Work Out On Your Christmas Cakes

Thanks to confectioners for giving us wonderful Christmas cakes. It is really interesting to note that there was nothing called Christmas cake. Christmas cake actually comes from two different customs that merged around 1870 in Victorian England. Prior to that, people used to take a sort of porridge on Christmas Eve. Gradually, they started adding spices, dried fruits, honey and many other things to it to make it a special dish on Christmas. In this way Christmas pudding came into existence.

It was in 16th century, butter was added to the puddings and wheat flour replaced oatmeal. Eggs were added to tighten up the materials. Thus we got our first cake. It came to be known as Plumcakes. Cakes were baked in Great Houses and the common people in small houses started greeting their guests with simple fruit cakes during the twelve days of Christmas. At that time cake was a popular item for the Twelfth Night Feast. But, after Reformation, Twelfth Night became a time of mischief and over indulgence and it was thus banned as a feast day by 1870. But the confectioners did not want to throw away their delicious cake preparations. From that time onwards, cakes became a part of Christmas feast instead of Twelfth Night feast. Confectioner decorated their cakes with snowy scenes, flowers, gardens or Italian romantic ruins for Christmas parties.

Christmas cakes are now available in all colors, shapes, and flavors. If you want to give a pleasant shock to your guests, then, personalize your Christmas cake. Plan according to your budget. Sprinkle glitters and sparkles on it and try to go for simple decorations. You basically need nothing expensive for that but a creative bend of mind.

You can go for either light or dark or even spongy or heavy Christmas cake for this year. Whiskey Dundee is getting popular and as the name suggests, it is made with Scotch Whiskey. It is a light and crumbly cake, and light on fruit and candied peelonly currants, raisins, and cherries. But, fruit cake is the actual Christmas cake .This is generally a heavy one made out of dried or candied fruits and nuts that are soaked in Brandy. But, in United States, it has become one of the most ridiculed desserts because of its heaviness.

Try out the apple creme Christmas cake, which is a rich mix of finely sliced apples, raisins and other fruit, with eggs, cream cheese, and heavy whipping cream. It is interesting to know about Christmas cakes of different countries. In Japan, Christmas cake is traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve. It is simply a sponge cake, frosted with whipped cream, decorated with strawberries, and usually topped with Christmas chocolates or other seasonal fruit. Again, in Philippines, Christmas cakes are rich yellow pound cakes with macerated nuts or fruitcakes of the British fashion. Both are soaked in copious amounts of brandy or rum mixed with a simple syrup of palm sugar and water. Christmas Cakes have come to be an intrinsic part of our traditional Christmas dinners. There are so many different kinds of Christmas cakes that it would be impossible to choose which one is the best. Most people go for the recipe of the traditional Christmas cake which includes assorted nuts, fruits, brandy, and apricot Jam.

Christmas cake customs differ from country to country. Some say that the Christmas cake custom is as old as Christmas itself. It is the only custom which has lasted till today. In the past, the custom was to invite all to take part in the fun of making Christmas cake. From Victorian Times onwards, the format of stirring the cake mix three times, seeing the bottom of the pot each time and then making a wish has become the most popular custom. Most countries have a traditional Christmas cake. But, in France, it's buche de noel, which is the most popular one on Christmas. It is a cake of dough rolled up and frosted with buttercream to look like a Yule log. In England it's a fruitcake, sometimes soaked in alcohol, and then spread with apricot jam, almond paste and frosting. The form, color or flavors of cakes might have changed a lot down the years but the fun of having a delicious Christmas cake is still the same.