HOW TO MAKE FONDANT ICING

l 500g (1lb 2oz) icing sugar, plus extra

for dusting l 1 large egg white (about 45g) l A few drops of vanilla extract l 40g (1½oz) liquid glucose (about

2tbsp) l Cornflour, for dusting

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the egg white, vanilla and glucose then stir. This will become very stiff, so work it with your hands to soften. When it is all mixed, roll it into a ball and, on a worktop dusted with cornflour and icing sugar, you can roll it out to cover the cake as desired.

The day before baking, mix all the fruit with the brandy in a bowl, cover and leave overnight to absorb the liquid.

The next day, preheat the oven to 140°C/fan 120°C/gas 1, then grease and line a 17cm cake tin with parchment.

Sift the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl, making sure you aerate the flour well. In a separate bowl, you now need to whisk the sugar and butter together until pale-looking. Now add the beaten eggs to that mixture slowly, a little at a time, and keep whisking to avoid any curdling. Gently fold in the mixed spiced-flour. Take your time and don’t knock out the air in the mixture. Finally, add the fruit, nuts, peel, zests and treacle. Keep folding, but do not beat.

Transfer the batter to the cake tin and bake for at least 4 hours, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. You don’t need to check on the cake for the first 4 hours – it takes a long time, but is worth the wait. When cooked, leave the cake in the tin for a good 30-40 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. When cool, turn it over and make a few little holes evenly over the base with a skewer and drip more alcohol into your cake. When you repeat this step, always carefully rewrap and keep the cake airtight.

Now ice your cake, with a base layer of marzipan (see above) followed by fondant icing (see left) or royal icing. Top with sugar paste decorations.