Christmas Cake alternative?

[DorisShuttAgainstGhosts]

I've made my "proper" Christmas cake for the grownups and it's in the cupboard being fed. However, I also made a test cake to check sizes and whether DS would eat the cake.

As luck would have it - he won't touch it. He'll nibble it a bit, so he won't hate it, but he won't properly eat it (it's a Dundee cake basis, but no nuts).

I'd like to make a different cake that will take fondant icing (so DS can help decorate it with figures) and last in a cake tin for about a week or so. No nuts due to a family member's allergy. Simple and easy would be a great thing too!

Anyone got ideas?

What doesn't he like about it? Is it the density of the fruit, or just the fruit itself?
He might prefer a Stollen style cake, less fruit, slightly more "bready" in texture? Although traditionally it is dusted with icing sugar, I'm sure you could adapt it to be covered in fondant icing :)

Or perhaps a madeira cake? More solid than a sponge, so take more weight in terms of decorating with figures.

Not sure. He doesn't really tell me a lot - he's 3 so the most I get is "it's too spicy" which actually can mean anything from too hot to actually too spicy. Gotta love toddlers

Never thought about a stollen cake. Will have a google and see if my skills are up to the task!

Ah no. Stollen has marzipan so that's a no go. Curse allergies!

Some stollens have a roll of marzipan down the middle, but they don't have to.

I'm making a stollen and a chocolate yule log this year. Although you can't really fondant ice a yule log, you can decorate with buttercream and it would keep for around a week (not in my house though!)