Place Icing ingredients in a large bowl, starting with 1 tablespoon water, and beat for 1 minute on speed 5 until smooth and glossy (start on low then speed up).
Divide icing into different bowls for colouring. Add food dye and mix – keep adding colouring until you achieve the colour you are after. If icing gets too thin, add more icing sugar.
Icing consistency test: Should be able to draw a figure 8 on the surface and you can see if for 2 seconds before sinking in and disappearing. Should be thick enough to pipe details but thin enough to spread smoothly on surface of cookie. ADJUST icing – thinner with water (1/2 tsp at a time), thicker with more icing sugar.
PIPING:
Transfer icing into disposable piping bags or ziplock bags.
Snip the TINIEST bit off the corner. Smaller hole = better detail in icing. Remember: You can cut hole bigger, but not smaller! OR using very thin piping nozzle.
500ml / 1 pintpouring custard, homemade or store bought (Note 5)
White Christmas Cake decoration, as pictured (optional)
250g / 8 oz"ready to roll" marzipan
250g / 8 oz"ready to roll" white fondant
Cherries dusted with icing sugar
Other Decorating Options (optional)
Cherries or other fruit dusted with icing sugar(on plain cake, looks very pretty!)
Drippy white glaze(directions below)
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Instructions
Fast Soaked Fruit:
Place dried fruit and juice/brandy in a large microwavable container. Microwave 1 1/2 minutes on high or until hot.
Stir to coat all fruit in liquid. Cover then set aside for 1 hour (to plump up/soak and cool).
Cake:
Preheat oven to 160°C / 320°F (140°C fan). Grease and line a 21 – 22 cm / 8 – 9" round cake pan with baking paper (parchment paper) (7 cm / 2.75" tall).
Using an electric beater, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute on speed 5).
Add oil and molasses, beat until combined.
Add salt, spices and baking powder – beat until incorporated.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated
Stir in the flour.
When mostly incorporated, stir in the fruit mix (including all the extra liquid in bowl) and walnuts (if using).
Pour into cake pan, cover with foil and bake for 2 1/2 hours. Remove the foil then bake for another 30 to 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into middle comes out clean with no batter on it (check first at 30 minutes).
Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Cool completely before serving.
Cake is moist and so full flavoured, it can be eaten plain. But see below for decorating and serving ideas (traditionally served with pouring custard).
Cutting: Either cut into thin wedges, or cut cake into thin strips (2cm / 0.75" or so), then cut those strips into serving size pieces.
Christmas Cake Decorating options:
Traditional White Christmas Cake (pictured in post) – Marzipan and fondant, see Decorating Note.
Simple – pile top with fresh cherries or other fruit, dust with icing sugar (powdered sugar). Wrap a ribbon around the cake for extra touch!
Drippy white glaze – use the glaze in this Lemon Cake recipe, but leave out the lemon juice (ie make a plain sweet white glaze). Flip cake upside down for flat surface then glaze per that recipe.
Serving – serve with custard for a traditional experience! Either homemade custard or store bought pouring custard (jazz it up by mixing in vanilla seed paste!).
Cream butter & sugar – In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using a stand mixer or electric beater on speed 7 for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
Egg & vanilla – Add the egg and vanilla, then mix on speed 5 until combined (~30 sec).
Molasses – Add the molasses, mix for 1 minute using speed 2.
Gradually add dry ingredients – Add 1/4 of the Dry ingredients, then mix until you can't see flour (start on speed 1 to stop flour flying everywhere!). Repeat until all Dry ingredients are mixed in, then mix for further 15 seconds. Dough should be soft and a bit sticky – see video for texture.
Refrigerate – Pat dough into a disc shape, wrap in the cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until firm. (Can refrigerate 5 days or freeze 3 months).
Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C (170°C fan) and set a shelf in the middle. Line 3 x baking trays with parchment/baking paper.
Take the dough out of the refrigerator and cut into half. Wrap half and return to the fridge.
Roll out (Note 7)- Sprinkle a sheet of baking paper very lightly with flour. Place dough on top, sprinkle surface very lightly with flour. Place another sheet of baking paper on top. Roll dough out until 4mm / 1/6" thick using a rolling pin. As you work, flip and if paper is wrinkling, peel it off then put if back on, smoothing out wrinkles.
Cut out shapes (Note 8) – Use a gingerbread cookie cutter to cut out gingerbread men shapes, firmly pressing to cut all the way through. If the dough sticks to the cutter, dip it into flour.
Transfer – Use a palette knife (or large knife) to transfer shapes onto baking sheet. Place 6 on the first sheet. Tidy edges if necessary using a butter knife.
Bake Tray 1 – Bake for 12 minutes (for classic light golden) or 14 minutes (dark golden and crisp). Then remove and cool fully on tray.
Repeat – Meanwhile, gather scraps of dough, press together then roll out again. If dough is sticky, return to refrigerator and work on the other half of the dough instead. Repeat rolling out and cutting out. You should have 18 to 20 gingerbread men in total (depending on cutter size)
Trays 2 & 3 – Fill and bake 2nd and 3rd tray with gingerbread men, 6 to 8 on each tray. I find the workflow that works best is baking one tray at a time ie. roll/cut-out/fill/bake one tray while you prepare the next.
Decorate – Fully cool on trays, then decorate! Use a half batch of this Royal Icing recipe to pipe and stick on decorations (sets hard and doesn't soak into cookies). The recipe makes more than you need, but it's impractical to make less. So freeze leftovers in fully sealed piping bag for future use.
1 1/2cupsthickened cream / heavy cream (any whipping cream)
1/4cupcaster sugar (superfine sugar)
1tspvanilla extract or essence
Topping
Fruit of choice. I used: raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and cherries.
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Instructions
Separate the whites and yolks while eggs are cold. Measure 150 ml/5oz egg whites (just shy of 2/3 cup, 140 – 160ml is ok).
Set whites aside to come to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 170°C/340°F (180°C fan-forced).
Place whites in a bowl. Use a stand mixer (I use speed 7) or handheld beater (high) and beat until soft peaks form (Note 2)
Add sugar 1 tbsp at a time, beating as you go. (Note 3)
After adding the sugar, beat for a further 3 minutes or until thick and glossy. Rub a little of the fluff between your fingers, there should be no sugar grit – that means it is ready.
Add cornflour and vinegar, beat on low for 5 – 7 seconds (or fold through with spatula) until just mixed through.
Making the Pav (Note 4)
Get the base of a springform cake pan (24cm/9.5″ or larger) and turn it upside down. Dab meringue on the edge and place a piece of baking paper (parchment paper) on top.
Gently place half the fluff onto the paper. Use the cake pan as a guide to make it round and coax it into a circle shape around 20cm / 8″ in diameter (Note 5).
Carefully scoop out the remaining fluff. Now coax it into a dome shape (not a cake with straight smooth sides) with edges sloping in slightly. Flatten top. Make it 4-5cm / 2 ” high – not much higher. (Note 5). See video / photos in post. It will rise/expand.
Transfer to baking tray. CAREFULLY place in the oven, GENTLY close the door and turn oven DOWN to 115°C/240°F (100°C fan).
Bake for 1 1/2 hours – no peeking, no thundering through kitchen! (Note 6)
Turn oven off, leave the door closed and leave Pav in the oven overnight to cool (I’ve done 18 hours).
Transfer Pav to serving platter then slide cake pan out from underneath. Use butter knife if required to loosen edges from paper, then slide paper out from underneath.
Just before serving, top with cream and fruit of choice.
