How to Ice a Marzipanned Cake..

Once the marzipan is firmed up, next stop is the icing!
This often seems the trickiest bit, the icing is a bit of a diva and will crack, split or dry out at any opportunity, but persevere and you'll have a great looking cake by the end of it.

To cover a marzipanned cake (usually 8'') you'll need:

• 500g of ready to roll icing ( but I usually use 1kg, so I have a bit spare to work with)
• 3 tbsp of clear vodka, but water could be used instead
• 25-50g of icing sugar

Begin by covering your marzipanned cake with the vodka, be gentle - you don't want to crack your marzipan layer! 

Set aside and dust your surface lightly with icing sugar - try not to use too much, it's a bit of a frenemy - you need it to prevent sticking but too much and your icing will crack! 

Manipulate the icing slightly, so it'll be softer and will work more favourably. 

Begin to roll out, try to keep it in a circular shape and rotate constantly. 

Roll out until it is about an inch in thickness. 

In the same way as when covering with marzipan, check that the length of the icing by comparing the length to the cake tin sides. 

Then placing your rolling pin in the middle, flip the icing towards you and lift to drape over the cake. 

Smooth over the top - I'm using an icing smoother but doing it gently with your hand is just as effective!

Continue to gently smooth the icing down the side of the cake, being careful not to snag it. 

Then trim the excess icing - keep it as you could use it to decorate the cake later. 

Tuck in the edges of the icing and give it another smooth over, then trim the final inch or so of excess. 

Give it one final smooth over and ta-dah! Your cake is beautifully iced! 

Leave the cake to firm up overnight and then you can begin to decorate it! 

Troubleshooting...

• If you get little cracks appear on the edges of the cake - don't panic! Just smooth over with your thumb gently 
• If you find your icing is sticking to the surface completely then you need more icing sugar on the surface. The best thing to do is to throw away that batch and start again.
• If your icing is 'slipping' off the cake a little, you've probably used a little too much vodka/water to soak the surface. Just get a bit of paper towel and soak up some of the excess moisture, then replace the icing on top again. 

How to Marzipan a Cake..

It's time to start prepping your Christmas cake! Therefore, I'm marzipaning mine, in preparation for the icing and final decoration. 
My cake is a traditional fruit cake, but lots of people use the same technique to marzipan sponge cakes. 

If it's your first time it might be a bit fiddly, but you'll soon get the hang of it ! 

To marzipan a standard cake ( usually 8'') have to hand: 

• 500g of Marzipan ( white or normal yellow - your choice!) 
• 3tbsp of Thin-cut marmalade
• 50-75g Icing sugar
• Cake board ( 10'' should be sufficient) 

Start by getting your cake out on the surface for a quick inspection!

Then fill in any holes in the cake's surface with little balls of marzipan , so as to flatten out the cake's surface. This will give the cake a flatter surface overall. 

Heat up the marmalade in the microwave for about 10 minutes until it's a syrupy consistency and then spread on the cake. If you don't have a brush, just use a normal knife. 

Pop it on the board and put to the side! 

Prepare to roll out your marzipan by lightly dusting your surface with icing sugar, I keep a  bit on the side of the board so it's easy to push a bit more under your marzipan without trying to grab a handful mid-roll. 

Roll your marzipan out, constantly turning it, so it's rolled out evenly. I like a thin layer of marzipan so I roll mine out to about half an inch, but if you fancy a thicker layer - go for it!

Then place the cake tin you used to bake the cake in, in the centre of your rolled out marzipan, and pull the sides of the marzipan up the tin, to check its just about the right size and you'll cover the whole cake!

Using the rolling pin, roll the marzipan off the board and onto the cake. 

With the palm of your hands, rub the marzipan down the cake and smooth out slowly and gently. 

Then as you've secured the marzipan and are nearing the bottom of the cake, start to trim the excess marzipan away - it'll become much easier to manage after! 

Tuck in the bottom of the marzipan neatly and smooth over any bumps in the surface. 

Leave it to dry for a day or two and then you can focus on the icing! 

Troubleshooting...

• If your marzipan is sticking to the board, dust that board with more icing sugar! Keep rotating the marzipan and this'll reduce sticking 
• If the marzipan cracks - don't panic! You can gently push the sides around the crack together and the marzipan'll stay, also remember - it's the bottom layer - no one will notice a cheeky crack! 
• Use the excess marzipan left over to fill any gaps on the bottom of the cake if it's a little uneven - it'll provide the cake with a bit more stability