OH is making the Christmas Cake!

[BarleySugar]

Well, not right this moment, but he will be soon. I fell over on my birthday and thought I'd just sprained my wrist. 5 weeks on, after 2 half casts followed by a full cast I've now been told it has to be immobilised for another 6 weeks and a bone scan has been ordered. I was pretty fed up when I left the hospital, and his suggestion of a cake from Tesco went down like a lead balloon, so we went to said shop and bought the ingredients. It will be later than I normally make it (usually half term, but did this the first Sunday of the week off), but at least it will be home cooked.
Still it is snowing hard outside, so if it carries on, cake making might be a good activity if I get a snow day from school. I will have to supervise after all. I also bought the ingredients for a fatless mincemeat recipe. I don't know that he's realised yet that the cake does not need 2kg bramley apples

[Jelliebabe]

Sounds good! the cake that is!

I've just had my carpal tunel done today and have a massive comedy bandage on. has to stay on for two weeks! don't know how I would managw with a cast like yours you poor thing!

Have noidea how the surgeon thought I would be able to drive!

[binley100]

My OH always used to make our chrimble cake as I was out busy with the girls dance festivals .......

[BarleySugar]

I sympathise though. I had both done (different times) and it wasn't much fun. Mind you one poor lady was booked in to have both done at once, but as several of us were on the 2nd time round we told her she'd never manage as she lived on her own. It made us wonder at the person who booked her in!
Mine have been fine for the past 18 odd years (so long!), it made such a difference. I am sure you will find the same, good luck.

[Patchninja]

You poor thing with the plaster. It must be so frustrating.

[Hilary B]

My son bakes a good Christmas cake. He made one when he was about 12, from the Delia Smith recipe starting with a jar of mincemeat.
We end up with 3 cakes sometimes, a 'conventional' one (usually bought), my special (I don't like what the shops call 'vine fruits' so I make one with dried apricots and such) and a 'tunis' cake, madeira type with loads of chocolate on top, and deorated with buttercream and marzipan fruits.
With only the 2 of us, that lot lasts a long time!

[Flummery]

My Dad used to make and ice the Christmas cake. Ma iced it once and the icing ended up in a sort of white, sticky moat around the cake! Dad was an engineer and the icing was something to see. He had a very sweet tooth and his avowed aim was to manage to get as much icing on the cake as possible. He used to prick out circles on the cake and pipe basketwork over them - filling in each little space with a silver ball! He made curved baskets over the backs of spoons and slippd them off when dry to add to the cake. It was a work of art, the most amazing thing being that as the cake was square, he managed to get 4 pieces with all icing and no cake - the corners!

I bake ours but I don't ice it. I don't like icing.

[BarleySugar]

I;m sure there are loads of men prefectly capable of making lovely cakes, and preobably enjoy doing it. However My OH is not one of them. Well, the cake probably will be lovely, but he will not enjoy doing it. He really isn't happy cooking anything at all, although he will make dinner for when I get in from work as he's retired.
Today is our first snow day from school, we soldiered in Tuesday and Wedsnesday, with only just enough staff to keep open, but what we had overnight has closed all the schools by the looks of it. I've managed to weigh out the ingredients, but I'm not too good at cracking eggs one handed although I know all the swish cooks do it. I've left the bowls prominently on display in the kitchen in the hopes he will take the hint