Sig's Lighter Yuletide Cake

Name: Sig's Lighter Yuletide Cake
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 225 grams butter softened plus extra for greasing; 2 tbsp Brandy; 1 pinch saffron about 1/4 strand; 225 grams golden castor sugar; 4 eggs; 225 grams plain flour; 50 grams ground almonds; 1 tsp baking powder; 300 grams each of raisins and sultanas; 100 grams natural coloured glacé cherries; 85 grams mixed peel; 50 grams each,whole blanched almonds and hazelnuts or other nuts of preference,roughly chopped; 50 grams walnut pieces,to soak, this can be repeated twice more; 3 tbsp brandy extra; 2 tbsp honey that is runny; 1 eggwhite; 50 grams castor sugar; 1 small bunch black grapes; 2 small sprigs of holly; 2 clementines; 2 just ripe figs; 2 kumquats, or if difficult to get hold of any small fruit or slices that you like to eat; 4 cape gooseberries(physalis); 1 length 65 cm of cake ribbon; 2 egg whites, fresh; 180 grams icing sugar/ powder sugar

Sigrun @sigrun

German, living in England

Here I used traditional icing and marzipan as a topping instead but frosted the fruit in the same way . #onerecipeonetree #festivetreats1 #myfavouriterecipes

Sigrun @sigrun

German, living in England

Here I used traditional icing and marzipan as a topping instead but frosted the fruit in the same way . #onerecipeonetree #festivetreats1 #myfavouriterecipes

Saved

Ingredients

12 servings

cake
225 gramsbutter softened plus extra for greasing
2 tbspBrandy
1 pinchsaffron about 1/4 strand
225 gramsgolden castor sugar
4eggs
225 gramsplain flour
50 gramsground almonds
1 tspbaking powder
300 gramseach of raisins and sultanas
100 gramsnatural coloured glacé cherries
85 gramsmixed peel
50 gramseach,whole blanched almonds and hazelnuts or other nuts of preference,roughly chopped
50 gramswalnut pieces,to soak, this can be repeated twice more
3 tbspbrandy extra
2 tbsphoney that is runny
decoration
1eggwhite
50 gramscastor sugar
1small bunch black grapes
2small sprigs of holly
2clementines
2just ripe figs
2kumquats, or if difficult to get hold of any small fruit or slices that you like to eat
4cape gooseberries(physalis)
1length 65 cm of cake ribbon
frosting (no marzipan, no icing, as done on the finished bottom picture, my granddaughters effort from last year, I was so proud of her.)
2egg whites, fresh
180 gramsicing sugar/ powder sugar

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Steps

1

Heat oven 160 C, double line deep 20 cm cake tin with baking parchment.Tie a few sheets of brown paper around the outside,level with parchment.Heat 2 tbls of brandy in small pan, infuse saffron for a few minutes whilst pan is off heat.Put the butter,sugar,eggs,flour,almonds,baking powder and a pinch of salt into s bowl mix mix until soft and creamy.Mix saffron brandy,fruit and nuts and mix into the batter.
2

Spoon the mixture into tin,make a slight dip in the middle.Bake for one and a half hours,cover loosely with foil,turn oven down to 140C and cook for one more hour or until skewer comes out clean.
3

Leave to cool in tin,whilst still warm prod the cake all over with skewer,mix brandy and honey together and spoon over cake.Wrap up airtight and feed cake with more honey and brandy mixture as often as you like.This cake can be made up to 6 weeks in advance.
4

Put a large bowl over a pan of simmering water,make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.Put the 2 eggwhites and icing sugar into bowl whisk for 5-7 minutes until you have a thick very glossy frosting,folding all mixture in as you go along.Spread over cake creating snow like effect.Half the other fruits and arrange on top of cake,fix ribbon around base.
5

For decoration and frosting: lightly beat eggwhite.Spread out extrs fine /castor sugar on a baking sheet.Dip grapes and holly in eggwhite coat withsugarmake the frosting.
6

The lighter (no marzipan, no iicing) decoration and frosting is best made on the day that you serve the cake. My grandmas this one.