Irish Whiskey Christmas Cake Pt 1

-FOR THE CAKE-
9 oz Self-raising flour; sifted
9 oz Demerara sugar
9 oz Unsalted butter; softened
5 lg Eggs at room temperature
1 Heaped tbsp apricot jam
1 tb Irish whiskey

FOR THE ICING
1 Pound; ?
2 oz Marzipan; (in a block)
1 Pound; ?
4 oz Unrefined golden icing
Sugar; plus a little extra
; for rolling
1 lg Egg white
1 Dtsp molasses syrup or black
-treacle
2 1/2 tb Irish whiskey

1 One week before you intend to bake the cake, measure out the whiskey,
bitters and 3 tbsp of water into a large saucepan, then roughly chop the
prunes, cherries and almonds and finely dice the mixed candied peel. Add
these, along with the rest of the pre-soaking ingredients, to the pan,
ticking them as you go to make sure nothing gets left out. Now stir and
bring the mixture up to simmering point then, keeping the heat low, simmer
very gently without a lid for 15 minutes.

2 Allow everything to cool completely then pour into a large jar with a lid
or an airtight plastic container and leave it in the fridge for seven days,
giving it a shake from time to time.

3 When you’re ready to bake the cake, preheat the oven to 275f/140c/Gas 1.
If you are using a gas oven that was made after 1992 you will need to cook
this cake at Gas 2. Measure out the flour, sugar and butter into a very
large bowl then add the eggs and either whisk or beat with a wooden spoon
until blended.

4 Gradually fold in the fruit mixture until evenly distributed. Spoon the
mixture into the tin, levelling the surface with the back of a spoon.

5 Bake in the centre of the oven for 3 hours without opening the door, then
cover the cake with a double thickness of greaseproof paper and continue to
bake for a further 30 mins or until the centre is springy when lightly
touched.

6 Cool the cake for 45 mins in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to
finish cooling. When it’s cold, wrap it in a double layer of greaseproof
paper, then foil, and store in airtight container.

7 When you are ready to finish the cake, first take a sharp knife and cut
the cake into quarters so you end up with four smaller 4″/10cm square
cakes. Melt the jam with the whiskey in a small saucepan and stir it a few
times until all the lumps have dissolved.

8 Using a brush, coat the surface of each cake quite generously with it.
Take the marzipan and cut off a quarter of the block, then, on a surface
lightly dusted with icing sugar, roll the piece into an 8″/20cm square.

9 With a sharp knife, cut the square into quarters so you have four 4″/10cm
square pieces. Gently take each square and place one on top of each cake,
lightly pressing the marzipan down.

10 Cut the remaining piece of marzipan in half and roll each half into a
strip measuring 6 x 16″ (15 x 40cm), then cut each strip in half lengthways
so you are left with four strips, one for the sides of each cake. Press
each strip lightly around the edges of each cake and pinch to seal at the
join with the top piece of marzipan.

11 For the icing: Sieve the icing sugar, then place the egg white and
molasses (or black treacle) in a large bowl and, using an electric hand
whisk, whisk thoroughly.

12 With the whisk running, add a tbsp of icing sugar at a time and keep
adding until thickened. As it begins to crumble, add a tbsp of Irish
whiskey to combine the mixture, then carry on adding more icing sugar until
it becomes thick. Add another tablespoon of whiskey, then the rest