Your Christmas cake has been maturing nicely, particularly if you have had a “feeding” recipe of regular brandy, sherry or whiskey top-ups! If you would like to select a Christmas cake icing recipe to add the final touch, the following is not a complicated recipe.
The best time to add the icing to your Christmas cake is a week to two weeks before Christmas.
Everything you will need for your Christmas Icing Recipe based on a 9” cake:
Slightly alter the icing recipe ingredients pro rata if your Christmas cake is smaller or larger than this.
1, 25 kg/2.5 lbs almond paste/marzipan
4 Tbs apricot jam
550g/1lb.2 ozs icing sugar for the Christmas cake icing recipe itself plus a little extra for dusting
3 egg whites
1 Tsp glycerine
Large bowl
Cake board
Electric whisk
Flat knife
Pair of scissors
Pastry brush
Airtight tin
Christmas cake icing decorations of choice, eg. Sprig of holly, Christmas ribbon.
The recipe for Christmas cake icing needs to be undertaken in two parts. The almond paste icing recipe is applied first, followed a few days later by the Christmas cake royal icing recipe.
Applying the almond paste icing recipe to your Christmas cake
1. Stand the Christmas cake on the cake board for icing
2. Lightly dust a work surface with sifted icing sugar
3. Roll the almond paste into a circle large enough to cover the top and sides of the cake.
4. Paint the top and sides of the Christmas cake with warm apricot jam to enable the almond paste icing to stick
5. Lift the paste onto the cake and apply over the top and sides evenly
6. Trim off any excess.
7. Leave the Christmas cake to dry, uncovered, in a cool place for a few days.
Applying the royal Icing Recipe to your Christmas creation
1. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl using the whisk
2. Slowly sift in the icing sugar beating until you have thick stiff white peaks – about 10 mins
3. Blend in the glycerine
4. Spread the icing over the almond-pasted Christmas cake using the flat knife to create either smooth icing on the surface or fluffed up little peaks all over the top
5. Add Christmas decorations of choice
6. The Christmas cake complete with icing should now be left to dry and set in a cool place for about two days.
7. Store in an airtight tin.