barely simmering water. Now begin the cake by sifting the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl, lifting the sieve up high to give the
flour a good airing. Next, in a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until it's light, pale and fluffy. Now beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add them to the creamed mixture a tablespoonful at a time; keep the whisk running until all the egg is incorporated. If you add the eggs slowly by degrees like this the mixture won't curdle. If it does, don't worry, any cake full of such beautiful things can't fail to taste good! When all the egg has been added, fold in the flour and spices, using gentle, folding movements and not beating at all (this is to keep all that precious air in). Now fold in the fruit, peel, chopped nuts and treacle and finally the grated lemon and orange zests. Next, using a large kitchen spoon, transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin, spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon and, if you don't intend to ice the cake, lightly drop the whole blanched almonds in circles or squares all over the surface. Finally cover the top of the cake with a double square of silicone paper with a 50p-size hole in the centre (this gives extra protection during the long slow cooking). Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4½-4¾ hours. Sometimes it can take up to ½-¾ hour longer than this, but in any case don't look till at least 4 hours have passed. Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. When it's cold 'feed' it make small holes in the top and base of the cake with a cocktail stick or small skewer, then spoon over a few teaspoons of brandy, wrap it in double silicone paper secured with an elastic band and either wrap again in foil or store in an airtight container. You can now feed it at odd intervals until you need to ice or eat it.
Ingredients: 450g Currants 175g Sultanas 175g Raisins 50g Glace cherries, rinsed, dried and finely chopped 50g mixed candied peel, finely chopped 3 tablespoons of brandy, plus extra for feeding 225g plain flour ½ level teaspoon salt ¼ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg ½ level teaspoon ground mixed spice 225g unsalted butter 225g soft brown sugar 4 large eggs 50g almonds, chopped 1 level dessertspoon black treacle Grated zest 1 lemon Grated zest 1 orange 110g whole blanched almonds (if you don t intend to ice)