Christmas Cake Clearout

The annual question of which recipe to follow has been dictated by the contents of the cupboard this year.  A couple of weeks ago, in a fit of efficiency, I bought packets of what I thought might be the necessary ingredients and pushed them onto the requisite shelf when I reached home.

Baking is something we do in this household; we like it and are reasonably adept at it. This means that we have an entire cupboard dedicated to flours, sugars, fruits, nuts, chocolate and so on. Today, I reached for the necessary fruits of the vine and kept pulling out other, smaller packs, wrapped with elastic bands. One thing led to another and soon the kitchen worktops were strewn with the contents of two of the cupboard shelves, as I, specs on, peered at the sell by-dates. Feeling quite smug at first, I soon had two reasonably sized bags of vintage dried fruits and nuts ready for 're-cycling'. In my defence, 2004 was the oldest date that I found; something my late mother-in-law would have scoffed at and added the contents to the recipe regardless.

The chickens have had added to their diet today: one and a half packets of ice-cream cones circa 2005 and pre-baking clearout;  two or three crumbling meringues found languishing above the bread bin and two mixed bags of currants, sultanas, raisins, dried apricots, soggy flaked almonds, soggy pinenuts, (much to my shame, they're so darned expensive); a few random dates found without packet, some far from hard hazelnuts that even the local squirrels wouldn't touch and a few deteriorating pecans. I've figured that this may be enough for my feathered friends so have saved more crystallised currants and a packet of 2004 dessicated coconut for the ' morrow.

In the meantime my mixing bowl is full of fruit - not all of it from my organised shop. Typically, there is always at least one fruit missing, so I compensate by adding another, hasn't failed so far! This combination is soaking in a more than generous quantity of sherry. The recipe advised two tablespoons, but I felt this to be a bit mean. Perhaps prompted by my desire not to leave opened packs/bottles hanging around for too long, I sloshed in a good half-pint secure in the knowledge that tea time over the festive season will be a good time to stop for a bite to eat!

I'll be up early in the morning to add the dry ingredients and allow the cake time to cook whilst I'm propping up a football match, then home to cook a Sunday roast. And I thought I was going to be in the garden this weekend; that's the trouble with clearing out it always takes longer than you think!