christmas cake

[Im a BusyBee]

ive printed off the recipe for christmas cake a few questions below but what i would like to know is this...when i was younger i can aways remember my mum making christmas cakes early and letting brandy(i think) soak into it before icing it in time for 25th dec. should i make this recipe early or are they best made fresh? if i make it early when do i marzipan and ice it??

[TheWinner]

Hi Im a BusyBee, The earlier you make your christmas cake the better! Your mum was right. You use a fine skewer to poke a few holes in the top of the cake and then using a teaspoon, carefully pour a bit of brandy in each hole. Put the cake back into its airtight tin and leave it for a week, then add another teaspoon or two of brandy,
You can marzipan it one day, then ice it another day, say the week before christmas and restore in the tin until needed. When the cake has been cut, again, you store in the airtight tin to keep it fresh. Hope this helps, good luck and happy cooking.

[I.Don No]

when I make my christmas cake I soak the dried fruit in brandy the night before making the cake thus avoiding the need to remember to skewer the cake and drip in some brandy every now and again.

as far as marzipan and icing is concerned I find it best to ice the cake the weekend before christmas and marzipan it the previous week therefore allowing the marzipan time to dry out a little and provide a better base for the royal icing, but nowadays I use the readyroll fondant icing instead of royal icing.

[Cetti]

For years I made my cake at the end of September, soaking the fruit in brandy as well as weekly from say the end of November - but now if I make one it's more likely to be the beginning of November.
It's not an exact science but if using marzipan do it about 10 days before Christmas to let it really dry out before icing.

Something I did find was just how dirty the fruit is, so a thorough washing and drying beforehand will absorb far more booze, plus making the cake more moist.