Recipe - Irish Christmas Cake

2 cup Butter
2 cup Sugar
8 Wellbeaten eggs
One half cup Brandy, optional
1 tablespoon Rose water, optional
1 teaspoon Orange extract
4 cup Flour
2 teaspoon Ground allspice
1 teaspoon Salt
One half cup Ground almonds
Three fourths cup Whole almonds
1 pack (15oz.) raisins
3 cup Currants
Three fourths cup Candied cherries
One fourth cup Chopped lemon peel
One half cup Chopped orange peel (candied
peels)

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs, brandy, rose water and orange extract and
beat until fluffy. Sift flour, all spice and salt. Stir in ground almonds
and stir flour mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in whole almonds, fruits
and peels. Grease a 19inch springform (tubetype) pan and place on baking
sheet. Pour batter into pan and bake at 300 degrees for 2 to 2 One half hours.
Cool in pan on rack. Remove sides from pan and cool cake on rack. Frost
with almond paste as follows. Place of an 8oz. can of almond paste in
layers of waxed paper and roll to 1/8 inch thick. Press pieces against
side of half the cake, repeat with second half of can. Roll another 8oz.
can of almond paste to a 10inch circle, 1/8inch thick, cut center away
and place circle on top of cake. pat sides and top together. Finally, frost
with Royal Icing. Make icing by combining 2 egg whites at room temperature,
a pound package of powdered sugar,One half tsp. cream of tartar and 1 tsp.
vanilla in a small mixer bowl. Beat until very stiff.Frost cake immediately
because frosting gets very hard. Wrap cake well in tightly covered wrapping
or in container.

Posted to EATL Digest 10 Feb 97 by "Ted D. Conley"
tedconley@EARTHLINK.NET on Feb 11, 1997.