A simple and elegant way to decorate your Christmas cake - we've even added our amaretti biscuits for an extra edible treat. The trick to good crystallisation is to lightly paint with egg white and dredge generously with caster sugar.
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To cover
- 2 Tbsp. apricot glaze
- Icing sugar to dust
- 750 g golden marzipan
- 750 g white ready-to-roll sugarpaste icing
- Vodka or cooled boiled water, to brush
To decorate
- 60 g golden marzipan
- Flaked almonds, toasted
- 1 medium egg white
- 10 or so rosemary sprigs
- Caster sugar, to dredge
- Cinnamon sticks, we used East End Cinnamon (Cassia) sticks
- Fresh cherries or cranberries
- Ribbon (s)
- Star anise
- Amaretti biscuits, optional
- Step 1Put cake on a board and spread top and sides thinly with apricot glaze. Sift icing sugar on to a work surface and roll out marzipan until large enough to cover cake. Lay on to cake and smooth with hands, easing out crease. Trim excess. Allow to air dry for at least 2hr, ideally overnight.
- Step 2Lightly dust a work surface and roll out sugarpaste as before. Brush marzipan layer lightly with vodka or cooled boiled water, then lay over the sugarpaste. Smooth into position, trimming excess. Allow to dry for a least 2hr, ideally overnight.
- Step 3To make the marzipan pinecones, divide the marzipan into 3. Working with 1 portion at a time, shape into a tall cone. Starting at the bottom, carefully stick in the flaked almonds from pointy ends until the marzipan is fairly covered. Repeat with remaining marzipan and flaked almonds. Lightly dust the pinecones with icing sugar and set aside.
- Step 4To crystallise the decorations, whisk the egg white until lightly frothy. Working with 1 sprig at a time, lightly brush rosemary with egg white, then dredge with caster sugar, gently shaking off excess. Lay on to a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Repeat process with remaining rosemary sprigs, cinnamon sticks and cherries/cranberries. Leave to dry for at least 3hr.
- Step 5Tie ribbon(s) round base of cake. Arrange crystallised rosemary in a wreath on top of the iced cake and intersperse with other crystallised elements, star anise, marzipan pinecones and amaretti biscuits, if you like.
GET AHEAD
Cover cake with marzipan and sugarpaste layers up to a week ahead. Crystallise decorations and make pinecones up to 2 days ahead. (Store uncovered).
TO STORE
Keep uncovered for up to a week while the decorations look their best. The cake itself will keep much longer.
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
