FONDANT ICING RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3. Grease and line a 20cm/8in square tin with two strips of parchment paper.
• For the sponge, beat together all the sponge ingredients until smooth. Tip the cake mixture into the tin and tap lightly to level out.
• Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a metal skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and allow to cool completely on a wire rack, before putting in the fridge to chill (or alternatively place in the freezer for a few minutes until chilled but not frozen).
• While the cake is chilling, make the buttercream. Beat together the softened butter and icing sugar in a bowl until lighter in colour, and smooth.
• Place 100g/3½oz of the buttercream in a piping bag and allow to slightly firm up in the fridge. Keep the rest in a bowl for the cake sides.
• For the marzipan topping, heat the apricot jam in a small saucepan and sieve it into a bowl.
• Brush the top of the cake with the sieved apricot jam.
• Roll the marzipan out very thinly, cover the top of the cake and chill again.
• Cut the cake into 25 equal squares (each 4cm/1½in square). You may need to cut off the edges if they have rounded and pulled away from the sides of the tin - all the edges must be straight and neat.
• Cover four sides of each square with buttercream (not the marzipan top or the base). Using the buttercream in the piping bag, pipe a blob in the centre of each square on top of the marzipan. Leave to set in the fridge for 20 minutes.
• For the icing and decoration, cut the fondant icing into small cubes. Place in a sturdy free-standing mixer with a paddle. Churn the icing until it stars to break down, adding a splash of water if it's too hard. Very gradually add the water - the icing will become smooth and more liquid.
• Add flavouring and food colouring to taste - be careful not to add too much at once, you can always add more but can’t undo it!
• Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water). Once melted, place the chocolate in piping bag and set aside.
• Take the cakes out of the fridge and place one onto a fork.
• Dip each square into the icing one at a time and carefully set onto a cooling rack, with parchment underneath to catch the drips. Try not to get finger prints on them - for this reason it is best to insert the fork at an angle so that you can slide the cake off onto the cooling rack easily.
• Leave the fondant to set, but do not put in the fridge as the icing will lose its shine.
• Using the piping bag of melted chocolate, drizzle the chocolate over each fancy in a zig-zag pattern.
• Leave to set and then place on a cake stand to serve.

Steps:

• Measure the milk and treacle into a saucepan (grease the measuring spoon with a little oil first and the treacle will easily slide off). Bring to a gentle simmer and stir until combined, then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, grease 3 x 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins with a little oil and line the bases with baking parchment (if you don’t have enough cake tins, see tip). If the tins are any shallower than 4cm, line the sides with a deep collar too. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Measure the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and spices into a large bowl, then add ½ tsp fine salt. Mix the dry ingredients together with a large whisk; if there are any large lumps of sugar, squeeze these through your fingers until you have an even, sandy-textured mixture.
• In a jug, whisk the oil, buttermilk, eggs, rum and vanilla. Add the milk and treacle mixture, and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and whisk into a smooth batter. Divide between the tins and bake for 25-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. You may have to swap the cakes over to cook evenly, but don’t do this until they’ve had at least 20 mins cooking. Cool the cakes in their tins for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack, peel off the parchment and leave to cool completely. Once cooled, you can wrap the sponges in cling film and store in a cool place for 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months – the texture and flavour will be all the better for it.
• To make the icing, put the butter and half the icing sugar in a large bowl. Mash together roughly with a spatula, then whizz with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar, the cream cheese, vanilla bean extract and biscuit spread. Mix again until smooth and evenly mixed. Transfer half the icing to another bowl and set aside. Use the remaining icing to stack the cakes and cover the entire outside in a thin layer – don’t worry about making the cake look too neat at this stage, as any crumbs trapped in the icing will be covered in the final coat. Chill the cake for 30 mins and the remaining icing for 20 mins (remove the icing from the fridge 10 mins before the cake to soften a little).
• When the icing on the cake is firm, remove it from the fridge and use the remaining icing to cover the cake. Smooth the sides using a palette knife, but leave peaks and dips on top for your snow scene. Top the cake generously with desiccated coconut, a dusting of sieved icing sugar and some edible glitter, if you like, then decorate the top and sides with gingerbread shapes (see tip). If you’re not eating the cake within a few hours, store it in the fridge, but bring back to room temperature before serving. Wlll keep for 2 days.