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THE ENGLISH HOMETHE ENGLISH HOME 115115The story began with one Christmas cake, bakedas a gift. Three young girls decided to use theirgrandmother’s family recipe to make ahome-made present for their godparents. “It was such asuccess that one of the godparents insisted on buyingten, and that’s how we started,” explains their mother,Sisi Edmiston, who is also part of the family business.In 25 years the handmade production has grownfrom a handful of cakes mixed in a spotlessly cleanwheelbarrow, to 70 cakes made in the family kitchen,to thousands now made in a professional kitchen inLondon. “We think about half a million people roundthe world have tasted our cakes!” exclaims Sisi.True to the original premise, the cakes are stilllimited edition. Each of the sisters, Pandora, Portiaand Scarlet, has full-time jobs, so the cakes are madefrom August to September with the tenacious trioworking in their holiday time and through the night.Portia explains: “It has become an annual tradition forus to drop everything and club together to help eachother. It is very hard work with long nights, but we getby with music and lots of laughter.”The family cake recipe is very old and does not usecurrants, “We use huge golden sultanas, enormousblack raisins, naturally-dyed cherries, pineapple juice,fresh mixed peel with spices, whole hazelnuts andbeautiful whole walnuts,” describes Sisi. The fruit issourced in May, and the Edmiston sisters insist upon``````selecting the freshest produce sourced from around theworld. “The secret of any Christmas cake is to get thebest quality fruit, which has a good quality skin thatsoaks up the alcohol, so that the fruit doubles in sizewith the added cognac.”The Edmiston sisters bake their Christmas cakes at alow heat. “A six-inch cake, which is our standard cake,takes nearly four hours to cook very slowly,” Sisiexplains. After baking, the cakes are carefully wrappedin airtight, greaseproof paper and left in pallets on ashelf. Once matured, they are decorated with fruit andnuts glazed with damson jam, allowing many returningcustomers to conspire in a secret. “A lot of people buyan un-iced cake, and their husbands still don’t knowthey don’t make it,“ laughs Sisi.Christmas cake is a glorious focal point for a specialteatime on Christmas Day, as well as a temptingrefreshment to offer guests over the festive period,which is why the girls first began making cakes. “Welearned from granny that the perfect hostess is stressfree, which is very difficult to pull off at Christmastimewith a house full of relatives,” Portia reveals. “Stockingup with Christmas cake is the best way to prepareyourself for the Christmas rush.”``````The cakes usually sell out online by the second week ofDecember. For details of where they are sold, or to buyone online, visit thechristmascake.comTHE CHRISTMAS CAKE MAKERSThe Edmiston sisters delight in adding ribbons and other finishing touches to ordersfor their rich and fruity Christmas cakes, which are handmade to a prized family recipe``````ABOVE, FROM LEFTThe Edmistons haveperfected theirChristmas-cake recipeover the years.To use up leftovercake, create festiveice cream using theirfamily recipe includedon the website. Visitthechristmascake.com for details.The cake makes anopulent centrepiecefor afternoon tea, andonline orders can beposted anywhere.OPPOSITE The sistershave full-time jobs,but come together tobake the cakes, andhave received manythank you letters fromcustomers, includingthe mother of aserving soldier, whoseson was very thankfulfor a taste of home.TEH US DEC15 Making Xmas Special.indd 115 14/10/2015 11:29