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Ingredients :
- 225 g Plain Flour
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Mixed Spice
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 200 g Butter
- 200 g Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp Black Treacle
- 1 tbsp Marmalade
- ¼ tsp Vanilla Essence
- 4 Eggs (Lightly Beaten)
- 800 g Mixed Dried Fruits
- 100 g Chopped Mixed Peel
- 150 g Glazed Cherries (Halved)
- 100 g Blanched Almonds (Chopped)
- Brandy
To Decorate The Cake :
- 200 g Marzipan
- 1-2 tbsp Apricot Jam
- Warmed Royal Icing
- 3 Egg Whites
- 600 g Icing Sugar (Sieved)
- 1 ½ tsp Liquid Glycerine (Optional)
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
Method :
- Heat the oven to 150oC.
- Grease a 20 cm round cake tin and line the bottom and sides
with baking parchment.
- Sieve the flour, salt, mixed spice and cinnamon into a bowl.
- Cream the butter and the sugar in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar, treacle, marmalade and vanilla essence and
beat until light and fluffy.
- Mix the eggs a little at a time into the mixture adding a
tablespoon of flour mixture with the last amount.
- Fold in the remaining flour mixture until well mixed and then
mix in the dried fruit, mixed peel, cherries and almonds.
- Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and make a slight
hollow in the centre.
- Bake in the oven for 3 hours until the skewer comes out
clean.
- Remove from the oven and let the tin cool for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the cake to the wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, make a few holes in the cake with a skewer and
pour over 3-4 tablespoon of brandy and let it soak into the
cake.
- Store the cake wrapped in foil in an airtight plastic
container, holes side up.
To Decorate the Cake :
- Place the cake on a cake plate.
- Dust your hands and the work surface with a little icing
sugar.
- Knead the marzipan until soft.
- Roll out half the marzipan to fit the top of the cake.
- Roll out the rest in strips to fit around the sides of the
cake.
- Brush the cake all over with the warmed apricot jam.
- Place the marzipan on top and around the cake.
- Cover the cake with a clean tea towel.
- Leave in a cool place for one day.
- To make the icing, lightly whisk the egg whites adding the
sugar at intervals.
- Beat well until the icing turns up in soft peaks.
- Add the glycerine and the lemon juice.
- Spread icing all over cake in any desired forms.
- Decorate with Christmas ornaments.
- Makes 8 servings
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