Traditional & Modern Christmas Cake

Cake has become an almost daily feature of life and celebration cakes are wheeled out to mark many occasions - from passing a driving test to changing jobs.  But when I was growing up I remember we  only ate celebration cakes for birthdays, Christmas, weddings and christenings. But gosh, what cake we would be treated to: dark, rich fruit cakes soaked in alcohol and iced in royal icing.

Royal icing is no longer "fashionable. In fact it's a bit of a dying art, having been replaced with fondant which is altogether cheaper, faster and much easier to work with.  And fruit cake is not the obvious choice for the big day - with cup cakes, flapjack even cheese taking its place.

So call me old fashioned but I am strictly about the old traditions when it comes to my celebration cakes.

And this Christmas I continue with my commitment to keep the tradition alive.

About my cake 

 

I baked a fruit cake using mixed fruit that has been soaking in alcohol for 12 months - the jars get topped up each Christmas. 

 

After baking I treated the cake to a few feeds of good quality rum - probably will be over the limit after a slice of this! 

 

 

 

 

A covering of homemade marzipan (which also benefitted from the addition of a tablespoon of rum) and then the royal icing layers have been added. I let the icing dry overnight before applying the next layer. Patience being the secret ingredient once again!

 

 



Marzipan first & final icing coat

 

For the first time I made the royal icing in my new mixer with the scraper beater blade.  That was successful for the initial stages but to get the final consistency I reverted to beating by hand.

Making royal icing in  mixer

Handmade poinsettia and blossoms and a bit of Xmas sparkle

I tried to give my cake a more contemporary feel by omitted all the "swags and tails" piping decoration that was all the rage in the 1970's, opting for a minimalist look for my cake. This meant I had to be meticulous with the icing coats there is no where to hide any imperfections!