Okay, so today was the day to finally tackle glazing that fruit cake. It’s been sitting there, wrapped up, doing its thing for weeks. Pulled it out. Looked alright, smelled good, rich and boozy like it should.
First up, the sticky layer
Right, before the white stuff, gotta put down the marzipan. Some people skip this, I usually do it. Makes a smoother finish, I think. Dug out the apricot jam. Warmed it up a bit with a splash of water, just enough to make it spreadable. Sieved it too, hate those lumpy bits under the icing. Brushed it all over the cake, top and sides. Sticky job.
Then the marzipan itself. Dusted the counter with icing sugar, lots of it, ’cause marzipan loves to stick. Rolled it out. Tried to get it even, always a bit tricky. Carefully lifted it, draped it over the cake. Smoothed it down with my hands, then used a smoother thingy I have. Trimmed the bottom edge. Actually did the marzipan yesterday, so it had overnight to firm up. Good.
Now for the main event: the glaze
Time for the royal icing. Grabbed the big bag of icing sugar. Got my egg whites ready – yeah, I still use real egg whites sometimes, makes the best hard icing. Some folks use that powder stuff, maybe easier, but this is how I do it. Added a squeeze of lemon juice, meant to help it harden and cut the sweetness a bit.
Started mixing. Low speed first, otherwise, you get a sugar cloud everywhere. Then cranked it up. Whisked it and whisked it. Took a while. You want it stiff, really stiff, so it holds its shape. Like, peaks stand up and don’t flop over. Checked the consistency. Looked about right.
Getting it on the cake
Okay, icing ready. Slapped a big dollop on top of the cake. Spread it out with a palette knife. Tried to get the top flat-ish. Then worked on the sides. This is always the messy part for me. Just gotta get it covered. Didn’t go for super smooth this time. Kind of like the rough, snowy look anyway. Used the knife to make some swirly peaks on top. Looks more ‘homemade’ that way, right?
Letting it set
And that’s pretty much it. Now it just needs to sit. Needs a good while for the royal icing to get rock hard. Put it somewhere cool and dry, out of the way. Don’t want anyone poking it.
So yeah, cake’s glazed. Job done for now. We’ll see how it cuts later. Hopefully, it tastes as good as it smells.
