Our new stand mixer arrived this week and tomorrow I will be baking no less than two traditional Christmas cakes. One for my parents and one for my husband's. When I was around 10 my father found a recipe for Christmas cake in a book at our local library (no mean feat in 80's Norway) and from then on we started baking this rich fruited cake with marzipan and icing. I remember we couldn't quite work out whether the icing or the marzipan should be the top layer, and as marzipan is a favoured Christmas sweetmeat in Norway we decided that surely it should be the finishing touch. Not so, apparently, Christmas cakes here in the UK are resplendent in their heavy royal icing. And it seems that the English don't really like marzipan...! My theory is that this is due to the inferior quality available - no one who has tasted Danish Anton Berg marzipan or German Lübecker marzipan could fail to appreciate it. Marzipan simply IS Christmas.
Anyway, the KMix is ready in the kitchen. And tomorrow the house will start to smell of Christmas. To me, baking is one of the best ways to get into the Christmas spirit. It is slow, contemplative, smells and tastes lovely - and best of all, the product of it is meant to be shared.
Photo: Rosendahl
Rosendahl has a beautiful line of measuring cups and jugs called 'Grand Cru'. Well worth investing in if you enjoy baking. Available from, among others, Skandium and Heals.
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