Christmas Cake

Christmas Cake

With Christmas only a two months away, one must start prepare now for that moist fruit cake that you can snack on the whole Christmas Holiday through.  I know fruit cake is not to everyone's taste, but it does not mean that you can't have a decorated cake for Christmas, no matter if it is a sponge or what ever cake.

If you can buy or bake the cake yourself, it is super.  The decorating of it differs just a little bit between a fruit cake or sponge cake.  I will describe the decorating of the cake for both cases.

1. If you are going to have a fruit cake for Christmas, then I suggest that you start on baking it now or buy one that is ready.  To make sure it is moist for Christmas, I will suggest that you test it with your fingers to see if it looks wet.  If not, I would suggest that you buy a half jack of brandy and pour a few spoons full over the cake.  Place it in foil and cover it.  The brandy will not only preserve the cake, but will add taste and moisture to it.  Repeat every day for a few days until the cake looks moist enough (but not soaking wet ... if too wet, let it dry a bit out by leaving it open so that the extra moisture can evaporate.)
2. Make sure your cake is firm and even.  It is so unsightly when you take the effort to decorate a cake and it looks skew or have unsightly bump and holes.  If it is a fruit cake and you want to go the whole formal way with Almond Paste and white Plastic Icing, I suggest that you kneed the almond paste to be soft and playable.  (the heat of your hands will make it soft.)  Pinch little peaces off from the lump and fill in all the holes that was caused by raisins or fruit that had cooked away.  Make sure it is as flat as possible with the cake.  
3. A sponge cake will only be good if you bake it about two days before Christmas.  You don't need to pour brandy on it.  If you have a sponge cake, then see too that it is flat and without humps and holes too)
4. Place the cake now on a cake board or plate.
5. For the sponge cake you will mix now butter or cream icing that is stiff.  Spread it as even as possible over the whole cake.  Place in the refrigerator so to set a bit.
6. For the fruit cake you take apricot jam, mix a bit with water to make it a bit thinner.  Spread this apricot jam over the whole cake
7. You should be able to cover one 20 cm x 20 cm cake with a bucket of Almond Paste (750g) and one bucket of Plastic Icing.  (We don't put Almond Paste on a sponge cake.)
8. Roll the Almond Paste evenly out over a icing sifted surface so it does not stick to it.  Make sure you roll it thin and big enough to go over the cake.  (That would be about 35 cm x 35 cm).  Start rolling the almond paste on the rolling pin and lift it carefully over the cake and position it so to cover it.  Rub it flat with your hands dusted with some icing sugar. once it is flat and cover the whole cake, make sure that it is neat and even.  You can use the rolling pin or a perfect tubular glass to roll the sides evenly and the top too.  Take your time and spend it cautiously, perfecting it to a flat, even finish.  Cut the excess Almond Paste with a sharp knife against the board or plate.
9. Prepare the plastic Icing in the same manner.
10. Beat an egg-white with a fork and seal the cake by brushing it over the entire Almond Paste covering.  Make sure ti spread it even a bit over the board so to seal it.  Let dry.  Repeat 2 more times to make sure that no moisture will seep out and spoil your decorations.
11. Now this is for both types of cakes.  With the Plastic Icing rolled out on a sifted icing sugar surface, you do the same as with the Almond Paste.  Roll it carefully on the pin and position it carefully over the cake so to cover it completely.  You can rub it with your hands that are dusted with icing sugar till it is smooth.  As with the Almond Paste, take the rolling pin or a tubular glass and make sure all the surfaces is even.  Take your time to do it perfect.  again cut off all extra Plastic Icing. 
12. Leave the cake and Icing to rest for a day.
13. In the meantime you can make decorations of the left over Plastic Icing, by coloring it with food coloring (only a few drops or a pinch of powder coloring is sufficient.  It always gets darker when dry.)  Roll it out too on an icing dusted surface, cut out the little leaves and ribbons if you feel you can try.  Red little bolls are made from the Almond Paste or from the Plastic Icing.  Let you imagination go and try little "gifts" too.
14. In the cake above I did some frosting on the sides.  Frosting is made with Royal Icing.  One egg-white slightly beaten with a fork, then add sifted Icing sugar until it is stiff enough to form peaks when you pull the fork out.  Add about 3 drops of Acetic Acid (at chemist) or 5 drops lemon juice and mix well.  It will make the icing a bit whiter and it will harden quickly.
15. With a butter knife or spatula, cover the sides with the Royal Icing, but while doing so, pat it so to form the peak effect.  When the sides are covered sufficiently and even, you can start preparing for the final finish.  Clean away all messy bits that might be on the plate or board.
16. Mix another batch Royal Icing the same way as before.  Add a few drops of rec food color or a pinch of powder mixed with a drop of water to get a even red mixture.  Now you need to do the piping and fixing of the leaves.
17. Take a Icing tube (If you don't have one, you can fold crease-proof paper to form a cone.  Fold a square.  Fold it again from one point across to the other.  Cut on fold.  keep one for the thin lines and use one for the nozzle.  You get star pointed nozzles.  Bring the two long points around to form the cone and fold the points (it might look like an Aron Lilly) and fold it inwards a  few times.  Pinch the small point flat and cut just big enough for the nozzle to peek through.  Fill with the colored Royal Icing.  Now evenly form the little stars around the base and around the top.  You can insert silver balls as extra decoration still while it's soft.  Remember that it will harden quickly.
18. With that same nozzle you can place a dot of icing where the red berries/balls must be and then where the leaves must be.
19. Now prepare the other cone the same way, but don't cut the point off at the front.  Scoop your Icing into it and close it and apply pressure softly till the Icing had filled up.  Pinch the point slightly and just nip off the point.  A thin wire-like string should appear.  Clear the nib and start to make the scrolls to finish the cake off.
20. The secret is not to overdo it, but to do it properly.  

Hope your Christmas Cake will be a huge success.

If you are interested in Fine Sugar Art and want to take some classes, you can contact me at sonettebosch@gmail.com.

Keep well and Be Blessed.