Aunt Marie’s White Christmas Cake
I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas……Cake
We had our first real snowfall of the season and for me that always means one thing…time to bake my Aunt Marie’s recipe for White Christmas Cake.
Christmas Memories
Every Christmas my brothers and sisters and I eagerly awaited the box of delicious baked goods my Aunt Marie sent us every year from her home in South Porcupine Ontario. My Aunt was a marvelous baker, so we knew everything would be wonderful, but my absolute favorite was her White Christmas Cake.
One Christmas, when I was 11 or 12, I decided I was going to bake my own cake and send one to my Aunt as a surprise.
I rummaged through my Mom’s recipe box with all the handwritten recipes handed down from her mother looking for the white Christmas cake recipe. I was in for a surprise… instead of actual quantities or measurements the recipe referred to 5 cents worth of this, 2 cents of that!
Aunt Marie to the rescue, she sent me a copy of her recipe. I was pretty proud of my 1st attempt and shipped off one of my cakes via express post to my aunt the next day!
Many years have gone by since that 1st attempt and baking this loaf cake has become a Christmas tradition for me. I’m not sure if I love the cake itself, or all the happy warm memories associated with it, but I know it wouldn’t be Christmas without it.
I hope you will give it a try, and that you enjoy it as much as I do!
Not your average fruit cake
If you are looking for a regular old traditional fruit cake recipe, this is not it! This recipe includes sour cream and lots of butter. It bakes into a lovely golden white cake that is incredibly tender, and moist. Although there is fruit in this cake, it’s not like your average fruit cake. It has just the perfect amount of fruit to balance the buttery richness of the cake.
The recipe is enough for 2 standard loaf pans, or 4 small ones. Perfect for gifting! And really that is what Christmas baking is all about, sharing with the people you love!
Equipment
- 2 standard size loaf pans or 4 small ones
Ingredients
- 1½ cups white sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups golden raisins
- 1 cup dried cherries (or substitute dried cranberries)
- 1½ cups softened butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Place the dried cherries and raisons in a bowl and cover with warm water to soak for 10 -15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat oven;325 for standard size loaf pan300 for small loaf pans
- In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking soda and cream of tarter together.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and butter to combine. Mix in vanilla, lemon juice and sour cream.
- Add the raisons and cherries to the dry ingredients and stir through. Combine the wet ingredients with dry. The batter will be extremely stiff.
- Standard size loaf pans – Bake at 325 for 1 hour then reduce temperature to 300 and bake for an additional 50 minutes to an hour Small loaf pans – bake at 300 for one hour then reduce temperature to 275 and bake for an additional 50 minutes to an hourFor both sizes, the cakes are done when they are a light golden brown on the edges and a long skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Remove the cakes from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.