Christmas cake has always been a big deal in our house. Ever since I was little I've always helped my Mum bake the cake, feed it with alcohol and then decorate with snow scene royal icing and the same Christmas cake decorations (usually a plastic christmas tree and father christmas) that every year we'd lose and spend hours trying to find. The Christmas cake to me will always hold fond memories and is a very important part of the Christmas celebrations and even though I'm the only person in my house that actually likes fruit cake I still make one every year.
I can't divulge my exact recipe (as its an Edwards' family recipe and my Mum would kill me!) but its based on Delia's traditional Christmas cake recipe which you can find here. You can't go wrong with Delia!
I think one of the key ingredients that elevates Christmas cake from regular fruit cakes is booze, and lots of it! I always soak my dried fruit in alcohol for at least 24 hours before I make the cake and once baked top the cake up with more alcohol every week or so until I'm ready to decorate it.
Then before decorating with the icing the next step is to cover in marzipan. The marzipan not only tastes great but also helps give an even finish to the cake before you decorate. A fruit cake doesn't seem quite right without marzipan, its just tradition. I covered my cake with marzipan in two steps, first covering the sides with one strip and then covering the top with a circle. I then blended the edges together and smoothed the edges with a smoother.
The next step is to decorate but first need to decide on my design...............
