Icy Christmas cakes recipe: Mini glazed cakes from 1969 - Click Americana (2024)

FAQs

What icing is best for Christmas cake? ›

Fruited Christmas Cakes are traditionally covered with marzipan followed by a layer of white icing. You may wish to Feed and Store your Christmas Cake before adding the icing layers. Traditionally the white layer would be royal icing although you could use vegan royal icing or shop bought fondant icing.

Turn the cake upside down as this gives you a perfect flat surface to start with. You then need to sieve the apricot jam so it is totally smooth as you don't want lumps of apricots under your marzipan and icing. Warm the jam slightly and get a pastry brush ready.

Brush the cake with a colourless alcohol (vodka is a good option) or cold boiled water to help the icing stick. Start by laying the icing at the back of the cake and lower it down to the front. Use the flats of your hands to smooth the icing over the cake. Neatly trim away any excess icing.

You don't have to use marzipan (brush the cake with sieved and warmed apricot jam instead), but the natural lumpiness of fruit cakes means your finish won't be as smooth, and dark-coloured oils and liquids in the cake might 'leak' out and discolour the icing over time (a problem if you want to store the cake for more ...

Swiss meringue buttercream is a favorite among many cake decorators because of its smooth finish on the outside cakes and its ability to hold piping detail.

The traditional coat of almond icing (marzipan) should be put on the cake a week before you want to ice it, to allow its oiliness to dry out. Cover the marzipan surface with a clean tea cloth and store out of the tin or container. Icing is best left to the last few days – in my case often until Christmas Eve.

You can use rum, brandy or whisky for spice, or if you like citrus flavours, try an orange liqueur. Cherry brandy and amaretto will also work well if you prefer these.

The layer of marzipan on a cake partly serves to give a smooth surface on to which to ice the cake. You can use the ready to roll icing and roll it thickly so that it gives a smooth-ish finish to the cake. The cake should last for 5 weeks like this, but bear in mind that as the icing sits it will harden over time.

Christmas cakes are also commonly made with pudding while a fruit cake uses butter, however there are Christmas cake recipes that do contain butter. The traditional Scottish Christmas cake, also known as the Whisky Dundee, is very popular. It is a light crumbly cake with currants, raisins, cherries and Scotch whisky.

Apply the Royal Icing

Decorate as you wish with silver or gold sugar balls, Christmas ornaments, or other festive decorations. Let the cake dry, uncovered until the icing sets hard, at least overnight or up to three days before serving. If not serving immediately, store in an airtight container.

Can you put icing directly on a Christmas cake? ›

Quick Christmas Cake decorations

It is a soft icing that dries so it is often better to just put it on the top of your cake. I used a long length of liquorice around mine but the decorating is up to you. You can leave the sides free of icing.

The surface of the cake is usually brushed with apricot jam before the marzipan is added, to give a slighty tacky surface that the marzipan can stick to. If you can't find apricot jam then marmalade is a good alternative.

Always cover a fruitcake with marzipan before covering it with fondant or royal icing to keep moisture in the cake and stop oils from seeping into the outside covering and causing discolouration. If you are covering a fruitcake with marzipan, use boiled, sieved apricot jam to stick it to the cake not buttercream.

Brush cake with a little whiskey or brandy and apply the ready to roll as per the almond paste above. Alternatively, spread cake with the instant royal icing and use the back of a spoon to raise the icing to give a snow effect!

If the cake is wrapped up appropriately and kept in a cool environment it is possible the icing and marzipan would be good for a couple of months but the cake of course for much longer.

I know fondant icing looks great on a Christmas cake, but it's a bother to make so royal icing gets my vote most years. And yes, you can buy it, but if I've actually managed to make a cake, I don't want to spoil the home-made flavours with bought icing. Just call me picky. Royal icing is so forgiving.