Rich fruit Christmas cake as we know it today started life In the middle ages, In England a day of fasting was part of religious worship and to line the stomach after the fast, in the bitter cold of winter, plum porridge or pottage was the traditional food eaten. The pottage or porridge was a kind of broth made in large batches and included raisins and other dried fruit, spices and wine and meat or at least meat stock and it was thickened with breadcrumbs, oats or ground almonds.
During the 16th century more expensive ingredients were added to the pottage instead of oats flour, butter and eggs were used. Eventually with the advent of ovens the mixture changed to become baked rather than boiled and other dried fruit was added. Because the cake had such keeping qualities bakers would make them a year In advance.
The cake was originally eaten at Easter then evolved to be known as the Twelfth Night cake when seasonal dried fruit and spices, which were symbolic, the spices bought by the Magi, were added. It was consumed on 5th January, the last day of the festivities.
The first time Christmas cake was eaten on Christmas day was
during the Victorian era in 1830’s. and the bakers would decorate them with winter
snow scenes. They became very popular for Christmas parties and
by the 1870’s
the traditional Christmas cake was the same as we know it today.
I’m sure you’ll recognise that no bake Christmas cake contains the same type of ingredients, but instead of cooking it we can benefit from it’s full nutritional content by eating the ingredients uncooked.
Just as traditional Christmas cake is covered in marzipan and icing, this none baked Christmas cake will receive the same treatment and can be iced using xylitol.
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