The Ultimate Christmas Cake

Method

1 Finely chop the peel; halve the cherries. Place in a bowl with all the dried fruit and 200ml (7fl oz) brandy. Cover and leave in a cool place for 24–48hr, stirring occasionally. Grease and double-line a 20.5cm (8in) deep cake tin with greaseproof paper (see Cook’s Tips). Sift flour with cinnamon, a pinch of salt and a little nutmeg.

2 Place softened butter in a food mixer and, with the beater attachment, beat until creamy (see Cook’s Tips). Add sugar gradually, beating well between each addition, until light and fluffy. With the machine at full speed, beat in egg yolks one at a time. Reduce speed; add 150g (5floz) flour mixture, the fruit and its soaking liquid, then add remaining flour. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites to a foam. Add to mixture with cocoa and bicarbonate of soda, mixing well.

3 Turn the cake mixture into the prepared tin, smooth the top and bake at 150°C (130°C fan) mark 2 for 2hr or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out hot and clean. Cool for 30min, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Wrap in greaseproof paper and foil, and store in a cool place for up to six weeks (see Cook’s Tips).

4  Warm the honey and brush a thin layer over the cake. On a worksurface dusted with cornflour, roll out the marzipan to a 30.5cm (12in) circle, position over the top and sides of the cake, press down lightly, then trim any excess. Cover with greaseproof paper; leave in a cool place for two days.

5 To ice the cake, place the cake on a board. Warm remaining honey and brush over the marzipan. On a worksurface lightly dusted with cornflour, thinly roll out 225g (8oz) fondant icing and cover in the same way as with the marzipan. Roll out remaining fondant icing thinly. Cut a piece of greaseproof paper into a triangle with sides 20.5cm (8in) long, base measurement 4cm (1flin); use this as a template for cutting the icing into about 22 triangles. Re-roll and cut the icing trimmings as necessary.

6 Place icing triangles over the top and sides, points to the centre, overlapping them and tucking in excess icing as you go.

7 Roll the final icing trimmings into different-sized balls. Cover some with silver leaf, rolling gently until smooth, then press lightly on to the cake. Decorate the bottom edge of the Christmas cake with a length of silver braid, adding a few of the decorative icing balls to complete.


COOK’S TIPS
To prepare the tin, lightly grease the base, then cover with a disc of greaseproof paper. Halve a double thickness of greaseproof paper 12.5cm (5in) wide and 71.5cm (28in) long. Fold up 2.5cm (1in) along the open edge and cut diagonally at 1cm (1⁄2in) intervals. Curl the strip of paper around the inside of the tin, placing the snipped edge on the base. Place a second disc of greaseproof paper in the base of the tin.

If you don’t have a food mixer with a beater attachment, use an electric hand whisk.

The minimum time between cooking and decorating is one week. Every week for the first four weeks, prick the base of the cake and spoon 15ml (1tbsp) brandy over the top. For the last two weeks, leave to dry.

VARIATION: CHRISTMAS GIFTS CAKE
Complete The Ultimate Christmas Cake to the end of step 4, then cover marzipanned cake with fondant icing. To decorate, stamp out shapes of red and green fondant icing and ‘tie’ with thin strips of coloured fondant to make ‘presents’. Secure the presents, red and green coloured sweets and bought sweets to the top of the cake with a thick paste of icing sugar and water. Tie red and green ribbon around the bottom edge to complete.