Christmas Cake advice please re:brandy

[Lenny]

I have baked the christmas cake, and the recipe says store the cake upside down and drizzle brandy into the holes every week until Christmas.

How much?

Seriously, i haven't got a clue.

I spent so much money on the cake ingredients and goodness knows how long cutting the fruit and mixing it, plus hours in the oven. I'm terrified that i'm going to cut the cake on christmas day and everyone is going to pass out from too much brandy! I don't want to ruin it, but i also don't want to waste the opportunity to create a delicious moist cake that taste perfect.

Help, please. It had only 80mls of brandy in it the for soaking the fruit prior to cooking.

[Floweryfields]

Hmmm, my mum never does this so I can't help really. But I wouldn't be putting too much in as everyone will be on the floor after one slice!

[Rouge]

I'm having dejavu....

But I have no idea.

[Olive]

I make puddings every year...it has alcohol in it but I don't add any after it's cooked, I make it early November

[AnyDream]

I did this one year with one of those tiny bottles of Drambuie. Basically I would flip the cake over then sprinkle a bit all over it a couple of times a week. Didn't use very much, I don't think I even used the whole bottle in the end but it gave a nice fragrant richness to it.

If it was pudding I would add loads because you flame the pudding before you eat it, right?

[Olive]

flame it? now that would be fun

[LuluHB]

I used to use a recipe that said to drizzle brandy over it every week but I have a DH who doesn't touch a drop, so I ended up doing about a TB each time of orange juice, and half a tsp of brandy. Even then he thought there was a bit too much brandy in it, so now I do one that's just OJ and about 1/4 cup brandy for soaking the fruit before making the pud

[Lenny]

Thanks everyone.

My side of the family does not have generations of traditional christmases, and i really have no one to ask. Except Google. And google was vague and confusing (perhaps having consumed too much brandy).

Can i just say i was so blimin proud of myself for baking the cake - i don't want to ruin it. I'll put a tiny bit in. 11 weeks to go. Maybe no more than 2 mls a week.

ETA - ah, LuluHB, never thought of OJ. Hmm, that's an idea.

[Phteven]

PM Epacris. She is the guru of the whisky/brandy soaked fruit cake.

For the flaming pour some over moments before serving and light her up - you end up with a wam outside with just a tiny tang of caramelised sugar. I don't normally eat Christmas pud but I will if it's been set on fire.

And think about serving it with brandy butter or brandy cream.

You would never guess from the above that I'm a teetotaler would you? lol.

One day I'll get around to sharing my Great Aunt Helen's Christmas pudding with world. It was handed down to her so it's a real olde worlde pud and it's delicious.

[Astrolady]

I have baked the christmas cake, and the recipe says store the cake upside down and drizzle brandy into the holes every week until Christmas.

How much?

Seriously, i haven't got a clue.

I spent so much money on the cake ingredients and goodness knows how long cutting the fruit and mixing it, plus hours in the oven. I'm terrified that i'm going to cut the cake on christmas day and everyone is going to pass out from too much brandy! I don't want to ruin it, but i also don't want to waste the opportunity to create a delicious moist cake that taste perfect.

Help, please. It had only 80mls of brandy in it the for soaking the fruit prior to cooking.

This so reminds me of my Great Grandmother in one of the last Christmases we had her place. She used half a bottle of brandy in her mixture. She never poured over the top I don't think, but who knows with her LOL. We couldn't even eat it, and were placing it into serviettes when she wasn't looking so she'd think we had eaten it.

[Ms_Fi]

I feed mine with 1tbsp of fluid every 2 weeks - you can either use brandy of OJ. I've never had a problem with mind unless I used cheap brandy. Then it tasted awful