Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyororin
I`m not familiar with the traditional UK Christmas cake - so I can`t really comment on how they would compare - but I have had a really delicious mincemeat cake and an excellent Yule Log style cake that wasn`t just a disguised sponge roll cake.
As strange as it may seem, it is usually the smaller cake places that have the truly good stuff. They spend their time making things that taste good rather than on mass production of sponge... So they don`t make tons of money and stay eternally small.
If I recall correctly, there is gelatin mixed into the batter itself to preserve shape and prevent crumbling during shipping. It changes the texture a bit but not the flavor itself - supposedly. I`ve never liked sponge cake to begin with, even the "real" and (so I`ve heard) good types - so the ones sold here are doubly unpleasant.
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It's like a -very- hearty kind of fruit cake with mixed nuts, spice, and (in my house at least) a lot of brandy or rum. My mum typically soaks all the fruit in black tea to make it plump and keeps feeding it with brandy after it's cooked before icing it at the last minute.
I can believe that about the small shops. Some of the best patisseries I have ever been to were tiny little places simply run by people passionate about cake.
I love my local market too; it's mostly small-holder's selling off surplus but they really care about their produce so it's all amazingly good.
Urgh, gelatin? That would explain it. No wonder it's so horrible. I can't see how it doesn't affect the flavor, it would surely stop the air from working through it properly when it's cooking. Oh well, Japan does good croissant; I can forgive them the sponge cake.