icing Christmas cakes, shite, have I really f*ed it up? Gah.

[ErnestTheBavarian]

Made tone of little Christmas cakes as pressies, as well as 1 big one for us.

Planned to decorate today, to give out tonight, tomorrow & Tuesday.

Just reading how to do it, says to do marzipan one day, and leave to dry and not put icing on for several days, or the oils will discolour icing and it won't work.

Oh no. Is this true? Have I just ruined all my pressies?

Or is this overcautious and can safely be ignored? Anyone know?

If you do need to leave time between marzipan and icing, what's the shortest I can get away with?

Please?

Thanks

ps, never let me in the kitchen again, still smarting from my scone disaster.

Marzipan is the work of the devil.

Leave it off altogether and just ice the cake. It will be much better for it.

Christmas cake without marzipan

I've just iced straight onto just done marzipan for the past two years without any problems at all.

I would just go for it.

Lots of justs in my post but you get the idea .

Will be fine.

I did mini cakes last year and marziapnned and iced on same day..it was fine (everyone ate the cakes anyway...!)

I've generally left mine for 24 hours before icing - the marzipan will then have time to dry out a bit but I'm sure it wouldn't matter too much if you did it straight away.

which reminds me - I need to marzipan my cake today

If they are going to be eaten fairly soon after icing then it won't matter (although I'd still be inclined to leave the marzipan overnight if you have time). Over a period of several weeks the oils may well leak into the icing and discolour it, but if the cake's already been eaten by that point it won't be an issue.

i try sand leave 24 hours

but im sure if you marzipan NOW and ice this evening it should be ok

phew, thanks. I guess I'll marzipan them all today, and can get away with only icing 1 today, and the others in a couple of days, but will be tight, as in a couple of days I'll be really pushed for time, but that's what I'll do.

Thanks for your reassurance. Cannot for the life of me remember what I did 2 years ago, the only other time I've done it.

Ta

Happy icing.

ps, there's nothing else I should know, so no other disasters leap out at me?

spread cake with apricot jam
marzipan

Leave a few days

brush with brandy, ice, decorate with pieces of icing, glued on with egg white

Tha sound about right?

sounds about right

good luck and have fun

What are you brushing with Brandy?

Oh No! I did mine AGES ago. Is it going to be rank by next week? [fsad[

I would think that if you're using ready made marzipan from the shop, rather than making your own almond paste, it's pretty dry already. Should be fine.

All the cakes are now marzipaned ( is that a verb?)

Delia says to brush the marzipan with brandy to make the icing stick to it, Katymac....?

Is the icing easier to do than hte marzipan (in terms of smoothing out the folds down the side?

thanks for the tips.

Will make very detailed lists & reminders of timings for next year, including make the Christmas cards sometime round June or July

I thought the marzipan had to be dry for the icing to stick to it........

Delia is however the god(ess) of cookery, so go with her

I think it depends whether you're doing royal icing or rolled fondant. Sounds as though Ernest is doing fondant so brandy likely to be right.

I brush my marzipan with vodka before icing