Let-it-glow Christmas cake
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Let-it-glow Christmas cake

By Sarah Cook

Try this snowy icing to jazz up a classic Christmas cake, then top with paper doilies and add LED tea lights for an extra special touch

  • Prep:30 mins
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 569
  • fat 16g
  • saturates 8g
  • carbs 99g
  • sugars 88g
  • fibre 3g
  • protein 5g
  • salt 0.4g

Ingredients

  • 1 x 22cm round Suits-all Christmas cake (see 'Goes well with' for the recipe)
  • 140g apricot jam
  • zest 1 orange
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 2 tsp orange juice
  • 1 tsp orange blossom water
  • 1 tbsp liquid glucose (you’ll find it in tubes in the baking aisle of large supermarkets)
  • 750g icing sugar
  • a few doilies in different sizes and colours, if you like
  • small piece of gold card (or foil from chocolate)

Tip

Let there be light

Use LED tealights to add a festive glow to this striking, modern cake. Make the doily trees as described, but make sure that the base of each cone is wide enough to hide the lights completely. You also might want to trim the doilies, because if the cones have too many layers, not enough light will shine through. Push the lights down into the icing to make flat patches for them to sit on, but then remove them and let the icing harden without any decoration.

Method

  1. Use a sharp, serrated knife and slice your fruitcake in half, leaving a top and bottom. Mix the apricot jam and orange zest, and spread over the top of the bottom half.

  2. To make the icing, beat the egg whites with the orange juice, orange blossom water and glucose in a big mixing bowl. Gradually sift in the icing sugar, beating constantly with an electric whisk until you have a fairly stiff icing that can hold a peak. Spread a little icing over the jammy layer, then put the top half of the cake back on. Generously swirl the rest of the icing thickly on top.

  3. Using scissors, snip a cut on each doily from an edge to the centre, then roll up each doily like a cone and secure with a bit of sticky tape. Cut a star from some gold card, or plain card covered with gold foil, and stick to the top of one of the trees. Arrange on top of the cake to create a winter scene.

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