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This traditional and delicious cake is fun for all the family to make. For the marzipan For the cake NB: The marzipan topping contains uncooked eggs. 1 Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, Gas Mark 4 (adjusting for fan oven). Grease and line the base and sides of the baking tin using baking parchment. To make the marzipan 2 Place the caster sugar in a bowl with the ground almonds. Sieve the icing sugar over and mix all together. 3 Whisk a large egg and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix then knead the mixture until a soft dough is formed. 4 Take one-third of the marzipan and, on a board lightly dusted with a little icing sugar, roll it into a circle, using the base of the tin as a template. This will go in the middle of the cake. Put the marzipan in the fridge to cool while you make the cake. To make the cake 5 Cream the caster sugar and margarine in a bowl, until pale and fluffy. 6 In a separate bowl, lightly beat together three large eggs, and stir into the creamed mixture a little at a time. 7 Add the flour, polenta and baking powder to the mixture and stir gently. Then add the sultanas, raisins, currants and candied fruit and mix until combined. 8 Spoon half the cake mixture into the lined tin. Put the rolled layer of marzipan on top, then cover with the remaining cake mixture so you have a sandwich effect. 9 Turn down the preheated oven to 150 degrees C, Gas Mark 2, put the cake in and cook for 1½ hours. Check after an hour and if the cake is browning, place a double layer of baking parchment on top. The cake is ready when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out. To decorate the cake 11 Using a wooden skewer, mark the marzipan top with several wide criss-crossed lines. 12 Form the remaining almond paste into mini eggs or balls (it is traditional to have 11 but you can choose how many you want) and arrange around the edge of the cake. 13 Place the cake under a very hot grill for a minute or so until the topping goes a lovely toasty brown. |
