This traditional Christmas cake pulls out all the stops - if you have the time, feed it with brandy in the run up to Christmas.
Ingredients
- 225g/8oz plain flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 200g/7oz butter
- 200g/7oz dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp black treacle
- 1 tbsp marmalade
- ¼ tsp vanilla essence
- 800g/1¾lb mixed dried fruits
- 100g/3½oz chopped mixed peel
- To decorate
Preparation method
- Heat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2. Grease a 20cm/8inch round or an 18cm/7inch square 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 and then mix in the sugar, treacle, marmalade and vanilla essence 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, glace cherries and the almonds.
- Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and make a slight hollow in the centre.
- Bake in the oven for 3 hours and then test with a skewer. If not ready bake for up to another hour testing every 20 minutes until the skewer comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
- Turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.
- Once cool, make a few holes in the cake with a skewer and pour over 3-4 tbspof brandy. Let the brandy soak into the cake.
- Store the cake wrapped in foil and in an airtight tin or plastic container, holes side up.
- OPTIONAL: For a rich and moist cake, spoon over a few tablespoons of brandy every week until you are ready to ice and decorate your cake.
- To decorate the cake, place the cake on a foil board or cake plate.
- Dust your hands and the work surface with a little icing sugar and knead the marzipan until soft.
- Roll out half the marzipan to fit the top of the cake and roll out the rest in strips to fit around the sides of the cake.
- Brush the cake all over with the warmed apricot jam and then place the marzipan on top and around the cake.
- Cover the cake with a clean tea towel and then leave in a cool place for at least one day.
- To make the icing, lightly whisk the egg whites adding the sugar at intervals. Beat well until the icing reaches soft peaks. Add the glycerine if using and the lemon juice.
- Spread icing all over cake either flat iced using a clean ruler or by forming soft peaks. Decorate with Christmas ornaments.
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