Christmas Cake

Ingredients

•          275g butter, softened
•          225 brown sugar
•          6 medium eggs
•          100g ground almonds
•          275g plain flour, sifted
•          350g currants
•          350g raisins
•          350g sultanas
•          175g glace cherries, chopped
•          50g almonds, chopped
•          Zest of 1 lemon
•          175g mixed peel
•          2 tsp ground nutmeg
•          1 tsp ground mixed spice
•          2 tsp ground ginger
•          1 tsp ground cinnamon
•          Juice of 1 lemon

For decoration

•          4-6 tbsp apricot jam
•          6 tbsp brandy
•          900g (2lbs) marzipan and fondant icing
•          Edible fondant Christmas trees
•          White frosting
•          Red frosting
•          Edible fondant decoration stuff

Directions

•          Preheat oven to 325ºF, grease cake pan with butter and line bottom with parchment paper.
•          In a large bowl, add butter, brown sugar and beat together until light and fluffy. Then add eggs, plain flour, and beat together until well mixed. Add ground nutmeg, ground mixed spice, ground ginger, ground cinnamon and beat together until well mixed. Mix ground almonds, currants, raisins, sultanas, chopped glace cherries, mixed peel, chopped almonds, lemon zest, lemon juice.
•          Transfer cake butter into the prepared cake pan and smooth surface of the cake butter. Take a strip of grown paper wrap and wrap around cake pan to form a collar. Secure with string.
•          Place cake pan into the oven, bake for 60 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 275ºF and bake for a further 3 hours.
•          Remove cake pan from the oven and remove string, brown paper wrap and leave it to cool complete in the cake pan.
•          Once the cake cooled, run a palette knife around the edges of cake pan to loosen cake. Carefully, turn cake pan upside down onto a serving plate and peel away parchment paper from the cake. Brush brandy over cake and let the brandy soak into the cake.
•          To assemble Christmas cake, spread apricot jam over cake, take a marzipan icing and place over the cake and press it down on the top first and then on the sides. Use knife and trim excess marzipan icing from the base of cake. Smooth top and sides of marzipan icing with cake smoother. Allow cake to dry out for 2-3 days. Repeat same process with remaining apricot jam and cover with fondant icing.
•          To decorate the cake, pipe white frosting over the cake edges of your desired pattern and decorate top of the cake with edible fondant Christmas trees, Santa Claus and gifts. Place edible Christmas trees on the side walls of the cake. Use red frosting and write some texts of your choice over Christmas cake.

Link intructions: http://www.dressup24h.com/game/6550/Christmas-Cake.html