30 mins to 1 hour
1 to 2 hours
Serves 6-8
Mary Berry recipes
From
Ingredients
- 175g/6oz light muscavado
sugar - 175g/6oz
butter, softened - 175g/6oz self raising
flour - 3 large
eggs - 25g/1oz
ground almonds - 2 tbsp
milk - 100g/4oz
sultanas - 100g/4oz cherries, quartered, washed, and dried
- 100g/4oz
dried apricots, snipped into small pieces - 100g/4oz
stem ginger, finely chopped - 1 tsp mixed spice
- 2 tsp
ground ginger
To serve
- 450g/1lb golden
marzipan - 3 tbsp
apricot jam - 1
egg, beaten
To decorate
- flowers such as primroses, narcissi or violets
-
egg white -
caster sugar
Method
-
Preheat oven 160C/320F/Gas 3.
-
Grease and line the base and sides of an 20cm/8in deep, round cake tin with baking parchment.
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Measure all the cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat well until thoroughly blended. Place half the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface.
-
Take one third of the marzipan and roll into a circle the same size as the cake tin, place the circle on top of the cake mixture. Spoon the remaining mixture on top of the marzipan and level the surface.
-
Bake for about one and three-quarter to two hours or until golden brown and firm in the middle. If toward the end of the cooking time the cake is getting too brown, loosely cover with a piece of foil. Allow the cake to cool in the tin before turning onto a cooling rack.
-
When the cake is cool. Brush the top with a little warmed apricot jam. Roll out half the remaining marzipan to the size of the cake and sit it on the top. Crimp the edges of the marzipan and make a lattice pattern in the centre of the marzipan using a sharp knife. Make 11 even sized balls from the remaining marzipan and arrange around the edge.
-
Brush with beaten egg and glaze under a hot grill for about five minutes, turning the cake round so it browns evenly, so the marzipan is tinged brown all over. (You can also do this with a blow torch if preferred)
-
To crystallise the flowers, lightly whisk the egg white in a bowl then carefully brush over the flower petals.
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Sprinkle over caster sugar so the sugar sticks to the egg white. leave to harden in a warm place, such as a shelf above a radiator or in an airing cupboard, until dry and firm.
-
Carefully remove from the rack and arrange in the centre of the cake.