Submariners Recipe Book

Three-tier Wedding Cake.
(Who want's to be in the middle?)

• 1/2 lb Currants.
• 3 tsp. ground cinnamon.
• 2 lb Sultanas.
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground mace.
• 2 lb Stoned raisins.
• 3 lb Butter.
• 1 lb sweet almonds.
• 3 lb Sugar.
• 1 1/2 lb glace cherries.
• 24 large eggs.
• 1 lb mixed peel.
• 1/3 pint rum/brandy.
• 3 1/2 lb flour.
• A little caramel.
• A pinch of salt.

Prepare a 12-inch, an 8-inch, and a 6-inch tin.

Wash and pick the dried fruit, stone the raisins, blanch and chop the almonds, cut the glace cherries in half, chop the mixed peel, grate the lemon rind and strain the juice.Sieve the flour,salt, cinnamon and mace into a large mixing basin.Stir in prepared fruit, nuts, peel etc.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale in colour, and add the eggs, beating each one in separately. Should the mixture curdle, mix in a little flour.

Fold in the dry ingredients, adding the Rum or Brandy and lemon juice gradually. Add sufficient caramel to give the mixture a good brown colour.

Pour into tins which have been lined with paper and well greased, and bake in a slow oven (300-325F.) for 4 1/2---6 1/2 hours, according to size.

NB.If preferred the Rum/Brandy can be poured over the cakes when they are cold.

To decorate the cake.

When the cakes have been coated with almond paste and Royal icing and have been put on silver boards they can be decorated. About 6lb almond paste and 10lb icing sugar will be needed for this large cake.

Obviously the piped design is in the hands of it's creator. Anchors, doves, leaves and silver horse-shoes etc.are bought ready-made and added for decoration.

When making a three-tiered cake it is quite usual to use pillars of one height for the bottom tier, and slightly shorter ones to support the top tier. 3 inch and 2 inch pillars are the norm.

CUTTING A WEDGE FROM A WEDDING OR BIRTHDAY CAKE.

Sometimes a wedge is cut from a celebration cake before it is decorated. When the design is marked out, decide where a wedge can be cut without spoiling the decoration, make two neat cuts through the sugar coating from edge to centre of cake, and with a sharp knife cut right through the almond paste and cake, completely severing the wedge.

The wedge is usually encircled with white satin ribbon. To protect this from grease stains, cut a strip of thick greaseproof paper slightly more than twice the width of the ribbon and long enough to go round the two cut surfaces of the wedge. Crease it length wise along the middle, slip the ribbon in between, and tie it round the wedge.Replace the wedge in the cake, and complete the decoration.

Instruct the Happy Couple to retain the Top layer for the Sprogs Christening!

Silver horse shoes etc. can be added for decoration.