Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas cake

1. Stage

Melt the apricot jam, then sieve and brush a little all over the fruitcake (see Apricot & almond fruitcake recipe to the right) or any 23cm cake. On a clean surface lightly dusted with a little sifted icing sugar, roll out the marzipan into a circle large enough to cover the cake – use a piece of kitchen string to help you check. Lift up the marzipan by hanging it over your rolling pin, then drape over the cake. Gently pat and smooth the marzipan down the sides of the cake, then trim any excess from the bottom.

2. Stage

Repeat everything again with 900g of the ready-to-roll regal icing, firstly brushing the marzipan with more apricot jam. Trim the base as neatly as you can, then hide any rough bits by tying a pretty ribbon round the base. Dye the remaining 100g regal icing with a little red food colouring, then thinly roll out and stamp or cut out a few ‘H’ shapes. Dribble a little water into 50g sifted icing sugar to make a paste. Dot a little on the backs of the ‘H’ shapes and some round sweets, and stick around the top of the cake to make evenly spaced Ho, Ho, Hos.