English Christmas Cake with snowmen

Name: English Christmas Cake with snowmen
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h
Yield: 24
Ingredients: 100 g Almond kernels without skin; 550 g mixed dried fruit (e.g. apricots, figs, plums); 5 TABLESPOONS + 175 g flour; 7-10 Tbsp #250 g sultanas; 250 g Butter; 250 g dark brown Muscovado sugar; 4 Eggs (size M); 2 TEASPOONS Gingerbread spice; 50 g crushed almonds; 10-11 TABLESPOONS Brandy; 2-3 TABLESPOONS Apricot Jam; 1 (300 g) Fine marzipan blanket, ready rolled out; 500–600 g white fondant to roll out; 80 g Icing sugar; 2 TEASPOONS Lemon juice; 150 g Marzipan raw mass; 7-10 Tbsp Food colouring; 7-10 Tbsp Icing sugar for rolling out and decorating; Grease and baking paper; 7-10 Tbsp Cling film; 7-10 Tbsp Aluminium foil; 7-10 Tbsp Disposable piping bag; 7-10 Tbsp wooden skewers; 7-10 Tbsp red ribbon

AUTHOR
Billie Wagner

DIFFICULTY
very easy

RATING

COOK TIME
240 mins

TOTAL TIME
240 mins

Ingredients

Servings: 24

100 g Almond kernels without skin
550 g mixed dried fruit (e.g. apricots, figs, plums)
5 TABLESPOONS + 175 g flour
7-10 Tbsp #250 g sultanas
250 g Butter
250 g dark brown Muscovado sugar
4 Eggs (size M)
2 TEASPOONS Gingerbread spice
50 g crushed almonds
10-11 TABLESPOONS Brandy
2-3 TABLESPOONS Apricot Jam
1 (300 g) Fine marzipan blanket, ready rolled out
500–600 g white fondant to roll out
80 g Icing sugar
2 TEASPOONS Lemon juice
150 g Marzipan raw mass
7-10 Tbsp Food colouring
7-10 Tbsp Icing sugar for rolling out and decorating
Grease and baking paper
7-10 Tbsp Cling film
7-10 Tbsp Aluminium foil
7-10 Tbsp Disposable piping bag
7-10 Tbsp wooden skewers
7-10 Tbsp red ribbon

Directions

1
Lightly grease an English cake tin (21.5 cm Ø/ height approx. 10 cm, capacity approx. 3 1/4 litres) or a springform pan (22 cm Ø) with a high rim. Line the bottom and edge of the tin with baking paper
2
Roast the almonds in a pan without fat, take them out and let them cool down. Coarsely chop the almonds. Dice the dried fruit. Mix 1 tbsp. flour, dried fruit, sultanas and candied fruit in a bowl with your hands to loosen fruit lumps. Mix in roasted almonds
3
Melt the butter lightly, place in a large bowl and whisk until creamy for about 4 minutes with the whisk of the hand mixer. Add sugar and beat the mixture for another 4 minutes. Mix in the eggs with 1 tbsp. flour one after the other. Mix the remaining flour, gingerbread spice and ground almonds and stir in. Finally mix in the fruit mixture and 5 tbsp. brandy
4
Put the dough into the mould and smooth it down. Lightly tap the mould on the work surface to close any air bubbles. In the middle of the cake, make a hollow in the dough so that the cake keeps a flat surface. Place the mould on an oven rack and bake in the preheated oven, 2nd shelf from below (electric oven: 150 °C/ circulating air: 125 °C/ gas: see manufacturer) for approx. 2 hours. Let the finished cake cool in the mould on a cake rack for approx. 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the tin and the baking paper and let it cool down on a cake rack
5
Prick the bottom and surface of the cake several times with a stick. Pour the rest of the brandy, except 1-2 tbsp., first into the holes in the bottom, then into the holes on the top. Place the cake on a plate. When the brandy is absorbed, wrap the cake tightly in cling film and aluminium foil and store in a cool, dry place for at least 1 month
6
Remove the foil and place the cake on a flat plate with the base facing upwards. Heat the jam in a pot, pass it through a sieve and spread it all around the cake
7
Remove the marzipan cover from the package, place it over the cake according to the package instructions, smooth it down and press it down well. Cut off excess marzipan all around with a knife. The lower edge of the marzipan should form a straight line at the bottom. If the cake does not lie flat on the plate, press some marzipan from the edge into the gaps. Leave the cake in a cool, dry place for another 24 hours so that the marzipan can dry.
8
Brush marzipan with the remaining brandy. Knead the fondant until smooth and roll out into a large plate (38-40 cm Ø) on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Place on the cake in the same way as the marzipan cover, smooth with your hands and press down well. Cut off any excess fondant, knead again and wrap in foil. Tie red ribbon around the cake
9
Mix 50 g icing sugar and lemon juice to a thick icing and place in a piping bag. Knead the raw marzipan paste and 30 g icing sugar. Break off 1 piece about the size of a walnut and colour it with red food colouring. Break off two slightly smaller pieces and colour them black or orange. Wrap in cling film
10
First cut the rest of the marzipan into thirds, then divide these pieces again so that one part is slightly larger than the other. Shape into balls. Spray a dab of icing on each small ball and stick it on a large ball. Roll red marzipan into thin snakes and wrap them around the snowmen as a scarf. Use the black marzipan to form 12 mini balls as eyes and buttons and stick them on the snowmen. Form orange marzipan into small carrot noses and stick them on as noses. Let snowmen dry
11
Halve the remaining fondant. Colour one half light green, the other half fir green. Roll out fondant thickly (6-8 mm). Cut out fir trees with various cutters (6.5 to 8 cm high). Stick a wooden skewer into each tree and let it dry
12
Stick snowmen with icing on the cake, stick little trees with the wooden skewers into the cake. Spread icing sugar as a thick layer of snow in between
13
waiting time approx. 1 month + 36 hours