Catherine Fulvio, Chef and owner of Ballyknocken House and Cookery School, joined Drivetime to discuss Christmas cake, arguably the most divisive treat, and whether it's time to ditch it. Listen back above.
Love it or hate it, Christmas cake is an integral part of the Christmas dinner table. The traditional cake, made with an assortment of dried fruit and alcohol like brandy or sherry, and topped with marzipan and sugar icing, is a dessert that comes with its own long process, often requiring that bakers start working on it weeks before Christmas.
All that work, and it's often the treat least appreciated on the table. Nigella Lawson herself has urged her fans to ditch the classic in favour of a crowd-pleasing chocolate cake. Why is this?
"I think there's foot in both camps on it", Fulvio said. "I think there's a wonderful tradition around a Christmas cake and it's something that families make together. It's that cake that will last, this is the great thing about them."
Nigella's suggestion of a chocolate cake, however, will not last half as long, which can be a problem if you're trying to entertain guests in to the New Year without spending hundreds on different treats. "It depends on the occasion, it depends what your needs are."
Fulvio's suggestion, for the Christmas cake-adverse, is to go for an Irish boiled fruit cake - though Sarah McInerny wasn't impressed.
Fiercely against Christmas cake, Sarah highlighted that it seems to be the dried fruit that some people don't like.
"I think if you're just looking for a dessert cake, just make a dessert cake", Fulvio said.
"Even on Christmas Day as an alternative to the pudding, that's when you'd make a fancy cheesecake or something nice. But I'm not fully in agreement with making something like a chocolate cake where you've got so much food over Christmas anyway, and you have it sitting there in the house then for seven days after Christmas, wondering who's going to eat the chocolate cake? Because it has to be eaten."
Drawing from her Italian roots, Fulvio also suggested a pannetone, a light, spongey cake that come in a festive gift box. Comparing it to brioche, she said it does come with a small bit of dried fruit, but the leftovers are perfect for bread and butter pudding.
As for whether it's time we take the pressure off the big Christmas dinner entirely, such as one listener told the programme - opting instead for an Indian takeaway - Fulvio is staunchly against it.
"One Christmas I decided to do beef wellington instead of turkey, and there was pandemonium on the day!" she recalled.
"It's just tradition and it's just something we get to do once a year, and I absolutely agree with the Christmas cake and I love the smell of it. It may not be my favourite flavour in the world but just the decorating of it, the time together as a family, it's like putting the Christmas tree up. There's some things that are just part of Christmas and wouldn't be the same without it."
