Recipe Box Christmas Cake The Sri Lankan Christmas cake is far more moist and flavorful than the European Christmas cake.   Ingredients For the cake 1. 1 lb semolina 2. 2 oz flour 3. 2 lb soft sugar 4. 1 wineglassful brandy 5. 1 wineglassful rose-water 6. 1 wineglassful bee's honey 7. ½ lb ginger preserve 8. ½ lb chow-chow preserve 9. ½ lb mixed candied peel 10. 25 egg yolks 11. 10 egg whites   1. 1 lb butter 2. 1 lb raisins 3. 1 lb sultanas 4. ½ lb currants 5. ½ pumpkin preserve 6. ½ tbsp cardamoms, powdered 7. ½ tbsp cinnamon, powdered 8. ½ tbsp cloves, powdered 9. ½ nutmeg, grated 10. 200 g cashew nuts     For the almond paste 1. ½ lb cashew nuts, minced almost to a paste 2. 500g icing sugar 3. 1 egg white, very lightly beaten 4. ½ wineglass brandy 5. 3 tsp vanilla essence 6. 1 tsp almond essence 7. 1 tsp rose essence     Make the cake: Cut the raisins, sultanas and currents in half. Cut the preserves into small (but not tiny) pieces - between ¼ - ½ cm cubes. Shred the candied peel and chop the cashew nuts into small, but not tiny pieces. Mix the fruits with the flour. Beat the sugar and the butter until very light and smooth. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each is added. Whisk the egg whites until stiff to the point it would not fall off if when the bowl is held upside down. Gradually mix the semolina, and then add the fruits, cashew nuts and spices. Add the brandy, rose-water and honey and the whisked egg whites. Butter a cake tin and line with 6 layers of newspaper and 6 layers of oil paper. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake overnight under the lowest possible oven temperature (around 1000C). Constantly check to ensure that the cut fruit does not burn. When the cake is ¾ done, switch off the oven and leave in that heat to bake the balance ¼. When the cake is done, carefully turn out the cake and leave to cool. Seal in an air-tight container and leave at least for a week for the flavors to develop. You may cover this with an almond paste and then decorate with Royal icing. To make the almond paste: Mix all the ingredients except the egg white. Add the egg white little at a time to form a stiff paste. Roll the paste between two sheets of polythene into a thin sheet and cover the cake. Chef's tip: Always use the best quality fruits to save time and for a great result and don't chop the fruit into tiny bits, but relatively large pieces.