Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Ginger and Lime Christmas Cake

I'll tell you a little secret.  I can't stand fruit cake, or marzipan too for that matter. The only part of a traditional Christmas Cake I ever liked was the rock hard royal icing which lacerated your palate and was oh so sweet.  Fondant icing is something you see more and more as a finishing touch to fruit cakes and it's something I really like to work with because it is easy to roll out (even easier if you use ready rolled icing sheets) and it makes everything look really Christmassy like my Snowflake Cake or the incredibly easy Spiced Snowflake Cookies

This cake is a delicate Madeira sponge spiked with lime zest and ground ginger masquerading as a traditional iced cake.  It's nice to have something slightly different as a teatime treat and you would definitely enjoy this with a cup of coffee on Christmas night when you want something sweet but not too heavy. The cake in the photos vanished very rapidly in work after photography was completed... which is the highest form of praise.



Ginger and Lime Christmas Cake

175g Butter,very soft
175g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs, at room temperature
250g Self Raising Flour
2 tsp Ground Ginger
Zest of 2 Limes
45ml Milk
Lime Buttercream Icing (see below)
1 sheet Ready Rolled Fondant Icing

Preheat your oven to 180c/Gas Mark 4.  Grease and line an 8-inch loose bottomed cake tin with baking paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, together with a tablespoon of the flour each time (to stop the mixture from curdling).  Fold in the rest of the flour, ground ginger and lime zest.  Now add the milk slowly until the cake mix becomes a soft dropping consistency.

Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Turn out onto a cooling rack and let it go completely cold.  In the meantime, make some lime buttercream - this acts as the glue between the cake and the fondant icing.

Photos by Kerrie Walsh

Lime Buttercream Icing

140g Butter, very soft
250g Icing Sugar
Juice of 1 lime

Beat the three ingredients together until completely smooth. When the cake is cold, spread a thin layer of the buttercream over the cake and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Marks and Spencer

Decoration time...

Unroll a sheet of fondant icing into a surface thinly dusted with icing sugar.  This stops the fondant sticking to your work surface.  Now lift it up, using a rolling pin to support it and smooth it over your cake.  Use your hands or a smoothing tool to work out any bumps or air bubbles and trim away any excess with a really sharp knife.  Adorn it with every bit of seasonal decoration you have.  You could even strategically place them to hide any less than perfect areas...


4 comments:

  1. Ooh, I like the idea of pairing ginger and lime together!

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    1. I baked mini ones as part of the Christmas Food Hamper I make for the family. My sis lifted the lid, sniffed the wrapped cake and identified it on the spot. I was amazed!

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  2. CAN I LEAVE OUT THE LIME FROM GINGER CAKE AND USE THE OTHER INGREDIENTS AS SPECIFIED ...FOR THE GINGER AND LIME CAKE ... SORRY FOR CAPITALS CAPS LOCK SEEMS TO B STUCK

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    1. Hi Anonymous. Yes, you can leave out the lime if you like - it won't affect the final result. Have fun baking!

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