RUM AND RED WINE CHRISTMAS CAKE

This is a delicious, dark and very moist Christmas cake. It’s really worth the effort to make the marzipan fruit, or you can top with glacé fruit.

Makes 1 x 20cm square cake or 1 x 23cm round cake

400g (14oz) each raisins and dried ready-to-eat dates, stoned and chopped 250g (9oz) sultanas

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange 200ml (7fl oz) full-bodied red wine

100ml (3½fl oz) spiced golden rum

For the cake mixture

250g (9oz) butter

250g (9oz) dark muscovado sugar

5 medium eggs, beaten 1tsp vanilla extract

250g (9oz) self-raising flour 1tbsp each mixed spice and ground cinnamon

2 pinches of ground cloves 100g (3½oz) glacé cherries

To decorate

2tbsp apricot jam, warmed and sieved; icing sugar, to dust; 500g (1lb 2oz) marzipan; marzipan fruits (see below) and a ribbon

In a bowl mix the fruit, zests, wine and rum. Cover with clingfilm and leave to soak for 24 hours or up to a week, stirring occasionally. When ready to bake, grease and line a baking tin with parchment. Wrap brown paper around the outside and tie with string.

Heat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/gas 3. Mix the butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Slowly beat in the eggs, add a little flour if it curdles, then add the vanilla. Stir in the flour, spices, glacé cherries and soaked fruit. Mix well, then spoon into the tin and level the top. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven to 150°C/fan 130°C/gas 2 for 1½-1¾ hours, until a skewer comes out clean. Cool, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Wrap in parchment and foil, and store in a cake tin.

To serve, turn the cake upside down and brush with jam. Roll out the marzipan evenly on a surface dusted with icing sugar, cut it to fit, then lift onto the cake.

Indent with a criss-cross pattern and decorate with marzipan fruit and a ribbon.