Stage 1: Bake Your Cake
I have been using McDougall's Christmas Cake Recipe for years. You can buy a recipe booklet on the website, or print their recipe. The recommended time to bake your Christmas cake is 6 weeks - 3 months beforehand. This gives time for it to mature and be 'fed'.
The first thing to do is to grease and line your tin with grease-proof paper. Wrap a collar around the outside and make an optional cover for the top. This protects the fruit from burning.
See Tastefully Vickie's Video: How to Line a Christmas Cake Tin
Make your cake, leave it to cool completely on a wire cake rack.
When completely cool, wrap it up in 2 layers of brown paper and put it away. Every week until a week, unwrap the cake. Using a skewer to make holes and a tablespoon, pour about 2tbsp of Brandy on top of the cake, making sure to cover the whole surface. Pay special attention to any dry areas and the sides. Avoid pouring more brandy on damp areas and turn the cake regularly to get an even coverage. Feeding the cake keeps it moist and gives it flavour.
Stage 3: Marzipan Your Cake
When you are ready, you can Marzipan your cake using either shop-bought or home-made marzipan. It needs time to dry, before you add the icing layer or the icing can fall off. Delia has a good recipe for Marzipan. I use it from the packet and still get good results. Knead the marzipan until it is workable and roll it out on a worktop until it is the desired thickness, using a bit of icing sugar to keep it from sticking.
Apricot jam, watered down until smooth is traditionally used to stick the marzipan to the cake. You can sieve out the lumps! Thinly cover the cake with apricot jam, using a baking brush. Lift the marzipan over the cake using the rolling pin and flatten it down with your palms and a palette knife. Smooth it down and cut off the excess. Ideally leave the cake for 1-3 days for the marzipan to dry out before icing it.
Waitrose You Tube Video: How to Marzipan and Ice Your Cake.
Stage 4: Ice Your Cake
If you wish to make your own icing, here is Mary Berry's Royal Icing Recipe. I use shop-bought fondant icing because it is easy to use, easily available and gives a smooth finish. See the Waitrose video above for the finer details!
Knead your icing and roll out onto a clean, surface, dusted with icing sugar. Roll it in the round and us your palette knife to knock it back into shape, to prevent it splitting. When you have your desired thickness and size (approx 1/2cm) brush the cake with cool boiled water to help the marzipan and icing layers stick together.
Lift the sheet of icing using the rolling pin and unroll it over the cake, smoothing it out as you go. Push any bubbles out and trim off the excess using a palette knife. Now you can decorate your cake. I kept it minimal, cutting out stars and coating them with edible glitter. Less can be more, especially if you are short of time!
Store in a tin until the big day and enjoy :)
LinksDelia's Homemade Marzipan Recipe
Comments
Post a Comment