• An 8” (20cm) round cake tin or a 7” (18cm) square cake tin
• Greaseproof paper
• Brown paper
• String
• Cake board
• Cake decoration set

• 450g currants
• 175g sultanas
• 175g Raisins
• 50g glace cherries, rinsed and finely chopped
  
• 50g mixed candied peel, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons brandy
• 225g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground mixed spice
• 225g unsalted butter
• 225g soft brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 50g chopped almonds
• 1 tablespoon black treacle
• grated rind of 1 lemon
• grated rind of 1 orange

• Ready Made: 2 x Supercook ready rolled marzipan 400g

• 450g ground almonds
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g icing sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks (reserve the whites for the icing)
• ½ teaspoon almond essence
• 1 teaspoon brandy
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• Ready made: Supercook ready rolled icing 400g
• Ready made: Supercook ready rolled icing 1Kg

• 4 large egg whites – combine 3 but keep one separate
• 500g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon glycerine

Grease your cake tin and line with greaseproof paper. The night before you make the cake, place all the dried fruit and peel in a bowl and mix in the brandy. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave to soak for at least 12 hours. Sift the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl, and in a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture’s light and fluffy. Next, beat up the eggs and – a tablespoon at a time – add them to the creamed mixture, beating thoroughly after each addition. If it looks as if it might start to curdle, you can prevent this by adding a little of the flour.

When all the egg has been added, fold in the flour and spices (fold, don’t beat). Now stir in the fruit and peel that has been soaking, the nuts, treacle and the grated lemon and orange rinds.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin, and spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon. Tie a band of brown paper around the outside of the tin and cover the top of the cake with a double square of greaseproof paper (with a hole cut in the middle approximately the size of a 50p piece). Bake the cake on the lower shelf of the oven for 4¼ - 4¾ hours, and don’t open the door to peek at it until at least 4 hours have passed.

When the cake is cold, wrap it well in double greaseproof paper and store in an airtight tin until you are ready to ice it. If storing the cake, you can ‘feed’ it at intervals with brandy. To do this, strip off the lining papers, make a few holes in the top with a thin knitting needle / skewer and pour a few teaspoons of brandy in to soak into the cake.

To Make the Almond Paste
Sift the two sugars into a large bowl. Stir in the eggs and egg yolks. Put the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and whisk for about 12 minutes until the mixture is thick and fluffy. Remove the bowl from the heat and sit the base in a couple of inches of cold water.

Next, whisk in the essence, brandy and lemon juice and carry on whisking until the mixture is cool. Stir in the ground almonds and knead to form a paste. Weigh out 175 g of the paste and reserve in a bowl covered with cling film for making the flower decoration.

Divide the rest of the paste in half and roll out one piece into a shape approximately 1” (2.5cm) larger than the top of the cake. Your working surface should be dusted with some sifted icing sugar so that the paste does not stick to it. Brush the top of the cake with some of the egg white for the icing, then invert the cake to sit centrally on the almond paste and with a palette knife press the paste up around the edge of the cake. Now turn the cake the right way up and brush the sides with egg white.

Roll out the other half of the paste into a rectangle and trim it so that it measures half the circumference of the cake by twice the height of the cake (use a piece of string to measure this). Now, cut the paste rectangle in half lengthways and lightly press the two strips onto the sides of the cake. Smooth over the joins of the paste with a knife, then smooth again with a rolling pin and leave the cake covered with a clean cloth to dry out.

Next, use a dab of icing to fix the cake to a 10” (26cm) cake board, then, spread about two-thirds of the icing on top of the cake.

If you want a smooth finish, work the icing back and forth to get rid of any tiny air bubbles, then take a clean plastic ruler and, holding it at each end, glide it once over the surface of the cake to give a smooth finish.

Hold the ruler vertically and remove any surplus icing from the top edges of the cake, then spread the remaining icing onto the sides of the cake. Keeping your ruler vertical, turn the cake round in one sweep to smooth the sides. If adding decorations, gently press into the top of the cake. Now leave the cake for 24 hours for the icing to dry. Add the ribbon, if using.

If you want a ‘snow scene’ finish, simply spread the icing all over the cake and work in to peaks with a palette knife. If adding decorations, gently press into the top of the cake. Now leave the cake for 24 hours for the icing to dry. Add the ribbon, if using.

Acknowledgement and thanks are due to Delia Smith and her Complete Cookery Course, published by BBC Books. Further recipes are available at www.deliaonline.com