Christmas Cake (English Fruit Cake)

DIRECTIONS

Cake can be made as early as November 5th for Christmas.

Night before:
Mix:
3 tablespoon brandy or preferably sherry
1lb currants
6oz sultana
2oz mix peel finely chopped
Cover with a cloth and leave to soak a min of 12 hours

Use a 7" square tin lined with wax paper.
Put 1 teaspoon treacle or molasses in warm place so it melts a little.
Sieve 1/2lb flour.
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice (i.e., cinnamon, ginger, clove)
into a large bowl.

In another bowl:
Cream butter and sugar until mix is fluffy and light--don't skimp, it's the most important part of cake.
When mix is creamed, beat eggs and add them to it, tablespoonful at a time.
Beat thoroughly after each addition--it takes a while.
If it starts to curdle, use a little flour to prevent it.
Fold in flour and spices, not beating this time, just fold in bit by bit.
Stir in fruit which has been soaking, nuts and treacle, and grated orange and lemon rinds.
Spoon mix into lined cake tin, spreading evenly.

Tie a band of cardboard around the tin.
Cover top of cake with a square of double wax paper with a hole in middle the size of a 50p piece (quarter).
Put cake on lower shelf of oven and check in 2 or 2 1/2 hrs (in Idaho) or Delia smith says in 4 1/2 or 5 hours (England).
Store in airtight tin and feed it at odd intervals with brandy.

A week before Christmas, roll out several tubes of marzipan into a 1/4" thick sheet.
Cover top and sides of cake in marzipan.
It's a good idea to let marzipan harden and dry a day or so before icing.

Make icing:
3 size 1 egg whites plus 1 extra
Approx 1lb 2 oz icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon glycerin--very important as it prevents icing from getting too hard
Place egg whites in bowl and stir in icing until it falls thickly from spoon.
Beat as hard as you can for 20 min, or it stands up in stiff peaks.
Stir in glycerin.
Spoon half icing into screw top jar and put aside in fridge.
In remaining half, beat about teaspoon more egg white.

Use a dab of icing to fix cake to board.
Spread remainder on top of cake.
Work icing back and forth to remove air bubbles.
You can make it smooth with a palette knife or swirl it around with a finger. I prefer to swirl
Swirl icing, add marzipan balls on top to make snow man or Santa Claus hill. Cover with icing

Leave cake 24 hours to dry. When done icing is rock hard.