tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943223263330257723.post1641223852241029326..comments2007-12-09T15:36:01.670-08:00Lee McKenziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388019900085158731noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943223263330257723.post-48427618331155030322007-12-09T15:36:00.000-08:002007-12-09T15:36:00.000-08:00Sheryll, I love hearing about other families' Christmas traditions.<BR/><BR/>My grandmother used to bake Christmas fruitcakes in the early fall. She poked the cakes with a skewer and drizzled them with brandy, then wrapped them in cheesecloth and waxed paper. Every ten days or so she'd unwrap them and drizzle a little more brandy on them. By the time the holidays rolled around, those cakes were dark and moist, and the scent when they were sliced was positively heady.Lee McKenziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388019900085158731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943223263330257723.post-22499263761028011862007-12-09T15:29:00.000-08:002007-12-09T15:29:00.000-08:00I have no idea how many slices one might carve out of a Great Cake, but I'm guessing George and Martha entertained a lot, and their guests were well fed!<BR/><BR/>I'd also guess this cake would do a great of job serving a large family gathering of 59+!Lee McKenziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388019900085158731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943223263330257723.post-47582343390503263512007-12-09T13:18:00.000-08:002007-12-09T13:18:00.000-08:00Wow, that is a Great Cake! My mom used to make angelfood cake and used a dozen eggs, but forty? And she still makes her famous Christmas cake, which my ex-husband's father swore he would divorce his wife for. And she does it all by hand, using the same pans she's used for 40 odd years that I know of.Sheryllnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943223263330257723.post-2540561339209316332007-12-09T11:19:00.000-08:002007-12-09T11:19:00.000-08:00Oh my gosh - how many people would a Great Cake serve, d'you suppose?<BR/>Forty eggs – that's like a meal for twenty people, but then you add in the fruit and the butter (my arteries are hardening just thinking about it) and the flower (loved that!) and I think it might serve my family's annual Christmas party – 59 adults and uncountable children this year.<BR/>I might just try that scaled-down version and see how it goes over on a scaled-down version of the family.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and I loved the sound of the apples and pears in there, too.<BR/><BR/>Thanks, Lee. You've made me very hungry – and after I eat that cake, I'll be keeping the trainer at my gym employed for a while longer!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com