In the UK, the twelfth night, the fifth day of January, the last day of the Nativity feasts, was once the highlight of the twelve-day festival feast. Gifts were being exchanged and people celebrated this moment with the austere months ahead. All of this, including the cake, was brought forward on Christmas Day. The central part of the table was the twelfth cake, a rich fruit cake in brandy, covered with royal icing, decorated with figures of sugar. Inside each twelfth cake, a large dried bean or pea was inserted; on the big day, those who discovered them were proclaimed king or queen for the remainder of the day. The first printed recipe for a twelfth cake dates from 1803.
From the mid-1700s until the end of the 12th century, the twelfth night cakes were very fashionable and often decadently decorated, showing scenes and elaborate sugar or wax figurines. Wreaths seem to have been the most popular decoration and a white icing would have generally been used, which at the time was a sugar paste called gum paste which was shaped like wooden molds. Some twelfth cakes were extremely expensive, and every baker or pastry chef in the country produced a jaw-dropping display case filled with cakes of varying sizes, all covered in wonderful sugarwork. The Twelfth Night cake has declined in popularity since the invention of the Christmas cake (a hybrid of a Twelfth Night cake and a Simnel cake,
Rest time: 2 hour
Cooking time: 1 hour
Total time: 3 hours 50 minutes
Serves ; 10
Ingredients
500 g flour
2 tsp dry yeast
125 ml of lukewarm milk
75 g softened unsalted butter
100 g of cane sugar
350 g of currants or raisins
Orange peels or candied lemons
2 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp crushed cloves
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 pinch of nutmeg
250 ml of cold milk
Preparation:
In a large bowl, add all the flour and make a well in the center.
Add the sugar to the well followed by 125 ml of hot milk.
Add the yeast to the milk and mix the yeast, milk and sugar for a few minutes until you get a frothy mixture.
Add the butter and spices followed by a cup of milk, mix well then add 250 ml of milk before adding the dried fruits and candied fruits.
Cover and let stand for at least 2 hours.
Line a 20 to 22 cm mold with baking paper and add the dough.
Preheat the oven to 200 ° C.
Bake for 1 hour.
If the top browns too much, cover with foil.
Take out and let cool.
Decorate with fondant and marzipan .
Serve and enjoy!
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