It’s stir-up Sunday, and so for the first time ever, I did what you’re supposed to do and made my Christmas cake. Ironic, really, considering that I have no intention of eating any of it, and a bit pointless since no-one really wants Christmas cake at Christmas. However, it was worth it for the smell that pervaded the house for the whole day while it cooked and cooled, and for the satisfaction of taking part in a quaint English ritual.
The recipe came from what has become my favourite of all books for Christmas food, Martha Day’s The Complete Christmas Cookbook, which I got as an impulse buy in a National Trust shop at Morden Hall Park last year for £4.99.
