PORTER FRUITCAKE
A RICH fruit cake hides beneath a light and pretty exterior. You will need to make this cake at least a week before decorating it.
Makes 1 large cake
For the cake mixture
500g (1lb 2oz) mixed, dried fruit 100ml (3½fl oz) porter beer or stout 175g (6oz) unsalted butter, softened 175g (6oz) dark muscovado sugar 3 medium eggs, at room temperature 200g (7oz) plain flour Good pinch of salt 50g (1¾oz) ground almonds 1½ tsp ground, mixed spice 85g (3oz) walnut pieces or chopped toasted almonds
For covering the cake
2 tbsp apricot jam, warmed 800g (1lb 12oz) ready-made marzipan Icing sugar, for dusting 500g (1lb 2oz) royal icing made with 500g (1lb 2oz) royal icing sugar (or use ready-to-roll or rolled white or ivory icing or ready coloured icing/sugarpaste)
For the rose decorations
250g (9oz) ready-to-roll white icing/sugarpaste Yellow and pink edible gel, liquid or paste food colour Cornflour, for dusting Edible lustre, for spraying (optional)
To make the cake mixture
1 Tip the dried fruit into a mixing bowl, pour over the porter or stout and mix well. Cover tightly and leave to soak overnight on the worktop.
2 Next day, preheat the oven to 170c/150c fan/ 325f/gas 3. Grease and line the tin with butter and baking paper.
3 Put the butter into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a food mixer and beat well with a wooden spoon or whisk attachment for a couple of minutes until creamy. Scrape down any butter that has splattered on the sides of the bowl. Press out any lumps in the sugar, then gradually beat it into the butter, scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time. Once all the sugar has been added, beat for 4 minutes or until the mixture becomes lighter in colour. Scrape down the bowl sides again.
4 Break the eggs into a separate bowl, lightly beat with a fork, then gradually beat into the butter mixture, a tablespoon at a time. If it looks like it is about to curdle or separate, add a tablespoon of the plain flour with the last addition of egg.
5 Sift the remaining flour, salt, almonds and mixed spice into the bowl and gently fold in using a large metal spoon or plastic spatula. Fold in the soaked fruit, plus any liquid.
6 When combined, fold in the walnut or almond. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and spread out evenly. Bang the tin on the worktop to knock out any pockets of air, then make a shallow hollow in the centre so that the cake will rise evenly.
7 Line the baking sheet with several sheets of newspaper and set the tin on top. Fold several more sheets into strips slightly wider than the depth of the tin and long enough to go all around it.
8 Wrap these strips around the tin and secure with string.
9 Bake for about 2 hours. Check the cake is cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre; if it comes out clean, it is ready. If necessary, turn the cake a couple of times during baking so that it cooks evenly and cover the top with a sheet of baking paper if you think it is getting too brown. Remove the tin from the oven, set it on a wire rack and leave until cool, then turn out. Remove the lining paper, then wrap in baking paper then foil, and leave in a cool dry spot for at least a week (4 weeks if possible) before finishing the cake.
To cover the cake
10 Unwrap the cake and set it upside down on the cake board — the flat base is easier to cover. Brush all over with the warmed apricot jam.11 Knead the marzipan until smooth and pliable. If there is a gap between the cake and the board, make a thin roll of marzipan and press it around the base of the cake so the sides are flat and straight. Lightly dust the worktop with icing sugar and roll out the remaining marzipan to a round large enough to cover the top and sides of the cake — for accuracy use a tape measure.
12 Wrap the marzipan around the rolling pin and lift it over the cake. Gently unroll it so the edge just touches the board, then continue unrolling it over the cake so that it covers the cake evenly and touches the board all around.
13 Now remove rings and bangles — you don’t want to make dents in the marzipan. Use the palms of your hands to smooth the marzipan on the top and down the sides of the cake, to make sure it is well fixedand there are no pockets of air. Roughly trim off the excess marzipan.
14 Lift the cake and board and trim the marzipan again until flush with the board. Leave the cake very loosely covered in a cool, dry spot for a day or two to let the marzipan firm up.
15 Brush the marzipan very lightly with a little cooled boiled water (or brandy).
16 To make your own royal icing, mix the royal icing with 80ml (2½fl oz) water, using an electric whisk or mixer, until smooth and thick. It should stand in soft peaks and leave a solid trail. Spread the royal icing over the top and sides, smoothing with a palette knife. (If you are using bought icing, knead and roll it out as for the marzipan then smooth and polish it with the palms of your hands.) Use the back of a small knife to tuck the icing under the edge of the cake to neaten.
To make the decorations
17 When you are ready to decorate the cake, knead the ready-to-roll white icing/sugarpaste until smooth, then tint it to the palest shade you want, kneading in just 1-2 drops of yellow or pink edible gel, liquid or paste food colour for 4-5 minutes until even, with no streaks.
18 Divide the paste into four equal portions: wrap one tightly with clingfilm or put it in a snap- close plastic food bag, then add another 1-2 drops of food colour to the next portion, knead in and wrap tightly. Continue with the remaining two portions of the sugarpaste.
19 When you are happy with the range of shades, you can make the shaped decorations. Make sure your small silicone mould is clean and dry, then dust it lightly with cornflour. Mould a little of the lightest-coloured icing into a ball the size of a marble (or follow the instructions on the pack) and press it into the mould, making sure the icing is level with the edge of the mould.
20 Turn the mould over and gently release the blossom on to a sheet of baking paper. Repeat with the rest of the icing in this col- our, then with the other three shades. Once dry and firm, the blossoms can be sprayed with edible lustre, if you like. You can paint the centres of the flowers darker yellow or pink with edible cake decorating powder colour mixed with a couple of drops of vodka. For a little added sparkle, you could delicately brush edible, dry powder lustre on to the petals — very fine brushes are available from specialist shops.
21 While the blossoms dry, if you like, cut a ribbon long enough to go around the cake and tie it around it tightly and neatly, securing it at the back.
22 When the blossoms are set and dry, start to attach them to the cake using small dabs of royal icing applied with a cotton bud.
23 Dot the flowers over the top of the cake, mixing up the colours for a pretty effect. Leave uncovered to firm up, then store in a covered container in a cool and dry place for up to two months.