Glittering Amaretti Christmas Cake
Equipment
- round, deep cake tin 20cm
- Parchment paper
- Food bag
- electric mixer
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 1 large orange
- 175 g dried apricots
- 700 g mixed dried fruit
- 120 ml sweet Marsala or sweet cream sherry, plus extra for feeding the cake
- 250 g unsalted butter softened
- 250 g crisp amaretti biscuits
- 150 g light soft brown sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 125 g plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 50 g toasted flaked almonds
- For Decoration:
- 1 tbsp apricot glaze
- 125 g royal icing sugar
- 750 g natural marzipan
- Gold cake spray
- Handful of whole blanched almonds
- 50 g crisp amaretti biscuits
- Sugar balls snowflakes, or Christmassy sprinkles
Instructions
Step 1 – Prepare Fruits:
- Grate the zest from the orange and squeeze the juice into a large bowl.
- Snip the apricots into small pieces and add them to the bowl along with the mixed dried fruit and marsala.
- Cover with cling film and leave to soak overnight.
Step 2 – Prepare Cake Tin:
- Grease the cake tin with butter, then line the base and sides with a double layer of parchment.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3.
Step 3 – Make Biscuit Crumbs:
- Put 200g of the amaretti biscuits in a food bag and crush them into fine crumbs.
Step 4 – Make Cake Batter:
- In a large bowl, beat together softened butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
- Mix in the eggs one by one.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, mixed spice, and salt.
- Add the amaretti crumbs and mix until evenly combined.
- Fold in the soaked fruit and almonds.
Step 5 – Bake Cake:
- Transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin.
- Bake for 2 hours, then reduce the oven temperature to 140°C/fan 120°C/gas 1.
- Cover the cake with foil and bake for another 1 hour 30 minutes, or until risen and golden brown.
- Check for doneness with a cocktail stick.
- Allow the cake to cool on a rack.
Step 6 – Feed Cake:
- Poke holes all over the cake with a cocktail stick, then drizzle 2 tbsp marsala or sherry over it.
- Once cooled, wrap the cake in clean parchment and store in a cool, dark place.
- Feed it every seven to 10 days until ready to decorate.
Step 7 – Decorate Cake:
- Unwrap the cake and brush a thin layer of apricot glaze over it.
- Knead the marzipan until soft, then roll it out on a surface dusted with royal icing sugar to form a circle about 35cm across.
- Place the marzipan over the cake, smooth it down, and trim the excess.
- Spray the marzipan lightly with gold spray, then heavily spray almonds.
- Break four of the remaining amaretti biscuits into nuggets.
- Mix royal icing sugar with water until thick but runny, then spoon it over the cake and spread it to the edges.
- Decorate the cake with whole and broken biscuits, almonds, and sugar decorations.
- Dust with icing sugar through a fine sieve for a snowy effect.
- Allow the icing to set before serving.
- Enjoy your glittering Amaretti Christmas Cake!