5 oz Butter
7 oz Flour
1/4 ts Baking powder
1 pn Salt
1 ts Irish whiskey
1 ts Lemon juice
3 oz Ground almonds
6 Egg whites
8 oz Caster sugar
3 oz Green or yellow cherries; up
-to 4
2 oz Finely-chopped candied peel
FROSTING
1 Egg white
8 oz Granulated sugar
4 tb Water
A 18cm round tin with 7.5cm
-sides
This is a delicious alternative for those who don’t like the traditional
fruit cake. It is best made not more than a week before Christmas.
Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/gas3.
Line the tin with greaseproof paper. Cream the butter until very soft,
sieve in the flour, salt and baking powder, then add the lemon juice,
whiskey and ground almonds. Whisk the egg whites until quite stiff; add the
caster sugar gradually and whisk again until stiff and smooth.
Stir some of the egg white into the butter mixture and then carefully fold
in the rest. Lastly, add the chopped peel and halved cherries. Pour into
the prepared tin and bake for about 11/2 hours. Allow to cool, cover and
ice the following day.
The frosting is a little tricky to make, so do follow the instructions
exactly. You must judge when the icing is ready and then use it
immediately. Dissolve the sugar carefully in water and boil for 11/2
minutes until the syrup reaches the “thread” stage 106-113C/223-236F. It
will look thick and syrupy; when a metal spoon is dipped in, the last drops
of syrup will form a thin thread. Pour this boiling syrup over the
stiffly-beaten egg white, whisking all the time.
Put the bowl in a saucepan over simmering water. Continue to whisk over the
water until white and very thick. This can take up to 10 minutes. Spread
quickly over the cake with a palette knife. It sets very quickly at this
stage, so speed is essential.
Decorate with crystallised violets or rose petals and angelica, or
Christmas decorations.
Yields
1 servings