NANCY’S FOOL-PROOF RECIPE

MY ANGEL showstopper cake comprises a panettone which forms the skirt. The body is my traditional Christmas cake and the head is made of a Rice Krispie mix — the children love it!

PANETTONE SKIRT

300 g white flour

5 g salt

30 g caster sugar

10 g yeast

100 ml warm milk

3 eggs

180 g salted butter

90 g cherries and berries

90 g soft apricots

90 g mixed fruit with peel

2 tbsp Cointreau

Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon

30 g marzipan

¾ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ grated nutmeg

5 cardammon pods (crushed)

¾ tsp mixed spice MIx flour, salt, sugar, yeast, milk and eggs for 10 minutes on low setting until dough is smooth. Add butter and mix for further 10 minutes until soft.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and leave in the fridge overnight. Stir in the fruits, zests, spices and Cointreau, cover and leave overnight.

Next morning, mix contents together. Grease the Bundt tin then dust with flour. Shape the dough into a sausage then place in tin, and leave at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours. Preheat oven to 180 c and bake for 20 minutes; then 150 c for 25 minutes. Invert tin on to a cooling rack.

CHRISTMAS CAKE 250 g mixed fruit and peel

25 g glace cherries

1 tbsp Cointreau

63 g plain flour Pinch of nutmeg grated

¼ tsp mixed spice

¼ tsp ground ginger

Pinch of ground cinnamon

63 g salted butter

2 small eggs

85 g soft brown sugar

1 tsp black treacle

Zest of ½ orange and ½ lemon SOAK fruit in the Cointreau for several hours. Cream butter and sugar together then beat in eggs. Then fold in the flour and spices and add soaked fruit. Spoon into greased and lined 4 in tin. Bake at 100 c for 5 to 6 hours.

FOR THE ANGEL’S HEAD

15 g butter

180 g marshmallows

60 g Rice Krispies

25 g chocolate chips MELT butter in saucepan then add marshmallows. As they melt, add Rice Krispies and chocolate and mix. Spoon into two small greased sphere tins. Leave to go cold, then push the two halves together to make a ball.

TO ASSEMBLE THE ANGEL MIx egg white and 300 g icing sugar to make a smooth, stiff piping icing. Mix a quantity of runny icing, using lemon juice and 300 g icing sugar and drizzle over the panettone. Leave to set.

Using 125 g marzipan, cover the cake and place on a 6 in board. Cover with ready-to-roll fondant. Using pink ready-to-roll fondant, cover the head. Other colours for hair, eyes etc.

Use edible lace for the angel’s sleeve and collar. I then used cake dowels to fix the head on to the body and the body to the skirt. The finishing piped icing to the skirt and sleeve edges etc was done with the royal icing.

Wings and halo made with edible gold glitter and a caramel made from 300 g sugar and water.

To make the caramel, put the sugar into a pan with just enough water to dampen it. Gently stir the sugar, without boiling, until the grains have all disappeared.

Use a pastry brush dipped in water to get rid of any crystals of sugar clinging to the sides of the pan. Once clear, add the edible glitter and bring to a boil until the syrup begins to thicken and turn golden brown.

Shape it into wings and a halo on some greaseproof paper and allow to cool. Fix dowels to wings with hot caramel then insert to back of cake.