Christmas Cake

This is not your normal Christmas Cake, and to be honest this is the first time for me posting about baking. I love baking, do not mind cooking, but if I had to choose then I would like to bake cakes and biscuits. However being on a diet has somewhat curtailed this particular pastime (I so want to make cookies and shortbread!). One to adapt to all situations, I wanted to find a cake which I could make and would taste nice and I would not think I was missing out on anything. So step forward The Weetabix Cake

This is the second time in making. It is supposed to make enough for 12 slices, and the first time I made it, it made more than 12 slices and I ate way too many slices. By cutting it like this into 8 (I know there is 7 on the plate, but the one I had bitten into could not be photographed!) I feel I am getting a piece of cake! Yum! It is sort of like bread pudding and it has not fat in it whatsoever.

Recipe:

2 Weetabix
113g/4oz sultanas
142ml/5floz skimmed milk
142ml 5floz water
113g/4oz self-raising flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
14g/½ oz artificial sweetener (optional)
1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC, 350ºF or Gas Mark 4

2. Put the Weetabix and sultanas in a bowl. Pour the milk and water over the top and leave to soak up all the liquid.

3. Stir in the flour, mixed spice, sweetener and beaten egg.

4. Spoon the mixture into a 454g (1lb) lined/non-stick loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1¼ hours until cooked.

5. Cool on a wire rack before serving then cut into 12 slices.

This time round I did not make it with the milk because I do not drink skimmed milk. So I made it with 10floz of boiled water but I stuck a Lady Grey tea bag in there and let it steep before pouring it over the weetabix and sultanas.

I have decided that I am going to make this as my Christmas Cake this year and then I will not feel I am missing out, but then also I will not be tempted by something really rich and sickly.

Next experiment is to try it warmed up as maybe a pudding. I have no plans though to sell them on Ebay. For those of you who have not seen the Waitrose advert and Heston’s wonderful looking Christmas Pudding, I refer you to this article here. Words fail me.

It has been a busy day in my kitchen as the saucepan has been also cooking leeks and potatoes for soup! I got a blender for my birthday and I have somewhat wanted to just make soup. The Leek and Potato soup, my first attempt without following a recipe was a success, a bit thick but I just really needed to add more stock in and also none of it ended on the ceiling. Previous weeks attempt with Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato ended up on the ceiling. Too excited about using the blender, pouring too much in, and the liquid being too hot. It was bound to happen, so at least I got it over and done with!

So I have plenty of soup which can be heated up to provide something warming in this cold days. Brrrrr!