Christmas cake

By: Margaret Fulton
From: Encyclopedia of Food and Cookery

The rich and spicy fruit cake of England, made a few months before 25 December so that it will mature into a festive cake, is one of the joys of Christmas. It may be topped with halved almonds before baking, and finished off with a sprig of holly. Some prefer a more elaborate iced version: a coating of almond paste, then an icing. A few Christmas decorations, a fir tree, a toy Santa Claus, Christmas bells or an appropriate greeting may be used to give a dash of colour.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
1	Rich fruit cake
1/2 quantity	Almond paste

Glaze

Quantity	Ingredient
3 tablespoons	apricot jam
2 tablespoons	water
1 teaspoon	lemon juice

Icing

Quantity	Ingredient
2	egg whites
500g	pure icing sugar, sifted
1-2 teaspoons	lemon juice

Method

Make cake 2 months before Christmas, and store in an airtight tin until required.
To make glaze, bring apricot jam and water to the boil and boil for 4 minutes. Push through a sieve, return to saucepan with lemon juice and heat through. Brush hot glaze over top of cake. Roll out almond paste into a round to fit top of cake. Place on cake and gently press with edge of rolling pin. Leave for at least 24 hours before icing.
To make icing, whisk egg whites to a light froth and gradually add icing sugar, beating well. Stir in lemon juice and continue beating until icing stands in soft peaks. Spread icing over top and sides of cake. Rough up icing around sides and edge of cake to resemble drifting snow. Decorate with any suitable Christmas decoration. A little of the icing may be set aside, coloured, and used to write ‘Merry Christmas’ on the cake. Leave icing to set overnight.

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