Apricot and almond Christmas cake

Name: Apricot and almond Christmas cake | Asda Good Living
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 24
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 250g Unsalted Butter, roughly chopped, plus extra for greasing; 350g Light Brown Sugar; 2 Lemons, zest and juice; 200ml Amaretto; 800g ASDA Extra Special Brandy Soaked Mixed Fruit; 200g Dried Apricots, roughly chopped; 100g Glace Cherries, halved; 4 Eggs; 100g ground Almonds; 300g Plain Flour; 1 tsp Baking Powder; 1 tsp ground Cinnamon; 1 tsp ground Ginger; 100g flaked Almonds, toasted; 150g Pecans, toasted and roughly chopped; 800g Icing Sugar, for decorating, plus extra to serve; 50g Desiccated Coconut, for decorating; 5 sprigs Rosemary, for decorating; 500g Marzipan; 120g Egg Whites (we used Two Chicks Liquid Egg White); 1 tsp Liquid Glucose; 1 tsp Lemon juice

Take your Christmas cake to the next level by loading it with apricot and almonds which give both a stunning colour and crunch.

By Asda Good Living,23rd October 2023

Cook: 3 Hours

Serves: 24

Price: £1.07 per serving

Nutritional Information

Each 135g serving contains

Energy
3012kj
533kcal

27%

Fat
20.1g

Med
29%

Saturates
7.6g

High
38%

Sugars
63.5g

High
71%

Salt
0.16g

Low
3%

of your 5-a-day

of your reference intake.
Typical energy values per 100g:
2231kj/533kcal

Ingredients

250g Unsalted Butter, roughly chopped, plus extra for greasing

350g Light Brown Sugar

2 Lemons, zest and juice

200ml Amaretto

800g ASDA Extra Special Brandy Soaked Mixed Fruit

200g Dried Apricots, roughly chopped

100g Glace Cherries, halved

4 Eggs

100g ground Almonds

300g Plain Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1 tsp ground Ginger

100g flaked Almonds, toasted

150g Pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

800g Icing Sugar, for decorating, plus extra to serve

50g Desiccated Coconut, for decorating

5 sprigs Rosemary, for decorating

500g Marzipan

120g Egg Whites (we used Two Chicks Liquid Egg White)

1 tsp Liquid Glucose

1 tsp Lemon juice

Method

Grease and line a 23cm loose-bottom round cake tin, on the bottom and around the sides. Put the butter, sugar, lemon zest, juice and amaretto into a large saucepan and heat over a medium heat until the butter has melted, and sugar has dissolved. You can subsite the amaretto with brandy, but we use amaretto as it helps enhance the almond flavour. Alternatively, if you want an alcohol free version, substitute the amaretto with orange juice in the cake.

Tip in the mixed fruit, apricots and glace cherries and stir to coat. Cook for 5 minutes until the fruit is starting to soften. Take off the heat, pour into a large bowl and leave to cool slightly for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Heat oven to 170°C / 150°C fan. Stir the eggs into the mixture and then add in the ground almonds, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, flaked almonds and pecans. Stir until everything is combined. Tip into the lined tin and smooth over the top so it’s level. Bake for 1 hour and then turn the oven down to 150°C / 130°C fan and bake for another hour until a dark golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean. You can cover with foil if it starts to brown too much during cooking.

Leave to cool completely in the tin. Remove from the tin and place on the serve plate or board.

Mix the icing sugar with 3 - 4 tbsp water until you have a smooth thick icing that just falls off the spoon. Spread around the whole cake, including the sides.

Sprinkle the desiccated coconut over the whole cake, including the sides, using your hand to help, and brush away any that falls off.

Using a cocktail stick, press 5 holes into the top of the sponge, where the rosemary trees will go. Trim the leaves off the bottom of the rosemary, and place into the cake, repeat 4 more times so they look like trees. Sieve over some extra icing sugar over the rosemary to look like snow covered trees.

If you’re making it ahead of time on stir up Sunday, leave the icing off and keep it in the tin covered in cling film. Pour over 2 tbsp of amaretto each week for 6 weeks.