MY CHRISTMAS CAKE

You can make this a few weeks ahead or a few days before. Decorate as you wish with a smooth or textured royal icing. Since I try to spend every other Christmas in Australia, I’ve given it both a snow and a smooth beach scene to illustrate the two countries!

● 225g (8oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

● 225g (8oz) dark muscovado sugar

● 4 eggs, beaten

● 225g (8oz) plain flour

● 60g (2¼oz) chopped mixed nuts or ground almonds

● 1tsp mixed spice

● ¼tsp freshly grated nutmeg

● Sunflower oil, for greasing (see box, below)

● Apricot jam, for spreading

● 500g-750g (1lb 2oz-1lb 10oz) marzipan, depending on how thick you like it

● Icing sugar, for dusting

For the royal icing

● 3 egg whites

● 675g (1lb 8oz) icing sugar, sifted

● 1½tsp glycerine

● 1-2tsp lemon juice

● 1 drop of blue food colouring (optional, this will make the icing look a very bright white)

● Ribbon and festive decorations, to decorate

The day before you make your cake, mix the dried fruit, cherries, peel and citrus zest in a bowl. Stir in the brandy, sherry or orange juice, cover and soak overnight. Preheattheovento140°c/ fan 120°C/gas 1. Using a food mixer, beat the butter and sugar until well combined and fluffy. Add the eggs a

little at a time, adding a tablespoon of the measured flour if it looks as if it’s curdling. Stir in the flour, nuts, mixed spice, nutmeg and soaked dried fruit. Spoon into a lined 20cm diameter cake tin (see box, below, for how to line) and smooth the surface. Cover the top with a double layer of baking parchment with a 4cm (1½in) diameter hole cut in the middle to allow steam to escape.

Bake on the lowest shelf of the ovenfor4hours15minutes.testthe middle of the cake with a skewer and if it comes out clean, transfer to a wire rack. If not, bake for a further 15-30 minutes, checking after 15,

until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack until cold. Store in a tin, or marzipan the cake as soon as it’s fully cold.

Warm the apricot jam and brush it all over the cake. Roll out the marzipan on a board dusted with icing sugar so it is big enough to cover the top and sides of the cake. Drape over a rolling pin and lay over the cake. Smooth out and trim off any excess.

To make the royal icing, beat the egg whites in a bowl or a stand mixer. Add the icing sugar, a little at a time, until you have a thick paste (you may not need it all). Whisk for 10 minutes, or until shiny. Add the glycerine, to stop it from becoming rock hard, then 1tsp lemon juice and the colouring, if using. It should be glossy and stand up in stiff peaks. Add more lemon juice if it is too stiff to work with.

Pile about 80g (3oz) icing on the marzipan. Working with a palette knife, smooth the icing over the top until it is level, then evenly around the sides. If you prefer a rough snow scene, use a palette knife or fork to create texture. Spoon the remaining icing into an airtight container.

The next day, check the consistency of the reserved icing. Add a little lemon juice, if needed, to achieve a piping consistency. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a decorative nozzle and pipe around the base where the cake meets the board and around the top rim of the cake. Add a ribbon and festive decorations.