1939..............................

 1939 King George VI Christmas Cake

 1939 saw King George and Queen Elizabeth on a tour in Canada. It also saw the rise of a fruitcake recipe fancied by the King. Apparently, my grandmother made it, year after year.   I lost one fruitcake recipe (Shirley's from another blog), but I also misplaced THIS one. I found it recently in  my grandmother's old letter book to my mother, from the 40's. Dark . Rich. Wonderful.......

 "Had a cable from him today at Aldershot. He is in some jam. I sent him $30. His money is in Victory Bonds. Sent him a lovely box of all sorts  $5.75 worth, and socks and underwear. I also had to mail Aunty Barbara  a parcel. But the laugh was on me as I switched address labels. Aunty Barbara got the candy and underwear, and Stuart got the  King's fruitcake I made for Barbara, plus a pound of butter and sugar....."--Isobel Shiels letters, 1940

 RECIPE: Fill LARGE pyrex bowl with the following:

Dates, dark raisins, golden raisins, glace cherries, citrus peel, pecans, walnuts, almonds, cranberries, candied ginger, whatever quantity you wish of each. Pour a bottle of wine over top, or half bottle of whatever is economical. Let soak for a day or two.

Isabella and Robert Shiels 1940

 In the late 30's and 40's my mother kept a journal of expenses. She used to tell me her mother and father were appalled at how expensive city living could be. They were on the farm. My mother was  married,living in Victoria at the time. She vowed never to return to the farm. But she did.,,,during the war years.

sample

 January 5 1939 she spent $32 on all things household. Rent $15, Light $3.99, Shoes $1.00, Dress pattern 30 cents, Groceries $5.00, Smokes $2.00. Jan 20 they went to Vancouver , not for a holiday, but because my father had a hospital appt. It cost $2.00 to stay at a nice hotel.( She also paid the Bay $10.00 for  furniture)

 BEAT TOGETHER: 1 ½ cups butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 ½ cups molasses

 ADD:1 cup strong coffee, Zest and juice of 3 oranges, 

 ADD: 2 tsp allspice, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cloves, 2 tsp nutmeg 

 ADD:( very important) 3 tbsp COCOA ( to make it dark)

 By Sept 1 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. My mother used to tell me that life continued pretty normal, for the most part. She went to work at the Dockyards. Stuart was off to war in 1940. Their parents  were worried about how to keep the farm going, and needed him to stay and work. My grandmother scrimped and saved to make fruitcakes for Christmas for friends around them.

 My mother said that the surprise of a fruitcake and sugar and butter at Aldershot,  was  like gold. He shared it all round.  I always wondered what his Aunty Barbara thought of the candy and underwear SHE got.

 ADD: 6 eggs, beaten in one at a time.

 Aug 19, 1942 Dieppe. Stuart was shot up pretty bad. He never recovered well from the wounds. He wrote a letter of bravado to his mother and sister. He survived but he did not go home then.

 ADD: 4cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda.

 ADD ALL the FRUIT in BOW, PLUS the wine. Add extra flour if batter is too thin.

 DIVIDE between 10 mini pans and 1 loaf tin, lined with, or whatever pans you like, as long as they are greased and lined with parchment paper.

Isobel, Isabelle Shiels, Nessie ( mum)

 On the farm, life continued on. My grandmother continued to make 1939 King George  fruitcakes.It was her only recipe. I was told she still sent one to Stuart every year . He was a favourite of hers. She wrote to him about the life on the farm. She sent him money. 

 "Tomorrow I am making tomato pickles, crab apples and cucumbers. Dad made us a dinky little chicken house with wood he scavenged. Neighbours are moving to  Trail to see about getting a job.Hens are laying pretty good, but some people aren't getting any eggs at all..."-Isobel Shiels letters 1942

 I met Stuart, once, when he came to Victoria. He was not well, trying to get a new start. He stayed for a while. Talked quietly with my mother. I'm not sure what about. He left  for parts unknown. He came in late fall, November. She had been making fruitcakes. She loaded him up with treats before he left.  I like to imagine she gave him one of the 1939 Christmas cakes that she and my grandmother used to make...... 

 BAKE: 300 degrees about 1 /2 hours. Check often to see if they are baked.

 LET COOL. WRAP in plastic bags. Freeze. Give away.....

                                     George, Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth, Margaret Rose

Photographs 2019

MOLE DARK RICH CHRISTMAS CAKE recipe

 “Wonderful. Gives a whole new meaning to flour power. You'll undoubtedly change the world, one fruitcake at a time.” ― Kimberly Frost, Barely Bewitched

MOLE RICH DARK FRUITCAKE
 I  made one fruitcake recipe  this year. Dark and Rich. Mole rich. Mole sauce is also used in Mexican cooking. Cocoa is added to the recipe. Not to  turn it into chocolate, but to make it dark and rich.

SET OVEN to 275 degrees. (On a convection oven ,if using top and bottom tier, I put it to 300)

 SOAK in IN LARGE BOWL:                               

6 cups dark raisins                                                                                                          

1 ½ cups chopped dates                                                 

1 pound mixed peel                                                         

½ pound candied cherries                                               

2 cups almonds                                                                      

1 cup walnuts                                                                       

1 cup pecans                                                                         

2 cups prunes                                                                                                                2 ½ cups Whiskey ( just chug it into the bowl. It burns off in the baking)

 *You can use orange juice, but it is sooooo blah. The booze pumps up the taste and bakes out.This year I used some of the wine we make, just cause it was handy.

  The recipe I have  is about 70 years old.  Makes about 16 small loaf pans. The kind you get from the store. Small pans that you grease and line with parchment. I line them up on cookie sheets.The wee loaves are very cute. Very freezeable.

 Spray with Pam. Then slide in a piece of parchment paper. Spray again. When you plop in the batter, smooth the tops. I put the batter right to the top. Makes a pudgy little loaf.

 2 cups butter             2 cups sugar         beaten together    
ADD in 3 tbsp cocoa.   

 Beat in 12 eggs  two at a time.

 3 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, good pinch of salt.

 1 tblsp vanilla extract ( use the good stuff....I use Madagascar) and 1 tblsp almond extract

 Mix together, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup cranberry juice or grape juice, with 1/2 cup strong coffee

 Throw all of this into the batter. Stir.

 Add about 3 1/4 cups flour , 2 tsp allspice, 4 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg ground of course.

 Add 1 cup extra flour into the soaking fruit. Mix together.

 COMBINE SOAKED FRUIT with BATTER in BOWL. Use  CLEAN hands or baking gloves. It is a lot of batter to handle. You might have to add extra flour to get the proper consistency...like an extra 1/2 cup. Just eyeball it.

 Stuff in the fruit/batter into the foil pans. Place on cookie sheets. If you have a convection oven this works really well, and you can bake them all at once. Doesn’t need a pan of hot water in the centre.

 Bake at 275  about 45 minutes, then add more time as you need, testing the centres with a sharp knife. I think in the end it took about an hour. But each time you bake  these the time differs, so add ten minutes after the initial 45, and then add less as it counts down. Should be a dry edge you pull out of the cakes. Just be sure to watch them and test till you are satisfied they are done.

 You can brush with a little whiskey when done baking , if you wish.( I really dislike the taste of  alcohol on xmas cakes ), but that’s just my preference. So the whiskey you smother the fruit with, should be enough, as it bakes right in.  I freeze them in little bags, with the ingredient list slipped under the plastic. 

             "At Christmas all roads lead home..." -Marjorie Holmes

Photographs 2018

SHIRLEY's CHRISTMAS CAKE 1997

"Christmas, my child, is love in action.Every time we love, every time we give, it is Christmas in action." -Dale Evans

 SHIRLEY's CHRISTMAS CAKE  1997 
I love this fruitcake recipe. Not just because it is really wonderful. But because it came from my good friend, Shirley, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.  She and her husband lived across the road from us. She still lives across there, all these years later. We talk across the miles, and the miles evaporate. Every Christmas I make this cake I think of her, and of our friendship. And every year I make it, I phone to tell her. "Shirley! I'm making your cake!"I think of the warmth and blessings I have received from her across the years.I am the luckiest person in the world .

 When I first met Shirley, my family and I  were waiting outside our new house in Fredericton. The moving truck had not arrived. But Shirley did. With her young grand children in tow. They carried cakes, pies, cookies, goodies and bubbly warmth and happiness. I loved her the minute we met. Shirley's incredible humour and love of God  was infectious.  Even when we are now so far away on the West Coast.  So, Merry Christmas, Shirley,let your light shine!

 COMBINE FRUIT in BOWL:                                                                       

3 cups golden raisins combined with dried cranberries , if your so wish.                                                   2 cups glazed /dried fruit ( your choice)                   

6 candied / dried pineapple rings, cut up                   

1/3 cups orange peel/fresh or candied               

¾ cup chopped dried apricots

 ½ cup candied ginger  ( if you wish)                          

1 ½ cups chopped almonds                                          

1 ½ cups pecan halves                                                 

1 cup flour for dusting fruit                                      

1 cup of Grand Marnier Brandy

½ cup orange juice, or ground up orange, to go with brandy

 LET FRUIT SIT a day at least to let the booze soak in.I don't think Shirley used Grand marnier in hers, but I find it gives it an extra zap ( it bakes in, anyways.) This year I used Blackberry wine instead, and it turned the batter golden. 

 "The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and generosity and goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul,and we look out upon the world's busy life,and become more interested in people than in things."
                                                  -Thomas S. Monson

                      BATTER:                                               

                                                    1 tsp almond extract        

1 pound butter                              1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups white sugar                         3 cups flour

10 large eggs                                  pinch of salt

                                                     1 tsp baking powder

          Line  small loaf pans with greased parchment paper. You can find loaf pans in the section of the grocery store where they sell foil and cling wrap. I find it makes about 10-13 small loaf pans.

 Mix batter with mix master till smooth.

 From BATTER List, cream butter with sugar, add eggs 1 at a time. Add the remaining ingredients from this list.  

Byrdy...14 weeks. Watches.

 When the batter is ready, pour in the fruit that has been standing. Mix with hands 
( clean hands).

 Divide batter between pans. The small loaf tins work so well as they freeze great and are the perfect size for gift giving. I mail these even down into the States. They arrive intact. 

 Bake at 300 degrees for about 1  ½ hours ( give or take. Sometimes it takes an hour). I kind of guesstimate the time, and check after 40 minutes by testing the centre.  

Byrdy and best friend, Poe....

 You do not want to over bake the little loaf pans , so check often.  The batch this year made 13 small loaf pans. Wrap when cool and freeze until ready to mail, or eat. 

Cordelia

 I mail these in the foil pans, by the way.  When giving away locally, put an ingredient list on the top of the cake so everyone can see what is in it. I don't brush cake tops with any alcohol. I don't think it needs it. 

 "God never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving.If He gives us the gift of Christmas it is because we have the ability to understand and receive it." -Pope Francis

Couldn't resist. Smokey about ten days ago.....