Recipe #161: Christmas Cake & Royal Icing

1 pound plain flour
½  teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
9 ounces of sugar
½  teaspoon  of ground ginger (? A.I.W.)
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
6 eggs
½  pound of butter
½  pound of margarine
Soak in brandy 24   48 hours
3/4 pound of sultana raisins
3/4 pound of currants
3/4 pound of  seedless raisins
1/4 pound of mixed peel
4 ounces chopped glazed cherries
3 ounces of blanched almonds
1 teaspoon of coffee essence
3 teaspoons of brandy essence
1 teaspoon of almond essence

cooking time: 5 1/4 hours
temperature: 325F for 2 3/4 hours,
reduced to 275F for 2 1/2 hours
size of dish 8 3/4" to 9"
shelf position bottom, crank up

Proceed as follows:

Grease and line the tin with greaseproof paper. Allow this to come above the tin,  approx 1 inch. 
Cream the fat and sugar until the consistency of whipping cream. 

Add separately the beaten egg.  Should the mixture curdle, sprinkle in a little flour. (From Adrian:  Wet mixture will curdle, so smooth out with flour.)

Add the liquid essence, sift the spice, ginger, baking powder, and flour together. 

Blanch the almonds and chop, also chop the cherries into quarters. 

Mix the flour and prepared dry fruit, nuts, and cherries together, fold carefully into the creamed mixture, place in prepared tin.

Bake.

When done, the cake should be allowed to cool in the tin.

Leave the cake for at  least one day. It should then be brushed with apricot jam or syrup before applying the almond icing. 

Leave to dry out for a further two to three days before covering with royal icing.

With dry mixture in bowl, add fruit 1/5th at a time to coat with flour. This will prevent it from sinking to the bottom of the cake tin.

Turn the cake out of  its tin and place face down on a plate. Prick the bottom all over with a fork, our  about 1/2 cup brandy/sherry/port/etc over bottom and let soak in.

Add some almond oil to marzipan to make it smoother and richer.

Coat with marzipan, wrap well in aluminum foil and  place in cool basement or refrigerate for long term storage,

Remove from storage and let sit at room temperature 24 hours before coating with Royal Icing.

*

Royal Icing   
for 7" square or 8" round cake

One pound, two oz. sifted icing sugar
3 egg whites - size 2
1 tsp glycerine

Place the egg whites in a bowl and stir in the icing sugar a spoonful at a time until the icing falls thickly from the spoon. 

At that time stop adding the sugar and beat with an electric beater for ten minutes, or until icing stands up in stiff peaks.

Stir in the glycerine.

Spread the icing all over the base and sides of the cake as evenly as possible using a pallet knife. 

Switch to a broad bladed knife or a smaller pallet knife to spike the icing all over to give the snow effect. 

Leave the cake overnight to allow it to stiffen before placing it into a storage container until needed.