Cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes.
Method: Oven
Kit contains: flour & spice blend; dark soft
brown sugar; ready to roll icing; marzipan;
brandy-soaked mixed fruit; apricot jam.
You will need: 170g unsalted butter, at room
temperature; 3 medium eggs, at room
temperature; grated zest of 1 orange, plus 1 tbsp
of juice; icing sugar (for dusting). 20cm deep
loose bottomed round cake tin; baking
parchment; greaseproof paper (for storage);
tin foil (for Storage).
Method: 1. 'Pre-heat the oven to 150°C/
Fan 130°C/Gas 2.
2. Prepare the tin: Use 10g of the butter to grease
the inside of the cake tin. Line the base and sides
with a double layer of baking parchment. Make a
‘lid’ out of another double layer of baking
parchment. Do this by cutting a circle slightly larger
than the diameter of the cake tin. Cut a 20p sized
hole in the centre and set aside.
3. Remove 1 heaped tbsp of the cake flour mix and stir
through the brandy-soaked fruits. Set aside.
4. Beat together the butter and sugar until light
and fluffy
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in-between.
Stir in the orange zest and 1 tbsp orange juice.
6. Fold in the flour and spice blend and mix well.
7. Fold in the floured dried fruit.
For further instructions see underside of lid.
8. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth
the surface level. Make a small well in the centre of the
cake the place the prepared parchment lid on top
making sure that the lid does not touch the surface
of the cake mixture.
9. Bake in the middle of the oven for 2- 2 ½ hours.
10. As all ovens vary – after 2 hours, check the cake is
cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre of the
cake. The skewer should come out clean. If it does not,
place the cake back in the oven to be baked for a
further 15 minutes. Test again and repeat if required.
The cake should take no longer than 3 hours to cook.
The cake will be a dark golden brown with a soft
spring when gently pressed and have a thin aerated
crust layer on the top.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to stand in the tin
for a further 1 hour. Remove from tin and place on a
wire rack to cool completely before decorating or
wrapping for storage.
To Decorate: For a completely flat surface, turn the
cake over and decorate the base. You may have to cut
off a small part of the top of the cake to allow it to sit
flat on a cake board or decorative plate.
French brandy marzipan:
1. Dust the work surface with icing sugar, roll 175g
marzipan into a ball and roll into a circle slightly
bigger than the diameter of the cake. Use the loose
bottom of the cake tin as a guide to cut to the
exact size.
2. Brush the apricot jam evenly over the top of the
cake and place the marzipan on top.
Ready to Roll Icing:
1. Form the ready to roll icing into a ball and repeat as
for the marzipan step 1.
2. Brush a little water over the marzipan and place
the icing on top sliding gently into place
Decorations:
- Form the remaining marzipan into a ball and roll to approximately 4mm thick.
2. Push out the star stencil printed on the box.
3. Place the stencil over the marzipan and cut around the stencil using a sharp knife.
4. Repeat to cut out number of stars you want on the cake
5. Repeat steps 1-4 above with the remaining ready to roll icing.
6. Brush the bottom of each star with a little water.
7. Place on top of the cake.
Serves 24
