Twelfth Night Cake, eaten in France on Twelfth Night (6th January) which traditionally marks the end of the Christmas celebrations and is the time for taking down all those sparkly decorations. In France there is a medieval tradition of baking a cake containing a dried bean. You can be king or queen for the evening if you get the piece of cake with the bean in. If you are doing the baking make sure you discreetly mark where the bean is because then you can be crowned with a paper crown. You will be all powerful and can demand favours and forfeits from the guests.
Use gluten free flour and gluten free baking powder to make this cake gluten free.
Vegetarian Gluten Free (if gluten free flour & baking powder are used)
Cuisine French
Time 1 – 2 hrs
Skill Level Newbie
Serves 12
Ingredients
| 175g butter |
| 175g sugar |
| 1 1/2 tsp your chosen baking powder |
| 175g your chosen flour |
| 75g ground almonds |
| 6 tbsp evaporated milk |
| 3 egg whites |
| a dried bean (broad, kidney or haricot) |
| 75g chopped candied orange and lemon peel |
| 50g crystallised ginger, chopped |
| 100g diced dried pineapple |
| 75g glacé cherries, halved |
| 75g flaked almonds |
| 3 tbsp warmed apricot jam |
| 100g chopped dried apricots or dried fruits or your choice |
.
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 160C or 140C if you have a fan oven.
- Grease and line a 20cm/8inch round deep cake tin.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and ground almonds, add the evaporated milk and fold together.
- Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the mixture with the fruits (except the apricots) and almonds. Press the bean into the mixture. Be careful not to over mix and knock the air out of the mixture.
- Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the top.
- Bake for about 1 1/2 hours or until firm to the touch in the centre.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Brush the top of the cake with the apricot jam and press over the dried apricots and flaked almonds in a pattern of your choice.
