Alpine Christmas Cake

Let our winter wonderland cake transport you to a charming Swiss alpine village – it’s fun to make, too. The gingerbread recipe makes more than you need, so you can either have extra chalets to serve with the cake, or use different cutters to make other festive biscuits

Hands-on time about 2hr, plus chilling and drying time. Cooking time about 20min. Serves about 20, generously

20.5cm (8in) Christmas fruit cake (find our Tropical Christmas Cake from our November issue at goodhousekeeping.co.uk/ Tropicalchristmascake) 3tbsp apricot jam Icing sugar, to dust 600g (1lb 5oz) natural marzipan 100g (3½oz) granulated sugar Green food colouring in 2 shades (see GH Tip overleaf ) 1 egg white, lightly beaten Festive sugar sprinkles to decorate, if you like for the gingerbread chalets (Makes approximately 6) 75g (3oz) butter 3½tbsp golden syrup 60g (2½oz) light brown soft sugar 175g (6oz) plain flour ¼tsp bicarbonate of soda 2tsp ground ginger for the royal icing 4 large egg whites 3tsp lemon juice 3tsp glycerine 1kg (2lb 3½oz) icing sugar you will also need About 12 pretzel sticks 25.5cm (10in) cake board Piping bags, and plain nozzles in 5mm (¼in) and 3mm (⅛in)

TWO DAYS BEFORE YOU WANT TO SERVE THE CAKE, FOLLOW STEPS 1-8

1 Place the cake on a 25.5cm (10in) cake board. Make a single cut into the cake, as if you were cutting the first slice. Then, 90° from the first cut, using a sharp or serrated knife, make a diagonal cut towards the first cut and, keeping the point of the knife in the middle of the cake, slice at a 45° angle downwards to meet the base of the cake (see picture, right).

2 Remove the wedge of cake, turn upside down and place on top of the cake, aligning the straight-cut edges. This way, you should have a small platform at the top, a slope downwards to the main section of cake, and another slope down to the cake board.

3 Gently warm the apricot jam in a small pan with 1tbsp water to loosen it. Pass through a sieve, and use to secure the platform on to the cake, then brush jam all over the cake. Lightly dust a work surface with icing sugar. Shape 500g (1lb 2oz) of the marzipan into a round disc and roll out to a rough oval shape about 30-35cm (11½-13½in) – this should be large enough to cover the cake. Set aside the remaining marzipan to make the trees; cover with clingfilm to prevent it from drying out.

4 Lift marzipan on to the cake and, with your hands, gently smooth and mould into position, trimming away excess where necessary and reserving any left over for the trees (see picture). Leave the cake overnight at room temperature, so the marzipan can harden slightly.

5 Next, make the marzipan trees: divide the remaining marzipan and reserved trimmings into 12 balls weighing 10-20g (⅓-¾oz), so they vary in size. Roll into cones and press a pretzel stick into the base of each to make the trunk.

6 Divide the granulated sugar between two shallow plates. Using a fork, mix a different shade of green food colouring into each of the plates of sugar until it's evenly coloured – start with just a few drops on the tip of the fork, and add more until you reach the desired shade. Lightly brush each tree with a little egg white

[continued from previous page] and roll in the green sugar to cover them (see picture). Set aside on a sheet of baking parchment to set overnight with the cake.

7 To make the gingerbread dough, put the butter, golden syrup and light brown sugar in to a pan. Stir on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl, then mix together. Make a well in the centre and pour in the butter mixture. Stir together to form a dough, then shape into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30min to firm up.

8 Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Roll the dough out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using the template on our website*, cut out the shapes to make three gingerbread chalets and chimneys. and transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Use any leftover gingerbread to make additional chalets or other festive shapes. Chill the gingerbread shapes for 20min, then bake for 10-12min until golden (the chimneys will take only 8-10min, so remove these when cooked to prevent them from burning). Remove the biscuits from the oven and allow them to cool on the trays.

ONE DAY BEFORE SERVING THE CAKE, FOLLOW STEPS 9-12…

9 To make the royal icing, put the egg whites into a large bowl and whisk until frothy – there should be a layer of bubbles on the top. Add the lemon juice, glycerine and 2tbsp of the icing sugar and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the rest of the icing sugar a little at a time until the mixture is smooth, thick and forms soft peaks.

10 Transfer one-third of the icing to a piping bag fitted with the 5mm (¼in) nozzle. Use the icing to stick the gingerbread chalets together: first, connect the four wall sections and allow them to set before securing the roof pieces (see picture).

11 Spread icing on the roofs to make ‘snow’ and add the chimneys. Using the smaller nozzle, pipe ‘windows’ on to the biscuits and add some festive sugar sprinkles, if you like. Allow to set completely – about 1hr.

12 Using a palette knife, smooth half the remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake to create a smooth base, then use the rest of the icing to cover it. Run the palette knife around the sides to neaten, then use the tip to make peaks all over the top. Arrange the gingerbread chalets on the cake to create an alpine village scene. Press the marzipan trees into the cake around the chalets. Leave to set in a cool place for at least 8hr before serving. Keep the cake in a cool, dry place, ideally an airtight container, for up to 1 week.

GET AHEAD The un-iced biscuits for the gingerbread chalet can be made up to a week ahead and stored in an airtight container. Assemble up to 2 days ahead. Make the marzipan trees up to 2 days in advance and, once dry, store in an airtight container in a single layer between sheets of baking parchment.

PER SLICE (including gingerbread) 621cals, 6g protein, 15g fat (7g saturates), 112g carbs (98g total sugars), 3g fibre