when do i need to ice / marzipan my Xmas cake

[nannyl]

Thats it really

want to start eating the cake on Xmas eve

do i have to marzipan it long before i Ice it?
im just using ready to roll marzipan and icing.

Can i ice it and cut it the same day or should it have some time to dry out or anything?

I think you're meant to do the marzipan the day before the icing but I can never be bothered and do them at the same time.

Maybe I don't know what I'm missing with the delayed application but it seems to work out fine.

You need to leave marzipan to dry out for at least a day before icing or the colout may leach through the icing.

If you are using hard royal icing, then it needs time to dry too.

I marzipanned on Wednesday and iced today.

There is so much booze in the cake though I think I'll be serving it by the glass!

I am thinking of doing the marzipan tomorrow. Will ice a day or two later. I am using golden marzipan, so will want to let it dry. If you use white marzipan it's not so important, IMO.

I marzipanned yesterday and iced today (using white marzipan).

I stuck the marzipan on with warmed jam, and then today, brushed water over the marzipan to make the icing stick to it.

thanks for that

i had it in the back of my mind that i needed to do something first but couldnt quite remember.

Maybe ill marzipan tomorrow
ice tuesday

and eat Xmas eve, though might have a slice when OH finishes work at 2pm on Thursday, as thats when our Christmas really begins!

Mine won't be touched till the day after Boxing Day when my family come, so that they can all admire it and tell me how fantastic it looks. It's all about the showing-off - can you tell?

Aaaaaargh - have totally forgotten about marzipan. I have icing sugar but no marzipan - thanks for the reminder!!

I use white marzipan so maybe that's why it doesn't colour the icing then.

Thanks for letting me join . i was a chef for 20 years then fell to Epilepsy then Bowel Cancer. I live alone but any help i can give i will try my best . By the way this is my first Christmas cake .I am using Nigella Lawsons

recipe daughter of the politician it smells grand will start my Dundee cakes next week or the week after.These are for charity . Another tip is for easy short crust flay pastry ,by Delia Smith made Sausage rolls last year i got one and that was the te
ster before i delivered them . Good luck to you all.