-
1
Place all the dried fruit in a large mixing bowl.
-
2
Pour over the Brandy and stir in the orange zest.
-
3
Soak overnight.
-
4
Preheat the oven to 140C.
-
5
Grease and double 23 cm line tin.
-
6
Beat butter, sugar, eggs, treacle & almonds.
-
7
Add flour and ground spice, stir in the soaked fruit.
-
8
Spoon into prepared cake tin and level.
-
9
Bake for 4 to 4 1/2 hours, if after 2 hours it is a rich, golden, brown colour, cover with foil.
-
10
Once a scewer comes out clean, remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin.
-
11
When cool, pierce the cake with fine holes and pour over brandy.
-
12
Remove for tin and wrap in double layer wax paper and store.
-
13
Week dousing with a cap full brandy.
-
14
Or spoon into 10x5cm bun pans and bake for 1h40min
-
15
1 week before the cake is needed, cover the cake.
-
16
Stand the cake upside down, flat side uppermost.
-
17
Brush the sides and the top of the cake with the warm apricot jam.
-
18
Liberally dust a work surface with icing supar and then roll out the marzipan to about 5cm larger than the surface of the cake.
-
19
Keep moving the marzipan as you roll, checking that it is nnot sticking to the work surface.
-
20
Dust the work surface with more icing sugar as necessary.
-
21
Carefully lift the marzipnn over the cake using a rolling pin.
-
22
Smoothe it down.
-
23
For the royal icing whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until they become frothy.
-
24
Mix in the sifted icing sugar a tbl full at a time.
-
25
Stir in the lemon juice and glycerine and beat the icing until it is very stiff and white and stands up in peaks.
-
26
Cover the surface of the icing tightly with clingfilm and keep in a cool place until needed,
-
27
To ice the cake, place all the icing onto the top of the cake.
-
28
Spread evenly over the top and sides of the cake with a palette knife.
-
29
For a snow-peak effect, use a smaller palette knife to rough up the icing.
-
30
Leave the cake loosely covered overnight for the icing to harden a little, then wrap or store in an airtight container ina cool place until needed,
