Brilliant BAKES
Create your very own centrepiece this Christmas with these delightful step-by-step recipes that are full of festive flair
Iced polar bear cake
This striking but simple idea will amaze everyone, and there’s a clever trick to create edible ice shards.
Serves 18 • Ready in 5 hrs 15 mins, plus cooling and soaking
850g mixed dried fruit 75g candied peel 100g glacé cherries, washed, dried and chopped 4tbsp brandy or rum, plus extra for soaking 250g unsalted butter 250g soft brown sugar 4 eggs, beaten 250g plain flour 1tsp grated nutmeg 1tsp mixed spice 45g toasted flaked almonds Zest of 1 lemon Zest of 1 large orange 2tbsp black treacle
For the royal icing and decoration: 2tbsp apricot jam 500g pack marzipan, rolled out to 5mm thickness 45g egg whites 300g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting 200g pack Fox’s Glacier Mints Blue food colouring
You will also need: 20cm cake tin, greased and lined with 2 layers of baking parchment A polar bear toy or decoration (or make one from fondant icing)
1 The day before baking, mix the mixed fruit, candied peel and glacé cherries with the brandy or rum in a bowl, cover and leave overnight to absorb the liquid. If you’re in a rush, you can warm them together in a pan instead.
2 The following day, heat the oven to 140C/Gas 1. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until pale in colour. Add the eggs a little at a time and combine. Sift over the flour and spices with a pinch of salt. Fold in the mixed spiced flour. Finally, add the almonds, zests and treacle, plus the soaked fruit. Mix until well combined.
3 Transfer the batter into the prepared cake tin and place in the oven to bake for 4 hrs 30 mins. If the top is starting to brown too much, put a sheet of foil on top. Check it’s cooked by inserting a skewer – it should come out without
any uncooked batter on it. Leave the cake in the tin to cool.
4 When cold, remove from the tin, peel off the lining and make a few little holes evenly over the base with a skewer. Drip some more alcohol into your cake. Always carefully rewrap the cake in baking parchment, and keep it airtight afterwards.
5 For the decoration, warm the jam and spread it over the top and sides of the cake. Lay the marzipan over the cake and smooth down using your hands.
6 Put the egg whites and icing sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer, cover the bowl with a tea towel, and mix with the paddle attachment on the lowest speed for 5 mins.
7 Spread the icing over the marzipan, using the back of a spoon or a palette knife to create a texture by pulling it away from the cake. Create a well on the top where you will pour the molten mints to create the ice.
8 Heat the oven to 160C/Gas 3. Put the mints in an ovenproof bowl and heat for 15 mins until melted but viscous. Remove from the oven and stir in a couple of drops of blue food colouring. Spoon a little bit of the mixture into the well on top of the cake, and pour the rest onto the centre of a large baking tray lined with parchment paper. Return the tray to the oven for 5 mins so the mixture spreads. Leave to cool and set, then pick up and drop from a small height to break into shards.
9 Arrange the shards on top of the cake, and place your polar bear on top to finish.
Per serving: 635 cals, 18g fat, 8g sat fat, 108g carbs
Brown butter, pecan and rum candle drip cake
Those are edible candles on our boozy cake, with an edible almond wick too!
Serves 32 • Ready in 2 hrs, plus chilling
1.5kg unsalted butter, cubed 8 large eggs, separated 400g soft light brown sugar 400g self-raising flour 1¼tsp baking powder 200g pecans, toasted and chopped 3tbsp dark spiced rum
For the dark chocolate ganache: 150g dark chocolate 150g double cream
For the buttercream: 200g brown butter (see step 1 of the method) 6tbsp rum 400g icing sugar 3tsp dark cocoa powder
For the white chocolate ganache: 250g white chocolate 125g double cream
You will need: 4 x 20cm cake tins, greased and lined 6cm round cutter 3 wooden skewers 3 large flaked almonds, coated in edible glitter (optional) 1 Place the butter in a light-coloured saucepan over a medium heat. Melt until it turns light brown and starts to smell of hazelnuts. It will reduce and makes around 600g brown butter. 2 Set aside 400g melted brown butter to cool – this is for the cake batter. Put the other 200g in a bowl and place in the fridge to set. 3 Heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.
For the cake, whisk the egg yolks with 300g sugar until thick and fluffy. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with the remaining 100g sugar until thick and fluffy. Spoon a dollop of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture and combine to loosen. Fold in the flour, baking powder and melted butter. Then fold in the remaining whisked egg white, 175g chopped pecans and the rum.
4 Divide the batter between the 4 cake tins and cook for 25 mins. Cool in the tins for a few mins then turn onto a wire rack.
5 For the dark chocolate ganache, heat the chocolate and double cream in a microwave in short bursts. If you don’t have a microwave, heat the cream in a pan until just boiling then pour over the chocolate and mix to combine. Leave to cool then whisk until light and fluffy.
6 For the buttercream, get the browned butter from the fridge and soften. Add the rum, and sift in the icing sugar and cocoa powder, beat until light and fluffy.
7 Layer 3 sponges with dark chocolate ganache in the middle. Chill. With the final sponge, cut out 6 circles of cake with the 6cm cutter. Cut one in half horizontally, it will be the shortest candle. Sandwich with dark chocolate ganache and insert a wooden skewer into the middle. Trim it so 10cm of the skewer is exposed. Take 2 more small cake rounds and sandwich with ganache. Repeat with the skewer as before. Build the tallest candle in the same way with the final 3 cake rounds then chill.
8 Add a first coat of buttercream to the cake and 3 candles, chill for 30 mins, then add a final coat and chill while you make the white chocolate ganache. Melt the chocolate and cream as in step 5, then cool slightly. Using a spoon or piping bag, add drips to the layer cake. Cover the candles in ganache and chill.
9 Place the candles in the centre of the cake and push the skewers down to secure. Sprinkle the remaining chopped pecans around the edge and add the white chocolate drips to your candles. Put a flaked almond in each candle as the edible wick – we coated ours in edible gold glitter. Chill for 20 mins or until ready to serve. Don’t forget to light the candles! Per serving: 681 cals, 53g fat, 31g sat fat, 42g carbs >>
Christmas swan cake
Impress your guests with this unique glittering design.
Serves 24 • Ready in 4 hrs, plus resting and cooling
300g unsalted butter, softened 300g soft light brown sugar 6 eggs, beaten 150g pecans, toasted and chopped 300g self-raising flour 1tsp baking powder 45g stem ginger in syrup, chopped, plus 2tbsp syrup
For the buttercream: 500g unsalted butter, softened 1kg icing sugar 8tbsp rum
For the gingerbread biscuit: 100g unsalted butter, softened 100g soft light brown sugar 75g golden syrup 325g plain flour ¼tsp bicarbonate of soda ½tbsp ground ginger ½tsp mixed spice 1 egg
For the meringue: 4 egg whites 250g caster sugar Edible glitter For the royal icing: 45g egg whites 300g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
You will also need: 3 x 20cm cake tins, greased and lined with baking parchment Piping bag with a small nozzle 1 Heat the oven to 170C/Gas 3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until pale in colour. Add the eggs a little at a time then fold in the pecans, flour, baking powder and ginger with its syrup. Divide between the tins and bake for 30 mins, until risen and springy.
Remove from the oven, cool in the tins for 2 mins, then cool on a wire rack.
1 For the buttercream, use a mixer or an electric whisk to beat the butter with the icing sugar and rum. Place a tea towel over the top so that the icing sugar is contained.
2 Place the cakes on a board and layer them up with the buttercream, reserving the remainder. Put the cake in the fridge to chill. Leave the leftover buttercream out at room temperature but covered.
3 While the cake is chilling, make the gingerbread. Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan then allow to cool slightly. Combine with the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and spices. Beat in the egg, gradually, until all combined (you may not need the whole egg). Chill the dough for 20 mins.
4 Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6 and roll the dough to a thickness of 3mm, then cut out a 30cm-long head and neck, using the photo below right as a guide. Bake for 10 mins and allow to cool.
5 For the meringue, heat the oven to 110C/Gas ¼ . Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then add the sugar gradually while whisking, until the meringue is thick and glossy. Line a few baking trays with baking parchment, then spoon dollops of the mixture onto the trays, using a palette knife to spread them out to create ‘feathers’ (see middle photo right). Make sure they’re not too thin or they’ll crack – keep the thickness to at least 1mm. Sprinkle with glitter and place in the oven for 2 hrs until dry. Allow to cool, then peel from the tray using a palette knife.
6 For the royal icing, mix the egg whites and icing sugar for 5 mins, until smooth. Put the icing into a piping bag and draw the outlines of the swan head onto the gingerbread biscuit. Carefully smooth any mistakes with a damp clean paintbrush. Allow to set for 10 mins. Water down the icing sugar with 1-2tsp of water so it’s a pouring consistency. Spoon onto the neck and body, avoiding the beak and crown. Use a spoon to tease it into the corners, pop any bubbles with a cocktail stick, then sprinkle with a little glitter. Allow to dry for about 30 mins until the icing is set hard.
7 To finish the cake, remove from the fridge and cut a wedge-shaped piece from one side (see photo below), as well as a slit for the neck. Trim the rounded side off the piece to create a triangle. Put the main cake and the triangle onto the serving plate at the back to create a heart shape. Cover the entire cake with the leftover buttercream.
8 Press the neck into the slit in the cake. Starting from the back, gently push the meringue feathers onto the buttercream, overlapping until you reach the front.
Per serving: 799 cals, 37g fat, 20g sat fat, 106g carbs >>