Of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without surprises so I stuffed some pretty gold-wrapped chocolate balls in the middle (come on, I had to find a way of incorporating chocolate somehow!) so that when you slice the cake open, they tumble out and your guests are wow’ed again and go ‘Aaaaaaaah!’
Angel Snow Globe Cake with Brandy Butter Frosting
Serves 8-10
ANGEL CAKE
12 egg whites, at room temperature
1 tsp cream of tartar
275g Natura Golden Caster Sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g cake flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp mixed spice
BRANDY BUTTER ICING
170g butter, softened
255g Natura Demerara Icing Sugar, sifted plus extra for dusting
4 tbsp brandy
Gold-wrapped chocolate balls or other sweets, for filling
Angel and glass dome, to decorate
Chiffon cake tin
Preheat the oven to 180C. Do not grease or line the chiffon cake tin – this helps the cake stay light and fluffy (I promise the cake won’t stick!) Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in an electric mixer and whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually add half of the sugar and all the vanilla and whisk until glossy and thick. Sift together the flour, spices and remaining sugar twice and then gently fold through. Spoon into the ungreased chiffon cake tin and smooth the top with a palette knife. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake comes away from the sides and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Turn the cake upside down onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for 1 hour. Remove the cake from the tin and set aside.
Make the frosting by whipping the butter, icing sugar and brandy together until light and fluffy.To assemble the cake, place it on a cake stand then fill the middle with the chocolate balls or sweets. Frost the top with the brandy butter icing then dust liberally with icing sugar. Place an angel decoration in the centre and cover with a glass dome.