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Nancy's Christmas Cake in a Can

INGREDIENTS

This will make 9 small cakes.

Cake ingredients:

  • 1kg mixed dried fruit and peel
  • 100g glace cherries
  • 4 tbsp cointreau, brandy, sherry, fruit juice or cold tea
  • 250g salted butter
  • 250g dark brown soft sugar
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup or black treacle
  • 5 eggs
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1 tsp ground mace / nutmeg
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon

Decorating ingredients

  • Marzipan - about 160g per cake.
  • 3 egg whites
  • 600g icing sugar
  • 2-3 drops glycerin
  • 1 tsp lemon juice

Tools

  • 9 x small food tins (around 200ml) - you need to wash the tins, take the label off and remove the top and bottoms with a tin opener.
  • Baking paper
  • Baking tray
  • Rolling pin
  • Freezer bags
  • Knife or pizza cutter
  • Ribbon

INSTRUCTIONS

Cake instructions:

  1. Put the mixed fruit, fruit zests, fruit juice and cherries in a large bowl and add the liquid - you can use triple sec, brandy, sherry, cold tea or 4 extra tbsp of fruit juice. Stir and cover with a plate and leave overnight - or do this in the morning if you are making the cake in the evening.
  2. When you are ready to make the cake - preheat your oven to 100'c and cream together the butter and brown sugar until pale, light and fluffy.
  3. Add the syrup or treacle and continue to mix.
  4. Gradually incorporate a beaten egg a little at a time along with a teaspoon of flour. This helps to prevent it from curdling.
  5. When all the egg has been incorporated gently fold in the rest of the flour which has been sifted together with all the spices.
  6. Finally, fold in the soaked fruits.
  7. Line a baking tray with baking paper and put your tins on it - making sure that the 'rim' of the tin is at the bottom so it's easier to get your cakes out.
  8. Line each tin with baking paper - using a bit of spray oil will help it to stick to the outside of the tin.
  9. Spoon your cake mixture into the prepared tins and bake them at 100'c fan for 5.5 hours.
  10. Let them cool completely in the tins before decorating.If you are not decorating them immediately then let them cool, remove them from the tins but leave the baking paper on, then wrap the cakes in foil and place them in a tin in a cool place until you're ready to decorate.

Decorating instructions:

  1. Pop your cakes out of the tins from the bottom and peel off the baking paper.
  2. Roll out the marzipan between 2 freezer bags or recycled cereal packet liners until it's about a quarter of an inch thick.
  3. Lay the marzipan over the cake, mould it around the cake and then trim off the scraps with a pizza cutter or knife.
  4. To make the royal icing, beat the egg whites to a froth and then stir in the icing sugar a spoonful at a time.
  5. Add in the glycerin and lemon juice.
  6. Once all of the icing sugar has been added then whisk with an electric hand mixer for a full five minutes until thick smooth and shiny. Cover with a damp cloth to prevent it quickly drying out.
  7. Use a knife to cover your cake with icing and make small peaks.
  8. Wrap a ribbon around the cake while the icing is still wet to help it stick.
  9. Decorate with any extras you wish!

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