Ingredients / Shopping List
454g pkt white marzipan1 Jar apricot jam454g Ready to roll white icing400g slab cake (or similar fruit cake)Snowball cake - decorative glitterSpice cake – star anise, chocolate beansHeart cake – multi coloured sugar ballsJam heart – raspberry jam
454g pkt white marzipan
1 Jar apricot jam
454g Ready to roll white icing
400g slab cake (or similar fruit cake)
Snowball cake - decorative glitter
Spice cake – star anise, chocolate beans
Heart cake – multi coloured sugar balls
Jam heart – raspberry jam
Prep to Cook:
4 square drinks coasters
Cling film, rolling pin, sharp knife, cling film, fork, palette knife, round bladed knife, pastry brush, teaspoon, small bowl.
I slab fruit cake or similar to cut into 4 portions
I block golden or white marzipan
I block ready to use icing.
Jar apricot jam
Prep: Prep the marzipan layer:
Open the slab cake and cut with a sharp knife into four mini cakes.
Put 2 tablespoons of apricot jam in a little bowl.
Heat on high (Care!) in the microwave, stir well and remove any lumps.
Brush the jam carefully over the cake top and sides.
Unwrap the marzipan and cut into 4 equal portions.
Take one portion for the cake top.
Place on a large piece of cling film and cover with more cling film.
Roll the marzipan to an oblong between the layers of cling film.
Trim one side of the long edge with a sharp knife.
Gently remove the top cling film layer.
Lift the marzipan with the remaining cling film.
Wrap the marzipan round the sides of the cake.
Where the ends meet press together and snip excess with scissors.
Neaten the shape by pressing the sides and top with palette knives.
Cover the cake top with a rolled square of marzipan in the same way.
Trim the edges with a sharp knife and gently lift into place.
Smooth the top with palette knife seal the cake.
Prep the white icing layer:
Open the icing pack and cut into four even sized portions.
Cover them with cling film to prevent them drying out.
Brush the marzipan layer of the cakes with the remaining apricot jam (re-heat if it has gone hard.)
Roll the icing between cling films this time into a large square.
Remove the top layer of cling film and lift the icing over the little cake.
Smooth the sides of the cake allowing 4 points to meet at the corners
Trim with scissors and smooth the joins with the palette knife.
Re-roll excess icing and cover the coaster.
Trim the edges with a sharp knife.
Place the iced cake on the coaster and smooth the surfaces.
Prep to decorate:
Snowball cake: mark the cake sides with the back of a knife blade.
Roll by hand some small snowballs.
Position on the top of the cake securing with a little boiled water.
Sprinkle a very small amount of glitter over the balls.
Spice and nice:
Position a star anise in the centre of the top.
Sort out same coloured decorations and push gently into the icing.
Red Heart
Roll out a little of the left over icing on cling film.
Use a heart cutter and mark a heart shape and cut 2mm larger than this with the tip of a sharp knife, then cut out the centre heart shape using the cutter.
Position the heart outline on the top of the cake.
Sieve some good red jam to remove pips.
Fill the heart outline with glossy jam.
Cut 4 heart shapes for the sides, brush with water.
Press in position.
Multi heart
Mark the sides of the cake with circles using an apple corer.
Using a cutter mark a heart shape on the top of the cake, brush shape lightly with apricot jam.
Reposition the heart cutter and pour in some 100’s and 1000’s cake decorations
Using a fine paint brush, brush jam round the bottom of the cake and using a knife blade push some 100’s and 100s sugar balls to form a decorative edge.
Feeling creative? Want to show you care? Rush out and buy a slab cake, jar of apricot jam, white marzipan and ready-roll icing and set aside a couple of hours. No piping needed, simply press your patterns and stick your decorations.
Cooks Know How: Buying the basic parts to make these cakes easy and successful. The cake is ready-to-decorate and therefore you can start straight away. Bought ready-to-use marzipan easily becomes soft and pliable and simple to handle. Using cling film stops the worry of it sticking to the work surface. Try not to get crumbs falling from the cake as these can stain the marzipan and cause discolouration. Apricot jam is used to make sure the marzipan and the icing stick closely together and that no air is trapped between the layers. The layer of marzipan and icing used for decoration also prevents the cake from drying out and extends the shelf life of the finished product. These cakes will keep for 3 weeks if wrapped with cellophane and stored in a cool, dry place.