Pies, Puddings and Pottages

For the cake

Day 1

• Place the dried fruit and peel in the medium mixing bowl and pour over the brandy.  Cover and leave to soak overnight.

Day 2

• Uncover the soaked dried fruit and stir thoroughly.  
• Grease and line a 20cm cake tin with 2 layers of baking paper.
• Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/gas 1.
• Place the butter and sugar in the large mixing bowl and beat with the electric hand whisk until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, spices, ground almonds and pinch of salt into the butter, sugar and egg mixture and fold in.
• Add the soaked fruits, any remaining brandy, lemon zest, chopped almonds and ginger, and stir to combine.  
• Tip the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface.
• Place the cake in the oven and bake for an hour.
• Remove the cake from the oven and cover with kitchen foil.
• Return to the oven for a further 30 minutes.
• Check the cake is done by inserting a skewer into the middle. If it comes out clean the cake is done. If it comes out with any uncooked dough sticking to it place the cake back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Keep checking every 10 minutes until it is cooked.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 1 hour.
• Poke deep holes in the cake using a skewer and pour over about 100ml of brandy.  
• Remove the cake from the tin and take off the baking paper. Wrap well in greaseproof paper and foil and place in an airtight tin.

Following weeks

• Feed the cake with brandy each week until Christmas Eve.

To decorate on Christmas Eve

• Transfer the cake from the airtight container to the cake stand or plate.  
• Heat the apricot jam in the small saucepan until runny.
• Brush the jam over the surface of the cake.
• Dust a work top with icing sugar.
• Place 2/3 of the marzipan on the dusted work surface and roll out into a long rectangle.  Cut out 2 strips deep enough to fit the height of the cake and wide enough to go round the cake with a very small overlap at each of the two joins.
• Roll the remaining marzipan out and cut a circle the diameter of the top of the cake allowing a few millimetres to include the width of the marzipan on the sides.
• Place the marzipan disc on top of the cake, pinching and smoothing the edges so the join disappears.
• Place the fondant icing on the dusted work surface and roll out a circle big enough to cover the whole cake.
• Drape the icing over the cake carefully moulding it so there are no creases round the sides.
• Decorate your cake as you wish. You may want to place Christmas figures such as Santa Claus or Christmas trees on top. I usually cut out ivy leaves from the icing and place them diagonally over the cake.