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Gingerbread Men Christmas Cake

Gingerbread Men Christmas Cake

By Morrisons
Published on 31 May 2020
Bring some fun to your Christmas cake by adding festive gingerbread men icing. The cake recipe is really easy, leaving more time for decoration.
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Time and servings

4 hrsTotal time
20Servings
1 hrPrep time
3 hrsCooking time

Ingredients

  • 725 g of icing
  • 25 g of icing sugar, for dusting
  • 5 drops of black food colouring
  • 5 drops of orange food colouring
  • 5 drops of red food colouring
  • 200 g of butter, softened
  • 4 eggs, medium
  • 225 g of plain flour
  • 1 kg of dried mixed fruit
  • 200 g of golden marzipan
  • 2 tbsp of apricot jam
  • 1 white writing icing
  • 200 g of dark brown sugar

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/Gas 3. Fully line a 20cm round, loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add 2 tbsp flour and the eggs and beat well. Sift in the rest of the flour and fold in. Mix in the fruit then spoon into the tin and level.

  2. Step 2

    Cover the tin with a circle of lightly oiled baking parchment, bake for 2 hours 30 minutes. Remove the paper ‘lid’ and bake for a further 30 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Insert a metal skewer into the centre. If it comes out clean it’s cooked. If not return the cake to the oven for 10 minutes or so, then retest.

  4. Step 4

    Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then remove and leave on a wire rack until cold.

  5. Step 5

    To decorate, colour 150g icing a brownish shade (we used orange and black food colouring).

  6. Step 6

    Roll it out on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar and use a cutter to stamp out enough gingerbread men to go around the edge of the cake, plus two for the top.

  7. Step 7

    Lay them on a tray lined with baking parchment and leave to harden overnight.

  8. Step 8

    Meanwhile, make the candy cane decorations. Roll 25g white and 25g red icing into long thin strips, twist together, re-roll then cut into even lengths, bending the tops to form candy canes. Allow to harden overnight.

  9. Step 9

    To ice the cake and give a smooth background for your gingerbread men, warm the jam and brush it over the cooled cake. Cover it with rolled out marzipan and dampen with water. Roll out the icing on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to a circle large enough to cover all the cake.

  10. Step 10

    Dust your palms with icing sugar and use to smooth down the icing over the top and sides of the cake, then trim away any excess.

  11. Step 11

    Finish your gingerbread men by drawing eyes, mouth and buttons on with white writing icing and press on silver or gold balls for the buttons. Use a little of the writing icing to attach the gingerbread men and canes to the cake.