The next part: the gingerbread houses. How cute are they? Like a little gingerbread village! You can go totally crazy with decorating them or even better, give the already-baked cookies to your kids, let them make their own houses using sweets and sprinkles and then just stick them around your cake!  This cake is such a show-stopper that you could put it on the table as a decoration that is good enough to eat. And speaking of eating, for those of you worried about your waistlines this festive season, you needn’t worry about this cake, it has so much dried fruit in it, one slice is basically one of your five-a-day!

Never-Fail 5 Ingredient Fruit Cake

(Great Aunt May’s recipe)

Makes 1 x 24cm cake

500g (750ml) mixed dried fruit

175g (250ml) Natura Molasses Sugar 

125g salted butter

250g (500ml) self-raising flour

1 large egg

Grease and double-line a 24cm-cake tin. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Placed dried fruit, sugar and 375ml water in a saucepan with the butter and allow to simmer for 25 minutes. Allow to cool. Stir in the flour and egg and mix well.

Pour into a triple-lined greased 24cm cake tin and bake for 1 ½ – 2 hours on the lowest oven shelf until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

 

Spiced Ginger Biscuit Houses

Makes 24

100g self-raising flour

2 tsp mixed spice

a pinch of salt

50g Natura Molasses Sugar

1 tbsp milk

75g salted butter

2 tbsp candied peel, finely chopped or Christmas fruit mince (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Mix together the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients and combine to form a dough (you can do this in a stand mixer using the dough or paddle attachment).  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/2 cm thick.

Cut out house shapes using a sharp knife then place on a baking tray.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before icing.

Royal Icing

1 egg white, beaten

260g (500ml) Natura Demerara Icing Sugar, sifted

squeeze of lemon juice

To make the royal icing, whisk the egg white gently then add the icing sugar until a stiff paste forms. Add the lemon juice and stir before placing in a piping bag.

Pipe the frosting onto the biscuits in patterns (you can make more colourful houses by using sweets and sprinkles) and allow to dry thoroughly. Then use spread the remaining royal icing around the outside of the cake and stick the houses in place. Dust with extra icing sugar to serve.