Make the Christmas Eve Cake

Well let's get going, just because it has been flooding and their are people you are only vaguely related to sleeping on your couch, this is no time to slack off playing Xbox. For those of you on the late schedule you can do this anytime in the next week. Everyone else this weekend is cake time.

You will need:

A butter golden cake mix, you can usually find it from the folks that bring us Moist Deluxe (get three boxes but more on that later). A box of cook and serve vanilla pudding, 4 eggs and a good vegetable oil. If you choose you may also want cranberries (dried), coconut, and nuts of your choice. I usually make one with only cranberry, the next one with cranberries and nuts and the third one with all that and coconut as well.

About the fruit. If you have been following along you should have enough fruit for three cakes. One for you to eat tomorrow, one for you to eat the next day and then one more for snacking. You know. Later. Or you can share them with, people.

Set the old flame box to 300

Prepare a bundt pan by buttering it VERY well and then flour it.

In a big mixing bowl dump the cake mix and the pudding mix. Add the four eggs and the 2/3 cup of oil. Mix that just enough to blend it all together. Mix in any of the nuts, cranberries and or coconut. Use a strainer to drain the syrup off of about a cup and a half of the fruit, GENTLY fold the fruit into the cake batter. Pour all of that into the bundt pan, turning if need be to distribute it around the pan.

Put the cake in the oven, bake for ever, actually it is about 55 to 65 minutes, it will get a tawny golden brown on top and will set. If it is all gooshy mid-way in the ring give it another 5 minutes.

Save the syrup in the freezer, it is great on ice cream and lends a nice fruitiness to next years cake.