BANGALORE: Christmas is perhaps three months away but if you want the perfect moist, succulent, rich and savoury Christmas cake then you need to begin right away. Grand Mercure Bangalore yesterday hosted the traditional Christmas cake mixing ceremony by the poolside.The event was attended by guests, socialites and select corporate personalities.“Christmas cake is perhaps the most important aspect of Christmas and it’s little surprise that preparations for the Christmas cake begin well over two months in advance. Here too at Grand Mercure Bangalore we are setting in the joyous mood for Christmas with a traditional cake mixing ceremony. And we believe that the best and most important ingredient in the cake mix is the merriment and enthusiastic participation of our guests” said Hament Rai, GM, Grand Mercure Bangalore.In fact in many parts of the world purists begin mixing the ingredients for the cake more than six months in advance. Chef Johnson and chef Vilas, from Grand Mercure Bangalore is all set to host the special annual cake mixing ceremony at the Hotel this week. Meticulous detailing goes into the whole process right from sourcing the right ingredients, cleaning and chopping them and then mixing it with alcohol at a ceremony with lots of merry making and fun.The blend consists of dry fruits like raisins, black currants, prunes, glazed dates, cherries and candied orange and lemon rind and of course cashews, pistachios and almonds.Then comes the part that everybody liked bestpouring in generous quantities of liquor, fresh juices like orange, grape and lime and sometimes even jars of honey are generously added to soak all the mixture be added before the mixture is tossed and patted till all the fruits and nuts are evenly coated in the mixture.This is stored in air tight containers so that moisture doesn’t creep in. The whole idea behind mixing these three months in advance is so that it soaks in all the flavour.Also the kind of alcohol that you use is important, rum and brandy are the best but using wine and beer is not recommended because they have a lot of moisture.This special tradition of cake mixing can be traced back to the 17th century in Europe, when the cake mixing ceremony marked the arrival of the harvest season. During this time lots of fruits and nuts were harvested and prepared to go into the making of the traditional plum cake.This was saved till the next harvest, with the hope that it would bring yet another fruitful year. The sugar content of the liquor and the fruit juices helped preserve all the ingredients. The stirring ceremony is a part of an age-old Christmas tradition of cake mixing and making your wishes for the New Year.The ceremony is a time for mixing the ingredients of the festive fruitcakes together with wine and liquor in advance so that the ingredients can develop a better aroma and taste.Chef Vilas is the pastry chef at Grand Mercure, Bangalore. He has a decade of experience behind him and has worked with many hotel chains, nationally and internationally. Having started at an early age he realised his passion for bakery and patisserie and has worked relentlessly to hone his skills to create mouth watering sweet delicacies for our hotel.His new menu comprises of his specially handcrafted timeless and classic desserts that he has perfected over the past eleven years. Vilas joins the head chef Johnson in welcoming you for the annual fruit mixing at Grand Mercure, Bangalore.
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