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    Christmas cake with mixed fruit - icing and decoration

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    Christmas cake with mixed fruit - icing and decoration

    Make your Christmas cake look extra special with smooth icing and a frosted leaf and berry garland.

    • Christmas
    • Preparation time: About an hour, plus setting time
    • Total time: About an hour 60 minutes

    Serves: 25-30 when icing and decorating a 20cm cake

    Ingredients

    4 tbsp apricot jam
    1kg white marzipan
    Icing sugar, for dusting
    1kg Cooks' Homebaking White Fondant Icing
    1 egg white, lightly beaten
    50g caster sugar
    1 pack fresh rosemary
    1 pack fresh bay leaves
    50-75g fresh cranberries

    Method

    1. To ice the cake, warm the jam with 1 tbsp cold water in a small pan, then sieve. Put the cake on a board and brush with the jam. Knead the marzipan to soften, then roll out thinly to make a 40cm round, dusting with icing sugar if it starts to stick.
    2.  Drape the marzipan over the cake and press to cover, trimming off any excess around the base. Use the same technique to cover the cake with the fondant icing.
    3. To frost the herbs and berries, place the egg white and sugar in separate bowls. Using a small pastry brush or clean paint brush, coat the rosemary leaves, edges of the bay leaves and half the cranberries with the egg white. Sprinkle with sugar and shake off any excess. Leave to set in a cool place.
    4. To finish arrange the frosted rosemary, bay leaves and cranberries into a wreath on the top of the cake. Tie a ribbon around the cake to finish . Remove the decorations before eating.

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    Cook's tips

    Before you ice and decorate your cake you could ''feed'' it to make it even more moist, indulgent and rich.  Prick it all over with a skewer once, then drizzle with brandy every 2 weeks for 2-3 months. The cake will keep in an airtight tin for 2-3 months before decorating.

    Find the recipe for this delicious cake here

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