Home Cooking Festive baking Buttered rum Christmas cake SERVES 15-20 PREP 30 mins plus overnight 1 of 5 soaking COOK 3 hrs 15 mins EASY A day
TO COVER THE TOP OF A CAKE ONLY (AS WITH THE MIDWINTER CANDLE CAKE) Use 500g
marzipan and 500g sugarpaste, and roll both
225g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing 225g light muscovado sugar 4 large eggs, beaten 225g plain flour 2 tsp ground mixed spice zest 1 small orange 85g pecan nuts or walnuts, toasted, then roughly chopped FOR THE FRUIT 150ml cloudy apple juice 50g unsalted butter 2 tbsp maple syrup 5 tbsp dark rum 800g mixed dried fruit (the kind that includes mixed peel) 175g dried cranberries TO FEED THE CAKE (each time) 2 tbsp dark rum 1 tbsp maple syrup
1 Start with the fruit. Pour the apple juice into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the butter, let it melt, then take off the heat and add the syrup and rum. Put the mixed fruit and cranberries into a large bowl, pour over the hot rum mix, then cover tightly with cling film and leave overnight. 2 The next day, heat oven to 160C/140C fan. Grease and double-line a 20cm round, deep cake tin with non-stick baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and pale, then gradually beat in the eggs until light and fluffy. If the mix starts to split or look lumpy, add 1 tbsp of the flour and keep beating. Sift in the flour, spices and 1/4 tsp salt, and fold in using a large spoon. Fold in the orange zest, nuts, soaked fruit and soaking liquid. 3 Spoon the batter into the tin, level the top, then make a slight dimple in the middle using the back of the spoon. Bake for 1 hr 30 mins, then reduce oven to 140C/120C fan and bake for a further 1 hr 45 mins or until it has risen, is a dark golden colour and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Put the tin on a cooling rack and leave until warm. 4 To feed the cake the first time, use a cocktail stick to poke all over the top of the warm cake. Stir together the rum and maple syrup, then slowly spoon over the cake. Cool completely, then remove the baking parchment, wrap loosely in clean baking parchment and store in an airtight tin. Feed the cake every week to 10 days until you decorate it.
into a 20cm circle. Brush jam on the top of the cake. Once the cake is topped, use a straightsided glass or jar to rub around the marzipan and icing to make them flush with the cake. If they’re not quite big enough, rub the top of the icing with the flat of your hands to make it spread a little, then use the glass or jar to smooth it.
Midwinter candle cake Covering just the top of the cake with marzipan and icing is easier for first-time cake decorators, yet still looks impressive. SERVES 15-20 TAKES 30 mins 20cm/8in Christmas cake, top only covered with marzipan and sugarpaste (see Icing your cake)
FOR THE DECORATION 3 unscented tea lights, in metal cases 35-40 cinnamon sticks, 8cm long ribbon, about 120cm long bay leaf sprigs rosemary sprigs
1 Arrange the tea lights in a triangle on the top of the cake. Mark their positions by pressing down lightly into the icing, then cut out and remove three circles from the icing, going right down to the marzipan. Insert the candles. 2 Loosely tie the ribbon around the middle of the cake, then drop a cinnamon stick at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock between the ribbon and the cake. One by one, fill in the gaps with the remaining cinnamon sticks. When they are all upright, tighten and tie the ribbon in a knot you may find a second pair of hands helpful for this bit. 3 Separate the bay into 3-leaf sprigs, then insert into the icing (I find the leaves look best if they all swirl around in the same direction). Add the rosemary, bending the stems a little to help if you need to, then fill in any gaps with single bay leaves. (Make sure that no leaves hang over or near where the candle flames will be). When ready to show off your cake, light the candles. Don’t leave the cake unattended. PER SERVING (20) 518 kcals • fat 17g • saturates 8g • carbs 79g • sugars 69g • fibre 2g • protein 5g • salt 0.2g
PER SLICE (20) 421 kcals • fat 16g • saturates 8g • carbs 59g • sugars 50g • fibre 2g • protein 4g • salt 0.2g
68 BBC Good Food Middle East December 2015
Pg65-70 Stir it up_Dec15.indd 68
11/25/15 6:16 PM