Baking ingredients
- 175 g butter or margarine
- 175 g soft brown sugar
- 4 medium eggs – beaten
- 175 g plain flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 12 tsp ground mixed spice
- 350 g mixed raisins, currants and sultanas
- 55 g chopped mixed peel
- 12 lemon – zest only
- 175 g Renshaw Natural Marzipan
Decorating ingredients
- Apricot jam - boiled
- 500 g Renshaw Original White Marzipan
- 250 g Renshaw Atlantic Blue Ready to Roll Icing
- 500 g Renshaw White Ready to Roll Icing
- Edible icing ribbon
- Royal icing
- Edible glitter
Renshaw products used
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Instructions
Baking Instructions:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 140°C / 275°F / gas mark 1.
Step 2
Grease and then line an 18cm round tin with baking parchment.
Step 3
Cream the butter and soft brown sugar together until pale and fluffy.
Step 4
Gradually beat in three of the medium eggs until well mixed and then sift in the plain flour, salt and mixed spice a bit at a time.
Step 5
Finally, add the mixed dried fruit, peel and grated lemon zest and stir into the mixture.
Step 6
Put half of the cake mixture into the tin and smooth to create a flat surface.
Step 7
Knead the Renshaw Natural Marzipan until soft and pliable and roll out on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Make a circle which matches the size of your baking tin and cover the cake mixture in the baking tin.
Step 8
Add the rest of the cake mixture to the tin and again smooth the top to create a flat surface, leaving a slight dip in the centre to allow for the cake to rise.
Step 9
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 1¾ hours. Test if the cake is ready by inserting a skewer in the middle. If the skewer comes out clean, the cake is ready.
Step 10
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Decorating Instructions:
Step 11
Using a palette knife, cover the fruit cake with a thin layer of cooled boiled apricot jam.
Step 12
Knead the remaining marzipan until soft and pliable and roll out on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Roll out a circle big enough to cover the top of your cake.
Step 13
Cover your fruit cake with the marzipan circle and smooth down the sides of the cake with the palm of your hands. Using a sharp knife, trim off the excess marzipan at the base of the cake.
Step 14
Brush marzipan cake with cool boiled water.
Step 15
Knead the Renshaw Atlantic Blue Ready to Roll Icing until pliable before rolling out. Lightly dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll out icing to desired thickness.
Step 16
Lift the icing over the marzipan covered fruit, cake smoothing down the sides with the palm of your hand. To give a sheen to the surface of the icing, smooth with the palm of your hand.
Step 17
Trim excess icing.
Step 18
Measure out the required length of Renshaw Edible Icing Ribbon and cut to size. Moisten the base of the cake with cooled boiled water before wrapping around the Renshaw Edible Icing Ribbon.
Step 19
Knead the Renshaw White Ready to Roll Icing until pliable before rolling out. Lightly dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll out icing to desired thickness.
Step 20
Using a snowflake cutter or mould, stamp out snowflakes shapes from your white icing. Stick to the Christmas cake using dots of cooled boiled water.
Step 21
Pipe small dots of royal icing between the snowflakes and leave to set.
Step 22
Using a dusting brush, dust the Christmas cake with edible glitter to decorate.