Royal Icing

... or glacé icing as my grandmother called it. As with the marzipan, this is very easy to make and will finish off your Christmas cake to perfection.

I have given quantities for the top and sides of a 23cm cake.

450g icing sugar

juice of half a lemon

2 egg whites

Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and add the lemon juice and the egg whites - do this gradually as you do not want your icing to be too runny. Then, as my grandmother says, 'stir vigorously' until you have a smooth thick paste'.

Cover the sides and top of the cake and either smooth down with a knife dipped in warm water, or make snowy peaks over the whole cake.

Decorate and leave to set. Enjoy!

Marzipan

... or almond icing as my grandmother called it. This is very easy to make and well worth the effort for your home-made Christmas cake. I have substituted almond essence for orange flower water and given quantities to cover the top and sides of a 23cm cake.

Some marzipan recipes combine caster sugar and icing sugar, but my grandmother's instructions use only icing sugar. Whichever you try, you need equal amounts of the ground almonds and the sugar.

300g ground almonds

300g icing sugar (sieved)

½ tsp almond essence

white of 2 eggs

2 tbsp of apricot jam or marmalade, thinned slightly with boiling water.

Combine the ground almonds and sieved icing sugar in a bowl. Add the almond essence and most of the egg white and stir together with a palette knife until you have a stiff paste. Add more egg white if needed.

Dust a board with icing sugar and knead the marzipan until smooth. Don't overdo it or it will become oily. Roll out about half and cut to a circle large enough to cover your cake - I used the base of the cake tin as a template. Brush the top of the cake with the jam and using a rolling pin, lift the marzipan onto the cake.

For the sides, roll out the other half of the marzipan to a length to go around the cake. You may need to do this in two lengths and, again, you can use the cake tin as a template for the required width. Brush the sides of your cake and stick the marzipan to it, pressing down firmly.

Now you're ready to ice your cake.

Any left over marzipan can be kept for up to a month in the fridge. Alternatively, you can use it to make festive decorations or it's very good stuffed into fresh dates and then rolled in caster sugar.

Brandy Butter

Sometimes called 'hard' sauce, this is an essential accompaniment to your Christmas Pudding which will slowly melt into the hot sponge to give a rich, sweet and delicious sauce. It is just as good with mince pies served warm from the oven.

This was in my mother’s recipe book and something she made every Christmas. The addition of whipped cream gives it a much lighter texture.

110g butter, softened

170g icing sugar, sieved

2 tbsp brandy

2 tbsp lightly whipped double cream

Cream the butter and gradually beat in the sieved icing sugar.

Then add the brandy, one tablespoon at a time beating well between each addition.

Lastly, fold in the lightly whipped cream and spoon into your serving dish.

Chill for several hours until firm.