WHISKY-SOAKED CHRISTMAS CAKE (hic)

Whisky-Soaked Christmas Cake (hic)

Yes, I know I'm late with this one...

For a really potent Christmas cake, you should make this at least three weeks before Christmas, even longer if you can. I made this one (the cake) in November and added the icing last week. But, you could make it now and have it in January to celebrate the New Year, the new and improved US President and the imminent end of COVID-19. (Ever the positive thinker I am!) Or you could make it and keep it until next year! Anyway, once you have baked it, sealed it well in a thick cover of foil and placed it in a dark cool place for the flavours to meld, you need to undertake the further ritual of "feeding the cake" by painting it at least once a week with the liquor you have chosen to bake it with. Traditionally, it's either rum or brandy. But this year I experimented with whisky and you know what? It was the best one I've ever made. I made my own marzipan to keep it pure but cheated by buying and rolling out a ready-made icing. This one looks a bit naff, I think, so please don't follow my lead here. You can be much more creative than this! Last year's (insert) was much cuter (but didn't taste as nice). We still had our beautiful cat Mitzi then, so it was a Christmas Cat Cake. 🐱

INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE

350g raisins

350g sultanas

75g currants

75g glace cherries

50g mixed peel

120ml whisky

225g unsalted butter at room temperature

200g brown sugar

1 tsp each grated orange and lemon zest

4 large eggs

2 heaped tbsps marmalade

1 tsp almond essence

350g plain flour

1 tsp mixed spice

2 tsp ground cinnamon

generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg

pinch sea salt

round or square 23cm tin (doesn't have to be exact)

INGREDIENTS FOR 5-MINUTE MARZIPAN

1 1/2 almond meal

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp pure almond extract

1 tsp rose water (optional)

1 egg white

Place the almond meal and powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Add the almond extract and the rosewater, if you use it, and pulse to combine. Add egg white and process until you have a thick dough. If it's really wet and sticky, you can add a little more almond meal and sugar but bear in mind it will firm p in the fridge. Turn out onto a work surface and knead until you can form it into a log. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate. It will keep in the fridge for a month and in the freezer for 6 months.

Makes about 500g marzipan.

METHOD

1. Place all of the fruit in a large bowl and cover with whisky. Let soak overnight or even longer.

2. Preheat your oven to 150C.

3. Butter the inside of your cake tin and line it with baking paper. Use a double thickness of brown paper (or baking paper if you don't have any) to wrap the outside of the tin and tie securely with string. Make sure both come up a good 10cm above the rim of the tin.

4. Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer.

5 Beat in the orange and lemon rind.

6. Add the eggs one by one, beating well each time.

7. Add the marmalade and almond essence, beating well again.

8. Sift the dry ingredients together in another bowl and then alternately add the dry ingredients and the whisky-soaked fruit to the creamed mixture, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

9. Carefully put the cake mix into your prepared tin. (It will be gluggy and heavy so take your time.)

10. Bake for 2 1/2 or 3 hours or until a skewer plunged into the centre comes our clean. Check after 2 1/2 hours.

11. Brush the cake while still warm with a couple of tbsps of whisky and wrap, while still in the tin, with a double thickness of foil. This will "steam the cake" letting it remain moist.

12. When it has cooled completely, remove the cake from the tin and re-wrap in two layers of foil. You can then store in Tupperware or a an air-tight tin. (I had neither so I just gently plonked the

wrapped cake on a plate and stored it in the wine fridge, ready for its weekly feeding. (We're in the tropics so this was the coolest, but not coldest spot.

When the cake has been resting and feeding for at least three weeks, brush the top of the cake with warmed marmalade. Then roll out your marzipan and place on top, trimming the edges. A little more warmed marmalade brushed over and then you can roll out your icing and lay it on top of the marzipan.

Decorate with cut-out shapes of leftover icing, or used another coloured icing. This is your time to be creative and make your Christmas cake unique.

Happy Christmas everyone and all the very very best for 2021. 🥂