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Twelfth-night Cake

Twelfth-night Cake is a traditional British recipe for a classic spiced rich fruit cake that's made and baked like a Christmas cake but which was traditionally served for Epiphany (Twelfth Night) and which, today, is often served at New Year celebrations. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Twelfth-night Cake.

prep time

30 minutes

cook time

150 minutes

Total Time:

180 minutes

Additional Time:

(+cooling)

Serves:

10

Rating:

Tags : Spice RecipesBaking RecipesCake RecipesBritish Recipes

The classic Twelfth-night Cake is a very rich British version of the pan-European King Cake that's more of a cross between a King Cake and a Dundee Cake than anything else. It hearkens back to a time where the celebration of Epiphany (Twelfth night) was far more important than it is today. Icing was really a Georgian invention and we have recipes from the 1800s incorporating it. However the older styles of cake would have been decorated with fruit and nuts and maybe a honey glaze. The Tudor version would have been made with yeast as a leavening agent.

Ingredients:

350g butter
350g caster sugar
6 eggs, beaten
75ml brandy
350g plain flour
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
700g mixed dried fruit
50g blanched almonds, chopped
45g apricot conserve or apricot jam
900g almond paste (or marzipan)
4 egg whites
900g icing sugar
3 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp glycerine
glacé fruit, candied angelica and silver balls, to decorate

Method:

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well after each addition then add the brandy. Fold-in the flour, spices, fruit and nuts (if desired you can add a token or large bean to the cake for the King of Misrule to find). Grease a deep 25cm cake tin and line the bottom and sides with greaseproof paper. Tip the cake mixture into this and tap to remove any trapped air. Place the cake in an oven pre-heated to 150°C (300°F/Gas Mark 2) and bake for about 2.5 hours, or until the cake is firm to the touch. If the top of the cake darkens too quickly cover with a sheet of folded greaseproof paper about half-way through the cooking. Remove the cake from the oven, allow to cool in its tin for 30 minutes then tip onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Once cold cover the surface of the cake with the apricot preserve or apricot jam. Roll out the almond paste and cut just enough of the paste to go around the side of the cake. Then roll the remainder of the paste out and use to cover the top of the cake. Allow the cake to set for at least two days then prepare the icing by lightly beating the egg whites and incorporating the icing sugar into this to form a stiff paste. Add the lemon juice and glycerine and incorporate well. Then, using a palette knife spread the icing all the way around the sides and top of the cake. Place in a tin and allow to set for at least two days. When ready form a crescent of the candied fruit and angelica on top of the cake and decorate with the silver balls.

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