English christmas cupcake

Category: Bakery products
Kitchen: english
English christmas cupcake

Ingredients

soft butter 82% fat 350 g
sugar 350 g
molasses (can be replaced with dark honey) 3 tbsp. l.
eggs (50g each egg without shell) 6 pcs
flour (sift) 350 g
ground almonds 75 g
baking powder 1 tbsp. l. (9 g)
fruit filling 1 kg 400g
brandy, cognac or dark rum
(for greasing the cake after baking)

Cooking method

  • A week before baking the cake, the fruit filling is prepared, the ratio of dough to filling in this cake is 1: 1. How to cook fruit filling we look HERE English christmas cupcake
  • Making a cupcake
  • 1. Preheat oven to 140aboutC. Oil the baking dish. Line the bottom and sides with a layer of baking paper so that the edges of the paper are at least 5 cm above the edges of the pan. Prepare a baking sheet and a stack of old newspapers on which we will place the baking dishes. For those who have silicone baking mats, place molds on mats instead of newspapers.
  • 2. Whisk the butter for 5 minutes until it turns white and fluffy. While whisking, gradually add sugar and then add molasses (honey). The mass will be lush, cream-colored.
  • Divide the eggs into whites and yolks. Continuing to beat, add the yolks one at a time, then gradually add the whites.
  • 3. Pour boiling water over the almonds for 10 minutes, peel them, dry them a little in a pan and grind them into flour in a blender. If you grind the almonds wet, you get wet crumbs ... for marzipan, that's it! but not suitable for a cupcake (for some lucky people, almond flour is sold in the store). You can use almond petals for this purpose.
  • Stir in flour, baking powder, ground almonds and spices (if not included in the filling). Can be mixed with a mixer at the lowest speed for 30 seconds. Stir gently into the butter and egg cream. Put part of the resulting dough in a bowl.
  • 4. Gently add the fruit filling to the dough and mix. Transfer the finished dough with fruit into a mold, add the deferred dough without fruit on top, smooth it on the surface (so that the fruit does not burn during baking).
  • 5. On a baking sheet, put a stack of old newspapers (silicone mat), put a baking dish, and bake at a temperature of 140 aboutFROM 3 - 3.5 hours until golden brown and until the stick stuck in the center comes out clean. After 1.5 hours, wrap the tin with foil so that the cake does not burn, and bake for the remaining time.
  • 6. Without removing it from the mold, coat the hot cake with cognac. Wrap baking paper over the top of the cupcake, wrap the top with foil, and leave the cake in the pan overnight. In the morning, take the cake out of the mold, wrap it in clean baking paper, wrap it tightly in foil, and wrap it in cellophane.
  • 7. Store in a dry, dark place at room temperature (20-25aboutC) about 6 weeks (or less, but at least 2). You don't need to put it in the refrigerator or take it out on the balcony, it should ripen at room temperature.
  • Every week unfold and brush with cognac, then pack tightly again.
  • You can watch a master class on making a cupcake HERE English christmas cupcake

The dish is designed for

2 round muffins in a mold with a diameter of 17 cm (1 L) and 1 cake in a mold 28x9 cm (1.5 L) (total 3 pcs)

Time for preparing:

3-3.5 hours until golden brown

Cooking program:

140-150 C

Note

I found the recipe for a very long time on the Internet, now I don’t remember where exactly .. This is a very fragrant and spicy cake stuffed with nuts, candied fruits and dried fruits with slight interspersed with heavy aromatic biscuit. Very "English" taste. I've been doing it for several years now, and every time it makes a splash.
It is prepared 6 weeks before Christmas, and then it is soaked in alcohol once a week and ripens, so that after a month and a half after cooking, it tastes even better. A week before baking the cake, the fruit filling is prepared, the ratio of dough to filling in this cake is 1: 1.

Quote: Lisss's

if the cupcake is strongly, directly disastrously crumbled, then this can be, as I noticed, for several reasons:

- either not baked - then it simply disintegrates in wet pieces;
- either baked-dried, then it is all tiny and just crumbles;
- either the filling did not stand for a week - then it is not so soft and oily, and the whole is not cut with a knife along with the cake;
- or the filling is coarsely chopped - then a whole piece of cake falls out behind a large piece of fruit, because the fruit did not have time to soften in a week, like its fellow cans;
- and yet, I noticed that the filling with nuts crumbles more than without them - the nuts do not have time to soften in any way, such a cupcake must be cut with a very sharp knife, and it is still advisable to let it brew for 6 weeks

and if it crumbles slightly, then this is not critical, it may give a little crumb ... but this does not affect the taste in any way

Quote: Lisss's

It's hard for me to say how much cognac is needed for impregnation during the ripening of the cake - it depends on its size. I usually pour 50-70 ml into a cup at the bottom, and brush the top and sides with a brush, I don't smear the bottom. I smear it as if I were painting an object - evenly apply a thin layer of liquid on its surface. how you grease the buns before baking. again, if you like alcohol in baking, then you can lubricate it with a little wetter. if the cognac remains in the glass after smearing the whole cake, pour it into the jar (not back into the bottle, because random crumbs fall from the brush into the cognac), close the lid, and until the next smear.

Quote: Lisss's

the fact that the cake is falling apart is not a matter of the amount of filling. this recipe is designed for such a quantity of filling, this is such a recipe. and the fillings can be even more nuts can give an additional, slightly larger than usual, crumbling, but in no way can be the reason for the collapse of the cake into pieces.

the problem is either test (ingredients, kneading), or in baked goods.

the dough here is buttery biscuit, that is, it is held in a butter foam (whipped from butter, sugar and eggs). additionally, a baking powder is added, for the same purpose.

accordingly, the oil should be the best available. I bake at 82% fat, although the first couple of years I baked at a quality 72%, it was also good. and the beat should be good, not just mixed.

if you are confident in your products, then it is definitely a matter of baking.

as I already said, this cake is baked not just until cooked, but after cooked it remains in the oven. i.e., it is baked and then languishes at a low temperature.

in the photo Michelle, I see that a stick from such a cake will come out dry, but it seems to me that it is underexposed in the oven ... that is, a low baking temperature and paper forging the forms (and according to the recipe, in addition to paper forging, it is also recommended to WALL the form into paper additionally, but I did not, because it is enough to spread in my oven) - all this creates an additional opportunity to simmer the cake. otherwise, what happens is that the top is fried, begins to burn, creates the illusion of readiness for us, but the cake inside did not crumble as much as it needs, so the middle remained so wet.

Quote: Lisss's

girls, I also found interesting information in the net on baking this cake.
it is recommended to bake at a temperature not higher than 135Cby placing the form with the dough on a baking sheet on a stack of old newspapers. newspapers - so that the bottom does not burn.
in the second half of baking wrap the top and sides with foilto keep the top off.
I found this from Lyudmila in LJ, her advice is always useful and proven. who will bake - take into service

Quote: kleskox35

from a full portion, 4 muffins, the volume of the molds is 16x6.5 and the height is 4cm. The weight of one cake is about 730 g (weighed in a package - 740)

Quote: Lisss's

the cupcake is ready if:

- bakes for at least two hours;
- the stick comes out of the middle dry;
- the cupcake itself is rosy and sooooo beautiful;
- if you press the middle with your finger, it is not "alive", does not walk under the finger, as if the finger will fall into a wet one now, and the middle is elastic to the touch, springs and your finger pushes back.

if ALL of the above factors are observed, we can assume that the cake is ready

Quote: Lisss's

if the dough for this cake is mixed with baking powder, then it can stand at room temperature from 8 to 12 hours

Lisss's
FRUIT FILLING options and preparation


option 1, with nuts
300g light raisins raisins
300g dark brown or red raisins
300g blue or black raisins
225g candied cherries
110g mixture of candied fruits of different zest, chopped
75g peeled almonds, chopped
75g walnuts, chopped
1.5 tbsp. l. ground cinnamon
1.5 tbsp. l. ground cloves
1.5 lemons - finely grated zest and juice

150 ml brandy / cognac
6 tbsp. l. ginger wine or orange juice
option 2, no nuts
I took the recipe from Ludmila from Toronto here 🔗
400g black raisins
400g red raisins
200g dried figs (figs)
200g prunes
100g candied cherries
50g dried apricots
50g candied pineapple or dried pineapple

1/2 orange
80ml brandy or cognac

spice mix, mix all the ground:
1.5 tsp. ginger
1.5 tsp. allspice
1.5 tsp. nutmeg
1.5 tsp. carnation
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
This mixture is enough for a dough of 500 g of flour. If you are baking smaller amounts of fruitcake, you can use the unused spice mixture to bake gingerbread and gingerbread by adding an equal weight of ground coriander and cardamom seeds. ( 🔗)
The spice mixture is added along with the flour when kneading the dough.
option 3 (with dates)
200 g dry peaches (or dried apricots), chopped
200 g dry dates, chopped
200 g mixed dried fruit
150 g dried sweetened cranberries
100 g dried apples, chopped
75 g hazelnuts, lightly dried and chopped
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 tablespoon each ground nutmeg, grated ginger and ground cloves
grated zest and juice of 1 orange
180 ml (6 fl oz) Marsala wine or sweet sherry
option 4 with figs, apricots, ginger and walnuts ( 🔗)
320 g dried figs (figs)
320 g dried apricots
320 g raisins quiche-mish
160 g dried cherries
80 g ginger root, chopped
80 g citrus zest mix
160 g walnuts
1.5 tbsp. l. ground cinnamon
1.5 tbsp. l. ground cloves
finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
6 tbsp. l. ginger wine or ginger root juice
6 tbsp. l. brandy

==============================
Candied and dried fruits in the filling can be replaced with your favorite ones, the main thing is to follow three rules:
1. The total amount of fruit filling should be 1kg 400g;
2. You can take candied fruits, candied fruits or dried fruits. You can not take fresh or frozen fruits, they have too much juice, which will change the moisture content of the dough;
3. It is better not to replace the spices if you do not like a certain taste or you could not find something from the list - just do not put this spice.
==============================
Cooking the filling
1. Put fruits, zest and spices (variants of fillings where the spice mixture is not added at the time of kneading the dough) into a large bowl. Cut large fruits to the size of raisins. All components of the filling should be 1 - 1.5 cm in size.
Quote: Lisss's

whether to wash dried fruits - if dried fruits from a supermarket, packed with sterile gloves of Poles or Turks, then you can not wash them. but if dried fruits, like mine, from the market, weighed out of bags - then - yes, wash! so much dirt flows off them, sand, even small pebbles (despite the fact that I took by no means the cheapest ones), so wash in a colander under running water, and dry on a towel to drain well. of course, this is additional moisture, but it's better than crunching dried fruits with sand in my photo earlier in the subject - washed. the result in the cupcake is good.

2. Mix juice with cognac and pour over fruit.Mix thoroughly so that each fructin is covered with a thin layer of liquid. There should be no liquid left at the bottom, all will be spent on lubricating the fruit. Cover and leave to infuse for a week... For a week, the fruits will be saturated with alcohol vapors and become completely oily in consistency, so that then when cutting the cake we will not have problems

English christmas cupcake

3. Under its weight, the fruit will be compressed and stick together from sugar, and the juice will gradually drain to the bottom. Therefore, once a day, you need to shake the jar of fruit in order to evenly distribute the liquid again and fluff the fruit more carefully with licking a spoon and taking a sample - the fruit filling should remain 1kg 400g after a week

After a week, the filling is ready.
Alexandra
Lisss , I baked a cupcake according to your recipe last night, and at the same time - a diet version without butter on whole flour.
By the way, according to the recipe, I covered the form with 2 layers of paper and fixed it with wire. Baked for 3 hours at 150C, took it out - it was not tanned, but GOLD, and there was no crust, absolutely soft on top ...
Very beautiful and fragrant came out, I'm afraid to miss.

Tell me a very relevant question for me: store in the refrigerator or at room temperature ???

Admin advised:

- molasses is a thick viscous liquid with a sweetish taste, yellowish, transparent, has a pure sweet taste. Allows you to use it as a substitute for sucrose.
Molasses can be replaced with the same amount of honey, burnt sugar (burnt sugar)
- burnt sugar (burnt sugar) is used to color the surfaces and crumb of the product in a dark brown color. You can make a burnt one yourself from white sand (lump) and brown sugar.


https://Mcooker-enn.tomathouse.com/index.php@option=com_smf&topic=489.0.html
Scarecrow
I didn't have a trace of molasses. Replaced with honey (on a whim), but put in a little honey. I sit and bake. I mean, I'm sitting, and the oven is baking.
Alexandra
shuska

Yes, not necessarily cherries, do not get hung up on the composition of dried fruits! Cranberries, strawberries, raisins, dried apricots, prunes, multicolored candied pineapple and papaya, figs, dates, peaches, pears, tangerines - everything will go to work, observe only the total weight of dried fruits. Nice to be colorful.
Be sure to add the zest. That's all
Pogremushka
Lisss, do you think it is possible in this recipe to replace 100% butter with vegetable? And how will this affect the taste?
Alexandra
I'm not Lisss, but if you don't mind, I'll answer

You can replace it, but it will definitely affect the taste and smell. The cupcake has a strong, distinctly recognizable smell of creamy, baked goods in butter.
I in Temka about healthy eating gave a recipe for a diet version of the English cake, without oil at all. Maybe better than him? From replacing a huge amount of one mala with another, it will not become less nutritious and more dietary. And there the flour is whole, and there are no yolks, and there is much less sugar (fructose). It looks and smells just as good. Also lies waiting in the wings, soaked in cognac
Alexandra
The author of the recipe, from which I started in baking cake without butter, believes that impregnation with cognac during the shelf life of the finished cake is basically unnecessary. It is enough to soak dried fruits and 100 ml of alkagol is enough for this.

If alcohol is not allowed at all - I think you can leave orange and lemon juice. Such a cupcake can be made not in 3, but, say, a week before NG.
Scarecrow
Yes, it has been ready for a long time, wrapped in parchment and lying in the household shelf waiting in the wings. (y) I recently came up and poked my finger at him - soft! Of course, I can't imagine the taste, of course, since we'll eat on NG, so I refrained from comments.

Everything turned out great, brown, baked and beautiful. The smell was wonderful. I'll take a picture of it, probably, when we eat, so that in the context. Then I'll write my impressions. I swelled all kinds of spices, put in cinnamon, ground ginger (dried), didn't bake a clove, as she alerted me, but blurted out nutmeg and vanilla. I made the whole portion, but put it in a large, tall rectangular baking sheet. just happened both in height and in size.While they were pulling out of the form on parchment (in four hands), my husband almost dropped his side (or rather dropped it from a small height on the table, but successfully), for which there was almost a beat, and I almost got a blow! But nothing happened, the cake is safe and sound.

I figured out how to soak it evenly. I poured rum into a vinegar sprayer and pshikal from the top evenly from this spray. Good at it.
kolynusha
And I baked this miracle. The fact that there is no doubt about the miracle, maybe. the aromas emanated from him .... I also fit everything on one 30x36 pan. Everyone is waiting for the tasting. I reduced the sugar to 250 grams, added vanilla, dried mango and papaya, that is, added red and green. Impregnated (smeared with a culinary brush) with a mixture of canyac and orange juice 1: 1. The liquid was absorbed very well, it was not even necessary to pierce it. In general, we are waiting, sir.
Scarecrow
Girls, the adventure is not over ...

We have a refreshing renovation in two rooms, so we had to pull the cinema out of the living room yesterday (huge amplifier, speakers, subwoofer and you). My husband dragged all this into the household, where my cupcake rests. In the evening, he suddenly remembered about the cake and asked if I had soaked it at least once. From what he remembered - he himself does not know. I say that not yet, now I will saturate. I went down to the utility room. All shelves are filled with appliances and things from the living room. On the shelf where the cupcake stood, it is not, I look with my eyes where he moved it. And after 10 minutes of searching, I understand that he did not move it anywhere. The amplifier is a hefty and heavy professional crap - it sits on top of my parchment-wrapped cupcake. Only the presence of the mentally immature generation of our family kept me from the three-story mat. I pulled the cupcake out of there, went to unfold it in order to see exactly why my husband was to be shot.
My husband apologized greatly, asked for forgiveness and repented while I angrily rustled the parchment. Opening it, I found that the cake is completely safe and sound !! ... Only the round leg of the amplifier is barely noticeable on the surface. In general, everything is fine.
And then I was very proud of myself, because I did not swear at my husband at all. Neither before nor after. I have it very good, it is by accident.

Now I'm thinking: will this cupcake live up to NG at all? if things go on like this, we'll eat sweets and that's it.
Lisss's
Today I decorated the cake with marzipan (thanks to Lenusa for the recipe). there was no peeled almonds, made with the peel - it turned out to be speckled
Scarecrow
Here's my cupcake. Beautiful, fragrant.

English christmas cupcake

I will not say that I was delighted. Soundly, tasty, but not a revelation. The problem is most likely in me. I'm not a big fan of spices. Especially cinnamon. The rest of the guests really liked it. Just don't eat much. He is hearty.

I was much more pleased with the process: long, with impregnations and other subtleties, with funny adventures, in the end. This allows you to feel the coming of the holiday.
Lisss's
girls, I already soaked the fruit join

soak them correctly like this:

chop all the filling to make the fruit the size of a raisin

English christmas cupcake

then wipe the zest from 1 orange and squeeze out the juice, mix with brandy, and pour over the fruit. mix everything thoroughly - that is, you need to moisten them so that they do not float in the cognac, but only are all wet

English christmas cupcake

we put the whole thing in a jar, close it tightly with a lid. you see, there is no moisture layer at the bottom - everything is on the fruit

English christmas cupcake

leave for a week at room temperature. during this time, the fruits are nourished and become equally soft. then, when we cut the finished cake, the knife will not "stumble" over them, and an even slice will be cut off.

girls, I think that insufficiently soaked fruits could also be the reason for crumbling last year - after all, we only soaked them at night ... well, we will check this year
Alexandra
And I have half from last year left, lies in the refrigerator on the shelf where it is least cold
Tried it recently - the taste has not deteriorated
LenaV07
And here is the recipe for the cake, according to which Tatyana Tolstaya bakes it 🔗
Lisss's
this time I didn’t fill it like the last one - I just smeared it.so take it according to the recipe as from the filling (150 ml of cognac + 6 tablespoons of orange juice). when it stands in a tightly sealed container, the aroma accumulates there, and the fruits themselves are made like ... like butter, or something, so easy to cut, but retain their shape. it is not necessary that it swell - it is necessary that it be insisted

shuska , I will also do the full norm

Quote: LenaV07

And here is the recipe for the cake, according to which Tatyana Tolstaya bakes it 🔗

read the recipe. I was a little embarrassed by boiling fruit - after all, such a tough processing ...

but interested - the oven in a silicone form. I think this is a thought! after all, really, silicone will not burn, and you can bake as long as you like .. one thing is embarrassing about silicone - it will not give a crust ... and it gives aroma, but, in any case, I will definitely bake one in silicone, and one traditionally, to compare.

Lisss's
Quote: tanya1962

Lisss's but you can soak the fruit in your temples, otherwise there is no cognac, and there is no place to put whiskey, no one drinks them, and they all give and give to my husband.
tanya1962, I read that you can take any cognac with an alcohol content of 36-60%, not necessarily grape-based, you can drink plums, cherries, etc., Cointreau, Kirschwasser and Calvados are also suitable.
Quote: tuskarora

By the way, do you need to mix soaked dried fruits for a week?
it is better to shake the jar once a day so that they are not compressed, but all the components are kept separately. and since it’s already interesting what was happening to them, I shook when I looked
Lisss's
girls, well, I think I'm done with Christmas cupcakes this year. the last batch is baked in the oven!

I report in detail how and what to do - this year I took a lot of photos to illuminate every step

Preparing the forms.
We take any forms that you have and coat with butter
Cover with baking paper. A round shape can be lined with baking paper as follows: circle the bottom of the shape, cut out a circle, then cut out the tape with a height = sides of the shape + 5cm, along the circumference of the shape, and make cuts on one side of the tape obliquely

English christmas cupcake

English christmas cupcake

We put the tape in the form, we put a circle in the middle

English christmas cupcake

The edges of the paper should protrude at least 5 cm above the side of the pan to prevent the muffins from being burnt during baking.

English christmas cupcake

1. We measure and weigh all the ingredients according to the recipe.

The butter and eggs should be at room temperature. Leave them on the table for 2 hours before you start working with them. I usually put butter and eggs on the windowsill the day before to knead the dough in the morning. If the ingredients are colder, the dough may split. In general, this is not very scary - it will come back together with flour, eaters will not notice anything

We need 6 eggs. 50 g each = 300 g eggs. It is better to focus on egg weight than quantity. For example, I have large eggs, one 70g each (in the shell). If you take 6 such eggs, you get 61 * 6 = 366g of eggs, which is 66g more than we need. This can thin the dough and not get the consistency you want. My large eggs turned out to be 5 pieces.

Divide the eggs into yolks and whites. We will introduce separately the yolks one at a time, then gradually introduce the proteins. Beat it well.

It is better to take fine-crystalline sugar. For comparison - in the same place I once bought normal sugar, another time - with such giant crystals

English christmas cupcake

Ground almonds. I ground it in a blender, this is how the grits turned out. It is desirable, of course, even smaller - but my blender gives such a result

English christmas cupcake

After mixing the eggs, you will need to combine the almonds, flour, baking powder and spices. I do this: sift the flour into a wide bowl, put the rest of the dry ingredients and use the whisk of a mixer at the first speed for 30 seconds to mix these components, they are ready for introduction into the butter-egg foam.

2. So, everything was weighed and measured. Now whisk the butter, 5-7 minutes, it will become so light white
3. Add sugar little by little while continuing to beat. It turns out such a grainy mass. Beat the mass for 7-10 minutes.

English christmas cupcake

4. Add the molasses. I took honey, took it thicker so that it would not dilute the mass. But it's all the same, you can also liquid.You can thick glucose. Stir in at medium speed (2nd).

English christmas cupcake

5. Now we begin to introduce eggs. As a result, after the introduction of all the eggs, we got such a creamy mass.
6. Add flour. Pour everything out at once, mix, and when the mixture becomes homogeneous, knead for another 1-2 minutes at low speed.
After the introduction of flour, we get a dough for a butter biscuit, it is like this:
My dough in the photo is more liquid than you will get, because I beat the butter with sugar for a long time and it managed to heat up. Also, here the dough without spices, your dough with spices will be more pink.

We put off some of the finished dough in a separate bowl, about 6-7 tbsp. l.

7. Add fruit filling according to the recipe, knead with a spatula

English christmas cupcake

8. Place the dough in a mold 2/3, maximum 3/4 of the height.

English christmas cupcake

On top, put a few tablespoons of the deferred dough without filling, and level with a spatula. This is so that the fruits sticking out from above do not burn.

English christmas cupcake

9. We put on a stack of newspapers on a baking sheet in preheated to 135-1400Take off the oven and bake for 3-3.5 hours.

English christmas cupcake

10. The finished cake will be beautifully rosy, and will lag slightly behind the walls of the form

English christmas cupcake

Immediately, while still hot, grease its surface with cognac. Wrap the edges of the paper on a cupcake and wrap the top with foil

English christmas cupcake

English christmas cupcake

And so we leave until tomorrow. It will cool down and be ready to be taken out and packed for storage.

11. The next day, take the cake out of the mold
Wrap in baking paper, then in foil, and then in a plastic bag

English christmas cupcake

English christmas cupcake

English christmas cupcake

We carry it to a cool place. The cake should be kept at room temperature (20-250C), but not in an excessively hot or humid environment. I have a cool dry place in the sideboard. Here it is, my warehouse

English christmas cupcake

In a week we will take it out, unfold it, grease it with cognac, wrap it up, and so on every week, until Christmas.

I will show you how to arrange it for Christmas later. We need to prepare icing cones, apricot jam, marzipan and icing. But you can eat it like that - very aromatic and tasty!

Yes, by the way, I cut it under the pressure of the household. Here's a cutter, help yourself!

English christmas cupcake

Girls, I tried to tell everything. Suddenly I forgot something, or it is not clear - ask, do not hesitate. This cupcake is worth baking!
Lisss's
Quote: tanya1962

Lisss's, and the cupcake does not damp in the Foma until it cools down like that or it should be.
tanya1962, after a night of standing, droplets of water condense on the paper, but the cake is not moist, elastic, good. it is so that it "gathers" into a cake, and does not crumble when cutting. I, too, with apprehension performed this item for the first time - but everything is fine

I also want to say separately - be sure to cut the filling finely enough - the size of raisins, cherries in half. I noticed that where there are large pieces of fruit, they dump the dough when cutting. do not paint, but throw out such pieces. It's a pity, but where there are small pieces, there are even slices.
Anise
Lisss's
I have a question, is it necessary to put spices in the dough or can I ignore this point?
Have you ever tried baking without spices?
The absence of them in the cupcake will not affect the taste too much, do you think?
Your opinion is interesting.
... Well, I also insist on dried fruits, I could not resist
Lisss's
The first filling is very tasty, there are more citrus notes, a whole citrus melody in the second filling of citrus was not enough for me on the trail. year withdraw your recipe
Quote: Anise

Lisss's
I have a question, is it necessary to put spices in the dough or can I ignore this point?
Have you ever tried baking without spices?

Anise, the filling, of course, will do its job in the overall bouquet, but .... not enough from the filling without the spices of the Christmas flavor. if you don't like a lot of smells, put literally 1 hour. l. - all the same it would be necessary, for a bouquet .... I baked without spices, then honey is clearly heard. it tastes better for me with spices, so that more

tuskarora, at 150 degrees it will be ready earlier - my small cupcakes in the picture were ready in 2h15min at 150, but at 140 - exactly 3h. it will be soft when you take it out. you can cover the surface with paper or foil so as not to burn.

Lisss's
Well, thank God, I'm glad that everything worked out, I also thought about it, that I need to bake small cupcakes. you can decorate them like this ...

English christmas cupcake

how to decorate cupcakes like in the picture above. This picture is from the English book on decorating cakes The Home Guide to Cake Decorating by Jane Price

first cover the cupcake with a circle, then wrap them in a marzipan rectangle

English christmas cupcake

then wrap in sugar paste. after that, decorate - take a piece of colored sugar paste (mastic), the size of a pea, and pull it out in the form of a droplet. grease the back of the droplet with vodka or water and attach to the cupcake

English christmas cupcake

with a narrow tube (number 2) circle all the droplets with icing, then paint them with gold color

English christmas cupcake

how to make a bow

Roll out the red sugar paste thinly into a 3cm wide ribbon. cut into two rectangles. moisten the ends and fold the rectangles into loops. place on the cake, leaving a small distance between the loops. put a piece of paper towel inside the loops so that they dry in the form of loops. cut another rectangle, cut off the ends at an angle, carefully put the other end between the loops and pinch. cut out a square of sugar paste, make a bulge in its center. attach in the center of the bow to hide all ends. to add sparkle, draw a thin line of gold along the ends of the bow.

You can also put prints on the mastic with cutters for mastic, suitable for the topic - trees, stars, bells, etc., and then color the resulting images.
Lisss's
We will decorate the cupcakes in 6 weeks, when they are ripe and will be smeared with cognac 6 times.

Below is a recipe for marzipan and sugar paste for decorating cupcakes. recipes from the book The Home Guide to Cake Decorating

marzipan

750g icing sugar
200g ground almonds
2 egg yolks
2st. l. sweet sherry
2h l. glycerin
1 st. l. lemon juice
a few drops of almond essence

yield - 1kg

sift the icing sugar into a large bowl. set aside a cup of powder for kneading. mix the ground almonds into the powder and make a well in the center. mix yolks, sherry, glycerin, lemon juice and almond essence and pour into a well. mix with a knife until firm.

powder the surface with the set aside powder and knead the marzipan on the table for 3-5 minutes, adding the powder so that it does not stick. knead until smooth and pliable.

use immediately, or wrap hermetically with cling film, put in a container and store in a cool place (not in the refrigerator) for up to 3 days. roll out on a surface dusted with powdered sugar.

I made marzipan according to this recipe, it works well if I put less powdered sugar - 500g. then by consistency it is like plasticine. if it is more, then it is tougher.

sugar paste

5h l. gelatin
125ml liquid glucose (or starch syrup)
1 st. l. glycerin
1kg icing sugar

output: 1kg

sprinkle gelatin on 3 tbsp. l. water in a small bowl. leave to swell. Dissolve the gelatin in a water bath, stirring. add glucose and glycerin, stir until melted. let cool for 1 minute.

sift the powder into a large bowl. set aside the kneading cup. make a well in the center, pour the gelatin mixture into it. mix with a wooden spoon, then mix with dry hand until the mass is similar to dough in consistency, adding the set aside powder a little at a time, if necessary. turn out on a surface dusty with powder and knead until it becomes smooth and plastic, adding powder so that it does not stick.

use immediately, or wrap hermetically with cling film, put in a container and store in a cool place (not in the refrigerator) for up to 3 days. roll out on a surface dusted with powdered sugar.

Lisss's
Quote: Antonovka

And I also have dried lemon peel - I took it off with a special knife, but it was not useful, it is now. I think where to let her

it seems to me that dried is not entirely suitable - it is not soft, and there is no sugar in it ... if you boil it in sugar syrup, put it in a jar and pour it over with this syrup, maybe then it will be what you need, but I’m afraid that it will remain firm in the cupcake ...

Quote: tuskarora

A question. You have written that "circle all the droplets with icing, then paint them in gold." Tell me from what you can achieve the golden color. Kandurin is not for sale in our Kharkiv, and in Kiev to mine too.

Lena, I did this translation from the book, so I wrote like theirs. to be honest, where to get the gold, I can't even imagine, but with gold, of course, it looks very festive ... husky uses kandurin, or maybe he will know? I have to go to her in Temko and ask ...

Quote: Aunt Besya

I estimated the amount of filling - 1 kg. 350 gr. Is this the amount of flour indicated in the first post? or prozapas? Somehow a lot or so it seems ??

Aunt Besya, Welcome!

fillings - yes, that's right, for 1,400 dough - approx. 1,400 toppings don't be alarmed, in English holiday fruit cakes, the ratio of dough to filling should be at least 1: 1, and maybe 1: 4 - that is, fruit smeared with a thin layer of dough

RybkA, last year I made marzipan with skins - then I didn’t know how to clean it. Here are pictures of the same cupcake, in marzipan with skins

https://Mcooker-enn.tomathouse.com/index.php@option=com_smf&topic=7360.0

the almonds were ground in a blender, with grains - and a completely plastic mass came out. of course, if the figures are sculpted, then it is better to sift the almond flour from the grains, and for covering it is normal. I didn't know then that it needed to be rolled out, so I just took a piece and glued it to the cake with my fingers
dryapa
Quote: Lisss's

I’ll honestly tell you where to get the gold, I don’t even know, but with gold, of course, it looks very good ...
TD "Athena" 🔗 well, very expensive, but enough for a long time!
Lisss's, Luda, I also bought fruit, went to soak them!
Anise
Lisss's
Thanks for the detailed answer.
And the instructions are great too! Great help in cooking!

Already repackaged everything. The paper, which lined the form, was in some places with droplets of moisture, but the cake itself was surprisingly not soaked at all. I noticed that the muffins are a little darker than I took them out of the oven yesterday. Apparently, the processes of "baking" are still going on when the cupcakes are cooling closed.
Lisss's, in long forms, the paper just lifted from the form, and so they are completely even. Here is for clarity:
rectangular and smallest round
English christmas cupcake English christmas cupcake

packed:
English christmas cupcakeEnglish christmas cupcake

We will taste the small round one first, so I’ll gather the family together, we will try.
I will try to photograph the section, the most interesting is how it is there.
It was a fun process! I like it!
Thank you, Lisss's, for discovering new and interesting things for me!
Alexandra
I baked in a gas oven - last year I posted a photo in this Temko. Covered with 2 layers of paper and tied with wire on top. Under the paper, a bright red top, very soft, is remarkably obtained.

The smallest fire was, about 140 - 150C, I wrote in the first part of Temka

https://Mcooker-enn.tomathouse.com/index.php@option=com_smf&topic=7360.0
Tanyusha
Well, here's my cupcake, it seems to me that it turned out great, the one that I will try the smaller tomorrow.
English christmas cupcake

English christmas cupcake
Lisss's
whether to wash dried fruits - if dried fruits from a supermarket, packed with sterile gloves of Poles or Turks, then you can not wash them. but if dried fruits, like mine, from the market, weighed out of bags - then - yes, wash! so much dirt flows off them, sand, even small pebbles (despite the fact that I took by no means the cheapest ones), so wash in a colander under running water, and dry on a towel to drain well. of course, this is additional moisture, but it's better than crunching dried fruits with sand in my photo earlier in the subject - washed. the result in the cupcake is good.
Lisss's
Quote: tanya1962

Here's my cupcake in a cut, but it tastes just fine, just crumble a little

tanya1962, very beautiful in the context of a cupcake! sorry that crumbles ...

if it crumbles strongly, directly catastrophically, then this can be, as I noticed, for several reasons:

- either not baked - then it simply disintegrates in wet pieces;
- either baked-dried, then it is all tiny and crumbles straight;
- or the filling did not stand for a week - then it is not so soft and oily, and the whole is not cut with a knife along with the cake;
- or the filling is coarsely chopped - then a whole piece of cake falls out behind a large piece of fruit, because the fruit did not have time to soften in a week, like its fellow cans;
- and yet, I noticed that the filling with nuts crumbles more than without them - the nuts do not have time to soften in any way, such a cupcake must be cut with a very sharp knife, and it is still advisable to let it brew for 6 weeks

and if it crumbles slightly, then this is not critical, it may give a little crumb ... but this does not affect the taste in any way
Scarecrow
RybkA
It will be absorbed.
Here in the form of a cake, but now without a form. Just a small round cupcake. Only the baking time is reduced. It takes about 2 hours. And then I think that I overexposed.

English christmas cupcakeEnglish christmas cupcake
Anise
Quote: Kobeika

... Girls, you can also bake in Easter tins, is it okay if they are small and tall in diameter?

I baked the third, a small cake in a cake pan, all the remnants of the dough that I managed to scrape from the mixer bowl were put there, it turned out 1/3 of the height of the mold. It was brewed perfectly! And the same amount of time as large muffins (3 hours at 140 ° C). In answer # 196 on page 14, his cut is there, I have it as a probe. If I still had dough, then I would put no more than half the height of a similar shape, so that it baked for sure.

tanya1962 - a beautiful cut! Did you do it with nuts? It seems to me that there are nuts showing through?
Scarecrow - the cupcakes are good!
Michelle
Lisss's:
Sorry to be late, but I hope I still managed to jump on this Christmas train?
Soaked it over the weekend. I also got some liquid at the bottom. And when shaken, it also "leaves".
Your recipe says that you need to take 110 g of different zest.... but for some reason it always seemed to me that it was necessary to put candied fruit..... how is it right? To tell the truth, I was so worried about this that I forgot to put lemon juice ... then I had to water it on top
cherries this year I did not come across, instead of them I put the delicious dogwood and kumquat - they look very nice in the filling !!! I really hope the kumquat will give this cupcake an extra citrus flavor !!!
Otherwise, I did everything according to your detailed recommendations!
The oven will be this weekend!
Lisss's
Michelle, you have time, of course join

in the first filling - exactly the zest, and last year I also put what you call kumquats - little lemons and tangerines. go well and in the second filling - candied fruits. but I'll tell you Scarecrow I took my own filling, and I think everything will be ok, you need to observe the dough-fruit ratio.

RybkA, all cupcakes have an even top - it does not swell up like a house in the middle, like ordinary cupcakes, because we laid out the shape with paper to slow down the baking of the crust on the sides and continue the uniform growth of the cake, and also bake at a low T. so you do not need to cut anything.
There is no need to lay out the silicone mold, silicone itself conducts heat worse than metal. just cover the top so that it does not burn, and does not fry ahead of time, and that's it.

wrap then - wrap it on top with the paper that was, and additionally with foil, and that's it
Narru, fruits are infused at room temperature, you can put in a dark place. no need in the refrigerator. I just stood on the bedside table in the kitchen, but my kitchen is not very bright, the shady side.

seems to have answered everything, if you missed anything - ask
tuskarora
and I put the second portion to bake in small forms. Four metal forms for beads and four paper forms (of those that Lilya provided us) and now I'm sitting worrying.
While she was laying out the forms with paper, her son came up and said: "Oh - soon there will be pies" I say: "No, not pies, but a Christmas cupcake" OH: "and when will we eat?" I answer that for Christmas. And the son with such indignation: "What are you, mom, they'll go bad !!!"
And the filling this time I have tastier and soaked better.I grated fresh ginger, in addition to brandy, I added cherry vodka and I will soak it too. And besides fried almonds, I had no other and I ground it into dough, so the dough acquired such a pleasant shade and taste ...

Well, that's what we have.
The appearance is so-so, but the main thing is the internal content
English christmas cupcake
Lisss's
Quote: Kobeika

Lisss's tell me, please, I somehow don't understand what to do with almonds in the dough. I bought dried nuts and I'm sitting thinking how to peel it, do I need to fry it? Please enlighten the dark one, otherwise I'll bake tomorrow

Kobeika , with almonds we do this:
put the peeled almonds in a bowl, pour boiling water over the almonds, and wait 10 minutes. after 10 minutes, drain the boiling water, and peel it off, it can be easily removed. after that, I usually dry it a little in the oven - I don't fry it, but just so as not to get wet. then boldly grind it into flour in a blender, good luck with baking, I will hold my fists for you! I'll be busy in the morning, and then I'll go on the air, so ask along the way, I will help
Scarecrow
We messed up one cupcake. Crumbles like an infection. But it has never been untreated. Soaked wetter and crumbs less tested.

Contrary to myself, I put some spices in it and never regretted it. And the same cloves and cinnamon, which I don't like in baked goods. This year I tried it and began to catch some kind of thrill in this spice. No, such a cake cannot be baked often. It should be exactly New Year's. To always associate NG with him. Like our house with a roasted turkey.
English christmas cupcake
Kalmykova
RybkA ,Lisss's ! The almonds were perfectly soaked during the standing time (as well as the hazelnuts), which was noted by repeated tests (it's good that the filling has soaked a full jar). And cut the muffins with a thin, sharp knife. Crumbled slightly, and that is due to the lack of impregnation after baking. Deep bow again!
Tatjanka_1
Lisss's well here I am with my cupcake
left until morning
English christmas cupcake
missed rum
English christmas cupcake
packed
English christmas cupcake

Lisss's I also asked you how much rum should be smeared on one cupcake at a time, and I also did not understand it is necessary to coat the cupcake on all sides.
Lisss's
Quote: Tatjanka_1

about how much rum is needed for one cupcake at a time to smear and I also did not understand it is necessary to smear the cupcake on all sides.

It's hard for me to say how much is needed - it depends on the size of the cake. I usually pour 50-70 ml into the cup at the bottom, and brush the top and sides with a brush, I don't smear the bottom. I smear it as if I were painting an object - evenly apply a thin layer of liquid on its surface. how you grease the buns before baking. again, if you like alcohol in baking, then you can lubricate it with a little wetter. if the cognac remains in the glass after smearing the whole cake, pour it into the jar (not back into the bottle, because random crumbs fall from the brush into the cognac), close the lid, and until the next smear.
Lisss's
Quote: Happy

And today I will bake, yesterday I tried the filling, well, very good
I want to ask, but if you wrap a cupcake with mastic, then what kind of cream should it be leveled, or not? I have already made blanks for a bow from mastic, and now I want to understand why it should be attached?
these muffins are smeared with warmed apricot jam, then all the irregularities are covered with marzipan, then covered with marzipan, and after that - with mastic. if according to the rules

In the Wilton theme, I posted a selection of how you can decorate such a cupcake - with fruits, or sugar paste

starting from this post Winter's tale, and then there are all fruit muffins inside
RybkA
My muffins are baked. I covered it first with baking paper, then I realized that under it they would still blush strongly and changed it to foil. The growing bubbles are crushed by the paper.
I got the long ones in 2.5 hours. Round baking 3.15 min. Soaked in cognac, all eagerly "drank", wrapped them in foil.
These are the results. Tomorrow I will find out which sides came out.

English christmas cupcake

English christmas cupcake

Viki
Lisss's, please answer the person who really wants to bake this cupcake, but can't read so much information -
if I intend to knead the dough for 350 gr.flour (fruit 1.4 kg. -? already a question) - how much baking dish do I need? As I understand it, there will be three cupcakes (for us, mom, children). If divided equally, then what displacement of the form should we expect?
Lisss's
RybkA, what beautiful cupcakes you got! and how correctly they lag behind the walls of the form! well done

Viki, yes, for a dough made from 350 g of flour, 1.4 kg of fruit filling is used. according to this recipe, I baked in two round forms with a volume of 1 liter, and in one rectangular one, with a volume of 1.5 liters. it turned out 3 cupcakes

Antonovka, Congratulations! I am glad that everything worked out and you could not show the cupcake from the silicone mold - we do not have a photo of silicone here yet

Michelle, Hurrah!!! how glad I am that this year it turned out better - it was not in vain that I tried to take pictures, I will wait for your photos - it is interesting to see how in silicone!

I baked one in the Winter Palace, but it didn't come out well with this drawing, I didn't even put it on

Narru, great !!! will you show the photo? what did you bake in?
Lisss's
girls, for those who are worried whether nothing will happen to the cupcake in 6 weeks

soaked the cupcakes today and photographed at the same time. this is the batch that I baked on November 25th. that's how wet it is (just missed it with cognac), pretty, soft and fragrant, after 3 weeks!

English christmas cupcake
Antonovka
Chief, truncated is gone
Lisss's,
Yes, don't worry, it smelled delicious anyway.I imagine how it would be with the whole mixture (it is likely that the smell would be too strong)
And this is my silicone mold cake
English christmas cupcake
RybkA
Girls, you are so handsome from the sides, but I have solid raisins showing through. There is practically no dough I will have to sculpt mastic anyway
Antonovka, you have such beautiful rails! Is it silicone? Was that the bottom?
And I, frankly, was not very happy with the silicone mold, if she had already baked her own, if I don’t even know what ... the walls had moved away, of course, then the remains of the dough remained on the mold, which I just miss. I took the spatula and scraped off what was stuck, and then I stuck it back like plasticine. Although the rectangular ones turned out the same without dough, and there was nothing on the walls ...
Once again she praised herself for giving up the lock, how would I pick it out? In general, I realized that molds with small details are not suitable for this cake. You need something simple.

Here they are my hazel grouses ...
English christmas cupcake English christmas cupcake

English christmas cupcake
Anise
Lisss's
and we tried one nine day old cupcake! I haven't decided which tastes better for myself, the next day after baking or this one - both are delicious! I am bringing you a cutter for control, indeed the cake becomes "homogeneous", in the sense that it is cut evenly in the same way, the knife "does not stumble" on dried fruits and there are no crumbs. And in general I'm going to bake the second portion, it seems as if for some goodies (I found an excuse for additional baking).
English christmas cupcake
Lisss's
Quote: Fork

And how long can you keep the already kneaded dough? Will it last 3, 5 hours?
The fact is that I have a small oven and only one mold fits into it.
Fork, this dough is essentially a butter biscuit, it cannot be kept at all, it is baked right away. I think you'd better split the recipe in half, and knead in half, and bake one at a time.

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