Back in November, I embarked on the yearly ritual of making the Christmas cake, you can find original recipe and write up here.
I decided to top the cake with the traditional brushing of apricot jam, a layer of marzipan and then royal icing (3 egg whites and 600g of icing sugar). I marzipanned on the 23rd and iced on the 24th. The icing was a little runny, but luckily it managed to stick.
We were all too full on the 25th to tackle the cake, so tucked in on boxing day. I fed the cake (very generously!) once a week leading up to Christmas, and as soon as I cut into it, the port hit me! You really only need a small slice at a time – I promise! – it is so rich! Its super sticky and heavy, as the recipe states, it is decadent.
I do recommend toping with a layer of icing, as this helps to break up the density of the cake.
It is still very much a traditional Christmas fruit cake recipe, it looks, smells and tastes like one. If I do make this recipe again, I may double the amount of chocolate that goes in, as I feel this does get lost (or maybe I just put too much port in!).
One things for sure, I will be tucking into this over the next few weeks and taking some into work so that it’s not wasted!
The original recipe is here
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Yes, I can confirm it was delicious! Not sure about doubling the chocolate though – you can’t improve on perfection. Happy New Year!