A fruit cake covered in white icing with a slice taken out of it

This competition is now closed

Make-ahead Christmas cake

Name: Make-ahead Christmas cake
Total time: 5 h
Ingredients: currants, sultanas and raisins 600g; glacé cherries 100g; mixed peel 50g, chop a couple of whole pieces if you can; glacé ginger or crystallised ginger 50g, roughly chopped; glacé or diced pineapple 100g, roughly chopped; Cointreau or Grand Marnier 60ml; ginger wine 60ml; Angostura bitters 2 tbsp, the orange version is good; light muscovado sugar 225g; butter 250g, softened; plain flour 225g; ground ginger 1tsp; nutmeg ¼ of a whole one, grated; cinnamon 1 tsp; vanilla extract 1 tbsp; whole blanched almonds 100g; eggs 4; orange 1, zested; apricot jam 2 tbsp, mixed with 1 tbsp water and sieved; marzipan 500g; corn flour, for rolling; vodka 4 tbsp; ready-roll fondant icing 500g

5 hours + up to 2 days soaking and cooling
12
A little effort

Get ahead with your Christmas baking and rustle up our gently spiced, orange and ginger wine-spiked fruit cake

November 20, 2019 at 4:20 pm

Fill any holes and dips in the Christmas cake with extra marzipan before you cover it with the marzipan layer.

Ingredients

currants, sultanas and raisins 600g
glacé cherries 100g
mixed peel 50g, chop a couple of whole pieces if you can
glacé ginger or crystallised ginger 50g, roughly chopped
glacé or diced pineapple 100g, roughly chopped
Cointreau or Grand Marnier 60ml
ginger wine 60ml
Angostura bitters 2 tbsp, the orange version is good
light muscovado sugar 225g
butter 250g, softened
plain flour 225g
ground ginger 1tsp
nutmeg ¼ of a whole one, grated 
cinnamon 1 tsp 
vanilla extract 1 tbsp
whole blanched almonds 100g
eggs 4
orange 1, zested

CAKE DECORATION

apricot jam 2 tbsp, mixed with 1 tbsp water and sieved
marzipan 500g
corn flour for rolling
vodka 4 tbsp
ready-roll fondant icing 500g

Method

Step 1

Soak the dried and glacé fruit in the alcohol and Angostura bitters for up to 2 days.
Step 2

Heat the oven to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1. Line an 18cm square or 20cm round cake tin with 2 layers of baking parchment. Beat the sugar and butter together then sift in the flour and spices and mix briefly. Add the vanilla, almonds, eggs, orange zest and the fruit and alcohol mix and stir together. Spoon into the tin and make a dip in the centre with the back of a spoon so that when the cake rises in the middle you get a at top. Bake for 3-31/2 hours then cool in the tin in the oven.
Step 3

Peel off the paper and brush off any crumbs, then brush the top with the jam. Roll out the marzipan on a work surface dusted with corn flour until it is big enough to cover the cake. Lift it over the cake using a rolling pin and smooth down all the way around. Trim any excess. Brush with vodka then roll out the icing and cover in the same way. Trim the icing around the edges and neaten. Roll out the icing off-cuts and cut out different sized stars, brush with a little vodka and stick to the cake. Finish with a ribbon.