Icing Incredibly Easy Chocolate Fruit Cake

Asked by lorrainebollard. Answered on 15th November 2014

Full question

I would love to do Nigella's Incredibly Easy Chocolate Fruit Cake at Christmas and decorate it with sugarpaste. I know marzipan is the best option under the sugarpaste but as I don't like marzipan would you recommend anything else? Could I use ganache? If yes how long would it last? Thanks.

Our answer

Nigella's Incredibly Easy Chocolate Fruit Cake (from Christmas) does not usually have a traditional icing on it, Nigella prefers to decorate it with gold dragees and similar cake sprinkles. You can ice the cake if you wish but note that the top sinks a little so you may want to trim the top level and you should turn the cake over so that the base becomes the top, for a flat surface.

Ideally the cake should have a layer of marzipan first. This helps to keep the cake fresh and also to provide a smooth surface for the final icing. If you don't like marzipan but are using sugarpaste (ready to roll icing, rolled fondant icing) then it is probably best just to use a thicker layer of the icing and try and hide any small bumps with decoration. Brush the cake with a little warmed and strained apricot jam before adding the icing, to help it to adhere to the cake. As the cake is quite moist there is a risk that over time moisture may seep through the icing and cause some discolouration. Consequently we suggest icing the cake as late as possible.