Christmas Trees

Ingredients

MAKES 40 SLICES

1 x Fiona’s Classic Fruit Cake

1.3kg white sugarpaste

1 pot green food colour paste

25cm round cake drum (optional.

4 tbsp apricot jam

1kg marzipan

icing sugar, to dust 15ml brandy or boiled water

1 large red-and-white candy cane, cut into 6mm lengths

7cm tree cutter

3.5cm tree cutter

1 pot clear edible glitter

50g bag white royal icing

2-3 sugar cubes

4.5m 3mm-wide red satin ribbon

A little forest of sugarpaste trees with candy cane trunks and sparkling sugar snow adorn this easy-to - make cake.

Colour 300g of the sugarpaste 2 shades of green, making the darker tone first. Seal in separate polythene bags. Turn the cake upside down on to a serving plate, securing with a dab of jam. If there are any holes or the cake is a slightly dodgy shape, correct it now with bits of marzipan. Once you're happy, gently warm the remaining jam in a small pan, then sieve and brush all over the cake. Knead the marzipan until pliable. Dust a work surface and rolling pin with icing sugar and roll out the marzipan into a circle slightly larger than the top and sides of the cake, about 5mm thick. Lift on to the cake, smoothing all over, and cut away any excess. Leave overnight to firm up.

Brush the marzipan with the brandy and, on a clean, flat surface, knead the remaining white sugarpaste until pliable. Dust a work surface and rolling pin with icing sugar and roll out the sugarpaste in a circle about 5mm thick and slightly larger than the diameter of the cake and sides. Lift with your hands (or loosely wrap around the rolling pin) and place over the cake. Gently smooth with your hands and cut away any excess. Again, leave overnight to harden.

For the trees, roll out the darker green sugarpaste to about 7mm thick and cut out 1 large and 5 small trees. Repeat with the lighter green, cutting 2 large and 4 smaller trees. Dip all their edges into the glitter then, with the royal icing, stick them on the candy canes. Re-roll the 2 green sugarpastes to 2mm thick and cut out 1 large and 5 small trees in darker green and 2 large and 4 small trees in light green. Stick these on to the backs of the trees, to hide the join to the candy canes. Push the 'trunks' into the cake, all facing the same way. Break up the sugar cubes and scatter over the surface, then sprinkle with glitter. Finish by twisting the ribbon round the cake about 6 times and attaching at the back with the royal icing.