The Ultimate Classic Fruit Cake

This is an Eric Lanlard recipe-the French pastry chef who made Madonna's wedding cake and the Beckham children’s birthday cakes. Don’t be put off by the list of ingredients, it really isn't that bad, and the results are amazing. This is truly the king of fruit cakes. I ice it and use it as my Christmas cake every year, and un-iced throughout the year! My father-in-law claims it is the best fruit cake he has ever eaten (he's 75 and eaten a few!) and my husband and 3 year old go mad for it. It freezes perfectly, even if its iced, so no need to worry about the size of it.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 25 mins
• Serves: 16

Ingredients

• 375  g golden raisins
• 100  ml Grand Marnier
• 4  eggs
• 300  g plain flour
• 375  g unsalted butter
• 300  g dark brown sugar
• 2  teaspoons ground mixed spice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1  lemon, juice of
• 375  g  dried apricots
• 375  g sultanas
• 200  g  mixed peel
• 100  g  red  glace cherries
• 150  g walnut halves
• 150  g  whole roasted hazelnuts

• Icing

• 1 (340 g) jar  apricot jam
• 1  kg  ready made marzipan
• 1  kg  easy roll  icing
• 250  g icing sugar
• 1  egg, separated
•  edible  food coloring

Directions

1. Place raisins in a bowl. Add enough grand Marnier/Cointreau to cover them. Cover bowl and leave for 24 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 150°C.
3. In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, cream together the butter and sugar.
4. Add the eggs one at a time. If mixture looks a bit like splitting, add a little flour.
5. Add sifted flour, mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and Grand Marnier. Mix together.
6. Gently fold in soaked raisins, dried chopped apricots, sultanas, chopped peel, cherries, walnuts and hazelnuts.
7. Spoon the cake mix into 2 greased and lined 22cm spring form tins.
8. Bake cakes for 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours.
9. Remove and cool on wire rack. Once cool spray with more alcohol and wrap in cling film. Keep cakes in cool dry place until you ice/decorate them.
10. ICING: Gently heat jam until spreadable. Spread over top and edges of cake.
11. Roll out marzipan very thinly to the circumference of cake, also a strip around width of cake.
12. Place marzipan on cake-gently pinch strip around top and side to stick them together. Repeat this with the icing. Mix together icing sugar, egg white and a few drops of food colouring into a smooth paste. Put into icing bag and decorate as desired.