All Iced Up!

Do you like my icing sugar tin?

It says “Silver Spoon, official sponsors of the British Olympic Team” and on the side it says “Commemorating Atlanta Olympics 1996” I got it when I first moved into this house – and have stored my icing sugar in it ever since. I think I sent off 3 tokens and a pound to get it!

 

Now I’ve made the royal icing and done my 2011 Christmas cake.

After all my dithering here, I worked out what I wanted to do.

My cake had come out really well – and had been stored in the tin for a little while [unlike other people, I do not ‘feed’ my cakes with brandy. I hate brandy!] 

With my heart in my mouth and my bread-knife in my hand, I cut off a segment at the top of the cake [segment is a slice cut along a chord, a sector is a ‘pie slice’

cut along two radii]

Then I placed the small piece at the back of the larger, securing it with 3 cocktail sticks.

I brushed the whole cake with warmed apricot jam.

Then I rolled out my marzipan nice and thin, between my “Silpat” sheet and a non-stick cake-tin liner.

I applied the marzipan to the cake, then covered the lot with pale blue royal icing.I did the ‘stable roof’ with cut up ‘cigarette biscuits’ [from the PoundShop] and made the star with a silver tinsel pipecleaner. Then I pinned a ribbon round the cake.

Because I’d cut some off the back, I was able to position it to the back of my glass cake plate- leaving room at the front to stand the Wise Men on the lower level, and Mary, Joseph and baby had more space to stand on the cake itself.

That’s my take on this Waitrose one. I’m very pleased with mine [Bob prefers Royal Icing to fondant anyway]

I am looking forward to tasting Adrian and Marion’s cake when we go up to Norfolk – they’re using the Tesco ‘Mary Berry’ Kit – almost everything comes in the bag [inc. icing and marzipan] You just add eggs, butter, an orange and a lemon.

Adrian has also recently sampled the Heston Blumenthal mince pies with pine sugar. He was not over-impressed! Apparently “As well as smelling of Christmas trees, the pies contain apple puree, lemon curd and rose water in additional to the traditional mincemeat.”

I was concerned they’d smell of toilet cleaner, but Adrian said he was barely aware of any pine-ness in his pie! They cost £3.29 for 6 in Waitrose. No doubt they will sell out and be flogged on eBay soon!

Have you made your cake yet? Do you buy one? Do you buy a kit? and how do you decorate your cake? All ideas welcome!