Method
- 1 You can ice your cake up to 1 week before Christmas – it takes 24-48 hours.
- 2 Start by placing it on a cake board or stand.
- 3 If it has a bumpy top, carefully slice across it to even it out, then turn it over so that you have a smooth surface to ice.
- 4 Put the apricot jam into a small saucepan with 2 tsp water and warm it until it loosens.
- 5 Strain it through a sieve into a small bowl, then brush a thin layer over the top and sides of the cake.
- 6 Measure over the top and sides of the cake with string.
- 7 Lightly dust a clean work surface and rolling pin with icing sugar.
- 8 Knead the marzipan for 2 minutes until pliable.
- 9 Using the string as a guide, roll out the marzipan into a circle to cover the cake, plus a little extra.
- 10 Turn the marzipan every few rolls so that it doesn’t stick to the surface, and use a little more icing sugar if you need to.
- 11 Fold the marzipan onto the rolling pin and lift it onto the cake.
- 12 Working from the top, carefully smooth it over the sides of the cake with your hands, trying not to make creases.
- 13 With a small, sharp knife, cut away the excess marzipan.
- 14 Leave the cake uncovered for 24-48 hours, to let the marzipan dry out a little.
- 15 When you are ready to ice, brush a small amount of water over the marzipan.
- 16 Knead the fondant icing until pliable.
- 17 Lightly dust the work surface and rolling pin with icing sugar – not too much or the fondant icing may dry out and crack.
- 18 Using string as a guide as before, roll out the icing into a large circle to cover the cake, plus a little extra.
- 19 Keep turning it as you roll to stop it sticking, and dust with a little more icing sugar if needed.
- 20 Use the rolling pin to lift the icing onto the marzipan, then smooth it in place.
- 21 Trim off any excess.
1 Review
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Joseph
The perfect finish to my Christmas cake
- Average per serving
- Calories 817.0kCal
- Fat24.9g
- Saturated9.7g
- Salt0.18g
- Carbohydrates140.9
- Sugar121.6g
- Protein9.4g
- Fibre4.2g