Take your Christmas cake to the next level by loading it with apricot and almonds which give a stunning colour and crunch.
of your reference intake. Typical energy values per 100g: 1540kj/368kcal
Ready in: 3 hrs plus cooling time
Serves: 24
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 glacé 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
500g marzipan
icing sugar, to dust
For the royal icing
120g egg whites (we used Two Chicks Liquid Egg White)
800g icing sugar, sieved
1 tsp liquid glucose
1 tsp lemon juice
To decorate
50g desiccated coconut
5 sprigs fresh rosemary
Method
Grease and line a 23cm loose-bottom round cake tin on the base 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 the sugar has dissolved.
Tip in the mixed fruit, apricots and glacé cherries and stir to coat. Cook for 5 mins until the fruit is starting to soften. Take off the heat, pour into a large bowl and leave to cool slightly for 15 mins, stirring occasionally.
Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3. Stir the eggs into the mixture and then add 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 hr and then turn the oven down to 150°C/130°C fan/gas 2 and bake for another 1 hr until the cake is 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. If making it on Stir up Sunday, keep it in the tin covered in clingfilm and, every week for 6 weeks, remove the clingfilm and pour over 2 tbsp of amaretto. This step is optional, and you can use an alternative such as orange juice, if you prefer.
To decorate, remove the cake from the tin and place on a board or plate. Dust the work surface with icing sugar and roll out the marzipan in a large circle to cover the cake, around 5mm thick. Cover and trim the excess.
To make the royal icing, put the egg whites in the bowl of a freestanding mixer (or use a large bowl and an electric hand whisk). Whisk the egg whites until frothy then start slowly adding the icing sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking well after each addition. Once all the icing sugar has been incorporated, add the glucose syrup and lemon juice and keep whisking until the icing is really thick. Use a palette knife to spread the icing over the marzipan-topped cake, smoothing the sides and top. Keep the icing you’re not using covered with a damp tea towel. While the icing is still wet, cover the top and sides of the cake with the desiccated coconut.
Use a cocktail stick to press 5 holes into the top of the sponge, where the rosemary trees will go. Trim the leaves off the bottom of a rosemary sprig and place into the cake. Repeat 4 more times until you have all 5 trees in place. To finish, sieve some extra icing sugar over the rosemary to look like snow-covered trees.
Cook's Tips
You can substitute the amaretto for brandy if you prefer, but we chose amaretto as the beautiful almond flavouring enhances the marzipan.
We used pecans because of their crunch and toasty nutty flavour, but you can use any other nut such as walnuts or pistachios.
This cake is freezable, un-iced, for up to 3 months.
