Christmas Panettone with rum butter



For the panettone, grease a 12-hole, deep-sided muffin tin with butter.
In a bowl, mix the 50g candied peel, 100g sultanas and 100g dried cranberries with 2tbs rum or boiling water until combined. Set aside.
Add 425g strong white bread flour, 60g castor sugar and 1tsp salt to the bowl of a food mixer. Add 1 packet of instant active yeast to the flour, then add 160ml tepid water and the 2 whole eggs and beat until the mixture comes together as a dough. (This can also be done by hand or using a hand-held electric whisk.)
Beat in the 75g softened butter a little at a time, then add the orange zest from 1 orange and continue to beat for 4-5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth.
Set the dough aside, covered, in its bowl, to prove for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.

 

Knock back the dough, sprinkle over the dried fruit, then knead the fruit into the dough, either in the bowl, or on a lightly floured work surface (it will feel very sticky).
Roll the dough into a ball and cut it into 10-12 equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball on a lightly floured work surface. Place one into each hole of the muffin tin. Cover the tin with cling film then set aside to prove again for about 45 minutes, until risen.
Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.
Brush the top of the risen panettone dough with the egg wash, then bake in the oven for 17 minutes, or until golden-brown and risen. Remove from the tin and set aside to cool on a wire rack.


For the rum butter
500ml/18fl oz double cream
125g/4½oz soft light brown sugar
5 tbsp rum
For the rum butter, beat the double cream in the bowl of a free-standing food mixer for 3-5 minutes, or until it turns to solid fatty lumps with a liquid base. Cover the mixer with a clean tea towel or muslin cloth halfway through beating, because the liquid will spatter everywhere as it starts to separate.
Line a large bowl with the same tea towel or muslin, then tip in the mixture. Bring the cloth together at the edges to encase the solid butter and squeeze out all the liquid. Discard the liquid.
Tip the butter back into the bowl and beat in the soft light brown sugar for 3-4 minutes, or until pale and fluffy, adding the rum a little at a time.
Spoon the rum butter into sterilised jars and seal. Chill in the fridge or freeze until needed, or serve immediately alongside the warm panettones.
Throughout the year make a less rich panettone using just the sultanas and minus the rum butter.

Last minute Christmas cake

 

For the cake:





500g mixed dried fruit
125ml/4fl oz brandy
1 orange zest and juice
175g/6oz soft dark brown sugar
175g/6oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
3 eggs
175g/6oz plain flour
1 tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp ground ginger

For the icing:

200g/7oz icing sugar
1 egg white
1 tbsp glycerine
 

Place the mixed dried fruit into a bowl and pour over 100ml/3½fl oz of the brandy. Stir in the orange zest and juice to combine, then cover and set aside overnight until the fruit has absorbed all of the liquid.

When the fruit has soaked, preheat the oven to 140C/120C Fan/Gas 1. Grease the inside of a 20cm/8in non-stick cake tin with butter. Fold a large sheet of baking paper into a strip that is 3 layers thick and big enough to wrap around the outside of the tin making a high 'collar' (this will help the cake bake evenly and prevent it over-browning as it bakes). Secure the collar with string.

Beat the sugar and butter in a free-standing food mixer or large bowl for at least 3-4 minutes, or until it has turned a light caramel colour and is fluffy. Crack in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in the flour, mixed spice, ground ginger and the soaked fruit until completely combined. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top using a palette knife.

Bake the cake for 1½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (if it does not, cook the cake for a further 10 minutes and check once more).

Remove the cake from the oven and drizzle with the remaining brandy. Set aside to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack (see tip about feeding the cake).

For the icing, in a free-standing food mixer, whisk together the icing sugar, egg white and glycerine until thick enough to hold its shape – this will take 3-4 minutes.

When the cake is cold, dollop the icing on top and spread all over the cake using a palette knife.