Iced Christmas cake

Method

1. Line the base and sides of a 23cm (9 inch) round, or 20cm (8 inch) square tin with a double thickness of silicone paper. Then tie a double layer of brown paper around the outside of the tin. Have a sheet of brown or silicone paper to lay on top of the tin during cooking.

2. Wash the cherries and dry them gently. Cut in two or four as desired.

3. Blanch the almonds in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then rub off the skins and chop them finely. Mix the dried fruit, nuts, ground almonds and grated orange and lemon zest. Add about half of the whiskey and leave for an hour to macerate.

4. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

5. Cream the butter until very soft. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Whisk the eggs and add in bit by bit, beating well between each addition so that the mixture doesn’t curdle. Mix the mixed spice with the flour and stir gently into the butter mixture. Add the grated cooking apple to the plumped up fruit and stir into the butter mixture gently but thoroughly (don’t beat the mixture again or you will toughen the cake). Put the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Make a slight hollow in the centre, dip your hand in water and pat it over the surface of the cake — this will ensure that the top is smooth when cooked. Now lay a double sheet of brown paper on top of the cake to protect the surface from the direct heat.

6. Bake for 1 hour. Then reduce the heat to 150°C and bake for a further 2½ hours, until cooked; test in the centre with a skewer — it should come out completely clean. Pour the remainder of the whiskey over the cake and leave it to cool in the tin. Next day, remove the cake from the tin. Do not remove the lining paper but wrap the cake in some extra greaseproof paper and tin foil until required. Store in a cool, dry place; the longer the cake is stored the more mature it will be.

7. To make the almond paste, sieve the caster sugar and mix it with the ground almonds. Beat the eggs, add the whiskey and 1 drop of pure almond extract, then add to the sugar and almonds and mix to a stiff paste. (You may not need all of the egg.) Sprinkle the worktop with icing sugar, turn out the almond paste and work lightly until smooth.

8. To ice the cake, remove the paper from the cake. To make life easier for yourself, put a sheet of greaseproof paper onto the worktop and dust it with some icing sugar. Roll out half of the almond paste on the paper: it should be a little less than 1cm thick. Paint the top of the cake with the lightly beaten egg white or apricot jam and put the cake, sticky side down, onto the almond paste. Give the cake a thump to make sure it sticks and then cut around the edge.

9. If the cake is a little round-shouldered, cut the almond paste a little larger; pull away the extra bits and keep for later to make hearts or holly leaves. With a palette knife, press the extra almond paste in against the top of the cake to fill any gaps. Then slide a knife underneath the cake, or better still, underneath the paper, and turn the cake right way up. Peel off the greaseproof paper.

10. Roll out 2 long strips of almond paste and trim an edge to the height of the cake with a palette knife. Paint both the cake and the almond paste lightly with egg white or apricot jam. Press the strip against the sides of the cake. Do not overlap or there will be a bulge with the uneven edge upwards. Trim the excess almond paste with a long-bladed knife and keep for decoration or to make almond biscuits. Use a straight-sided water glass to even the edges and smooth the join. Rub the cake well with your hand to ensure a nice flat surface.

11. Instead of toasting the almond paste you can ice the cake with fondant icing, but leave it in a cool, dry place for a few days to allow the almond paste to dry out, otherwise, the oil in the almonds will seep through the fondant icing later.

12. Sprinkle a little icing sugar onto the worktop. Roll out the sheet of fondant until it’s a scant 5mm thick, then gently lift it and lay it over the top of the cake so that it drapes evenly over the sides.

13. Press out any air bubbles with your hands, then trim the base. Decorate as you wish. We use a little posy of winter leaves and berries, including crabapples, elderberries, rosemary, old man’s beard, and viburnum. That’s just one option, but simple shapes stamped out of the remaining fondant icing – stars, holly leaves, Santas – can produce an impressive result. If you are really creative, the fondant may be colored using edible food coloring and then you and all the family can really have fun!