Ingredients
Cake
- 525g Currants
- 225g Sultanas
- 225g Raisins
- 110g Mixed candied peel
- 165g Glace cherries, halved
- 300g Plain flour
- Pinch salt
- ½ tsp Mixed spice
- ½ tsp Ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground nutmeg
- 300g Butter, slightly softened
- 300g Soft brown sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 6 large eggs, beaten
- 3 Tablespoon brandy
Feeding
- Brandy, 2 tbsp per week
Marzipan
- 400g Marzipan
Icing
- 3 Egg whites
- 550g Icing sugar
- 2 tsp Glycerine
Method
Cake
- Pre-Heat the oven to 160C.
- Line a 9 inch cake tin with greaseproof paper. · In a large roomy baking bowl mix the currants, sultanas, raisins, peel and cherries with the flour, salt and spices.
- In another large bowl cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.
- Stir in the lemon zest.
- Add the beaten egg to the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing each time slowly to ensure it doesn’t curdle.
- Mix half the flour and fruit into the egg and butter mixture.
- Then mix the 2nd half in.
- Finally mix the brandy in.
- Spoon the mixture into your tin.
- Smooth the mixture so that it looks as flat as possible. Then give the tin a few taps on your worktop to get rid of any air
- Cook in the oven for 2.5 hours roughly. Dependent on your oven, so keep checking it.
- If a skewer comes out clean then its cooked
- If the top is getting a little too brown, cover it with foil. · Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a wire rack for an hour The cake should be stored wrapped in greaseproof or parchment paper in an airtight tin.
- Remove the cake from the tin after the hour and leave on the rack to entirely cool, it will still be warm so be careful.
- Once fully cool give your cake its first feed. Prick holes in the cake and then pour 2 tbsp of brandy over the top and ensure it gets into the cake.
- Finally wrap in greaseproof and then foil and store in an air tight box.
Feeding
- Repeat the feeding every week up until no later than 2 weeks before christmas.
Marzipan
- 2 weeks before christmas you should have done your last feed. Leave it a week to bed in.
- 1 week before christmas roll out your marzipan to large enough so it will cover the cake.
- Heat up apricot jam until its spreadable then spread it over the cake.
- Cover the cake with marzipan and smooth around, then cut off any excess.
- Place back into your container uncovered.
Icing
- Christmas eve you should be ready to ice after leaving the marzipan to dry for a little less than a week
- Using an electric whisk mix the egg whites by itself for a minute.
- Gradually add the icing sugar a little at a time, then whisk until it forms stiff peaks.
- Finally add the glycerine and give the mixture one last whisk, this will stop the icing going brittle.
- Spread the icing over your cake and decorate how you wish.
- Place your cake back into a your container or to a display box if using.