Add 50grams of Mixed Peel………

Mixed Peel or Candied Peel is a lovely ingredient.  It adds a tangy flavour to many recipes and is delicious in Hot Cross Buns, Christmas Cakes and Minced Pies.  It is also a key ingredient in many of the fruitcake or spiced cake recipes within the Baking Bible.

Within the UK, mixed peel or candied peel is readily available in all supermarkets within the baking section.  It comes in little pots, all chopped up and ready, just pop the lid and you’re good to go.  So it will come as no surprise that when Charlie and I read the recipe for our next cake “Old Fashioned Seed Cake” it required mixed peel. “No problem” I said, “I will pick some up this week and on Sunday we can bake”.  I spent a very long week checking out various supermarkets in the Eindhoven area looking for Mixed Peel or something similar…….Nothing, Narda, Zilch!!!  

It’s too late to order on line, and I can’t find it anywhere… I know we’ll make some!! It can’t be too difficult… can it? I’ve got an Orange, Lemon and a Lime so we can rustle up some on Sunday morning and then we can bake on Sunday afternoon. Perfect.  I searched on line and it didn’t look too complicated, just a little time consuming so I thought I would share with you how you do it, just in case, like me you need Mixed Peel and you too live in a Peel free zone.

 

 

How to Make Mixed Peel or Candied Peel.

 

Basically it’s really simple you need 8.5 floz of water and 128g of sugar per Orange.

Depending on the size of your lemons – I had large lemons so I counted them as an Orange, but small Lemons count it as ½ an Orange and a lime as ½ an Orange.

Put the water on to boil and dissolve the sugar into the water and bring it to the boil for 5 mins.  While this is happening, remove the peel from your fruit and remove all the pith.  Slice the peel into strips.

 

Add the peel to the boiling sugar water and bring back to the boil, reduce and simmer for between 1 ½ - 2 hours or until the water is just covering the peel and reduced to a quarter of its original quantity.

 Keep an eye on your peel, after an hour mine was nearly ready, but having never done this before, I continued cooking as the recipe said about 2 hours – boy was that a mistake!  The sugar caramelised, burnt then crystallised and it then it turned into a big pan of burnt blaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!

"Oh Mummy!!!! Why did you leave it that long? Why didn’t you take it off? Have you got anymore Oranges/Lemons/Limes???” and worst of all “ Does that mean we can’t bake today? (sob)”   Baking the Seed Cake has to wait for another time as No, I don’t have any more Oranges/Lemons/Limes and, just for the record,  I don’t know why I didn’t take it off the heat before it burnt on the bottom of the pan.  I hung my head in shame - I've let her down again.

2 Days later I tried again.  I decided that I would have a go without Charlie’s little eyes watching my every move.  The whole of the next chapter in the Bible is about fruit and spiced cakes so we are going to need this peel and there is nothing worse than failing in your 11 year olds eyes.  Sheesh, talk about pressure!

So, second attempt…

Everything the same up to the point of the bubbling sugar at the hour point.  This time the peel looked different, I think its because I had managed to get just about all the pith off the peel so it was much softer.  It was ready after 1 hour 25 mins.  I took it off the heat to cool.  When it was cold, I drained it in the colander and let it dry a little.

 

Once the peel has dried a little you dip it in sugar and place it on lined baking sheet.  At this point you can either place it in a very low oven for 1 hour or, if you are a complete chicken like me, simply leave it to air dry over night.  Can you imagine if I had got to this point and then burnt it in the oven – blimey! it doesn’t bare thinking about!

 

Anyway, the following day it was nicely dry and still lovely coloured so I snipped it into smaller pieces and placed it into a zip lock bag.  This will now keep for up to 3 months in the bag. This is really easy to make once you get past the burning sugar stage, it just takes a careful eye and some time.  Have a go!

See you on Sunday its Old Fashioned Seed Cake........with Mixed Peel!