Christmas Cakes

Christmas is the major festival for christens, it marks the birth of lord jesus. Christmas combines the birth date of jesus and many other traditions and rituals. Many related to ancient festivals celebrated in winter season. Yule and saturnalia were two such festivals.Christmas day falls on 25th of December. Christmas is celebrated in most countries around the world, owing to the spread of Christianity and Western culture, along with the enduring popularity of wintertime celebrations.

Various local and regional Christmas traditions are still practiced, despite the widespread influence of American and British Christmas motifs disseminated by film, popular literature, television, and other media. As the festival has long history of celebration amongst a large number of people, theres a tradition of exchanging gifts amongst friends and relatives during the Christmas season. People decorate their houses with Christmas trees and lights of all kinds. As the mood is festive people enjoy food and drinks during this time.people enjoy cakes during this season. Christmas cake is a typical type of fruit cake served in countries like united kingdom and in other commonwealth countries.

History of christmas cakes

the Christmas Cake as we know it today comes from two customs, which became one around 1870 in Victorian England. Originally there was a porridge, the origins of which go back to the beginnings of Christianity. Then there was a fine cake made with the finest milled wheatflour, this was baked only in the Great Houses, as not many people had ovens back in the 14th century.

There is a large variety of cakes that are being prepared during this time but some of the most demanded are as follows :-

Christmas Eggnog Pound Cake:- which is prepared with ingredients like butter, crisco shortening, flour, egg , flaked coconut,sugar, lemon and vanilla extract.

Apricot Fruitcake:- which uses golden apricot, raisins, dates, walnuts,eggs, Brazil nuts, Honey, Water, Lemon juice, Butter or margarine(softened), Brown sugar(packed), All-purpose flour, Ground cinnamon, Ground cloves, Mace, Nutmeg, Salt, Baking soda.

Chocolate Rum Cake:- Chocolate cake mix, 1 pk Chocolate Instant Pudding, Eggs, Dark Rum, Cold water, Oil, Slivered almonds or nuts. This cake require filling too that is Cold milk, Dark Rum, Chocolate Instant Pudding, Envelope Dream Whip Topping.

Black Forest Cake:- requires flour, granulated sugar,

unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, baking soda, salt, eggs, milk, vegetable oil, vanilla.

Cherry Topping: tart pitted cherries(undrained), granulated sugar, cornstarch, vanilla.

Christmas Apple Pie:- this cake requires Graham cracker crust , egg white (slightly beaten).fresh peeled apples, powdered sugar, brown sugar, whole wheat flour, salt, cinnamon, whole wheat flour, powdered sugar, brown sugar, melted butter.

Christmas Fudge:- it requires sugar, butter, heavy cream, salt, powdered sugar, vanilla, red candied cherries(chopped), candied cherries(chopped).

Marshmallow Popcorn Christmas Tree:- requires Popped popcorn, Margarine or butter, Mini marshmallows, Lime flavored jello, Green food color, Candy pieces to decorate tree.

Christmas Holiday Rum Balls:- requires Vanilla wafer crumbs, Confectioners sugar(divided), Finely chopped pecans, Unsweetened cocoa, Fine chopped Maraschino cherries, Rum, Corn Syrup.

A Christmas cake may be light or dark, crumbly-moist to sticky-wet, spongy to heavy, leavened or unleavened, shaped round, square or oblong as whole cakes, fairy cakes, or petit fours, with marzipan, icing, glazing, dusting with confectioner's sugar, or plain, etc.

A particular favorite of many is the traditional Scottish Christmas cake, the Whisky Dundee. As the name implies, the cake originated in the region Dundee and is prepared with Scotch whisky.It is a light and crumbly cake, and light on fruit and candied peel?only currants, raisins, sultanas and cherries are used as standard materials used in cakes . This Christmas cake is particularly good for people,who don't like very rich and moist cakes. As with all fruitcakes, the almonds (or other nuts) can be omitted by people who don't like them.

At the other end of the Christmas cake continuum, the apple cream Christmas cake is a rich mix of finely sliced apples, raisins and other fruit, with eggs, cream cheese, and heavy whipping cream.

In the middle of the spectrum is the mincemeat Christmas cake, which is simply any traditional or vegetarian mincemeat mixed with flour, eggs, etc., to transform it into a cake batter; or it can also be steamed as a Christmas pudding.

In Japan, Christmas cake, traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve, is simply a sponge cake, frosted with whipped cream, decorated with strawberries, and usually topped with Christmas chocolates or other seasonal fruit. By extension, Japanese women over the age of 25 have occasionally been called "Christmas cake" to express the traditional Japanese idea that women over 25 are undesirable as marriage partners. This is a play on the idea that Christmas cake is no longer desirable after the 25th. However, as the age at marriage has increased, this metaphor has begun to be replaced with toshikoshi-soba, a noodle dish, literally "New Year's Eve soba", traditionally eaten on the 31st.

In the Philippines, Christmas cakes are a bright rich yellow pound cakes with macerated nuts or fruitcakes of the British fashion. Either way, both are soaked in copious amounts of brandy or rum mixed with a simple syrup of palm sugar and water. Traditionally, civet or ambergris musk flavoring is added, but rosewater or orange flower water is more common now, as civet musk and ambergris have become very expensive.These liquor-laden cakes can usually stay fresh for many months provided it is handled and made properly. Also, Because of its long shelf life, it is a very popular type of gift for Christmas and one cake made the previous year is sometimes saved for the next Christmas to symbolize union with "Christmases past", or may be consumed for the following Easter.

Cake is something which is easy to make and always give a nice treat to anyones taste buds. Christmas cakes are something which are easy to make and a lot of new changes can be made to them. Cakes are something that people generally consume when they are in a light mood. This adds to the festive mood as people and specially kids eat a lot of cake while celebrating Christmas with their favorite Santa clause.