Time to bake the delicious British Christmas Cake for this year's holiday treat. Yum Yum!!

Or oes anyone know where one can buy good Marzipan for the outer covering of a British Christmas cake (fruit cake)? I'm sure anyone of British, South African, Australian or New Zealand descent would be well versed in where to shop here in Fort Lauderdale for the ingredients which are sometimes a little hard to come by here.

What liquor have you used to flavour it?

What liquor do you feed it with when it's maturing?

Thanks in advance.

I use captain morgan spiced rum for my cake. What do you use?

Star

Don't know about the total yeld, but think you could make a couple of batches.....or adjust the ingredients to suit your purpose. (Bought some marzipan once, but it did not have a good taste, so it was a waste of good money. That is when I decided to make my own!)

ALMOND PASTE
100 g blanched almonds
100 g icing sugar
egg white
2 ml almond extract
Grate the almonds finely and mix with the sieved icing sugar in a bowl. Mix in egg white, little at a time, until you get a soft and kneadable mixture. Add the almond extract and continue kneading with your hands.
Wrap the almond paste tightly in plastic. Use it to make candies, to cover cakes or to fill traditional Finnish shrove buns.
Almond paste may be coloured and flavoured with food colourings, cocoa powder and various essences and extracts.
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There is enormous confusion about the difference between what we call "almond paste"and what some confectioners call "marzipan," and candy manuals are not much help. Some would say our recipe is one for marzipan, others would say, that it's almond paste. But whatever name, you can use the paste made by this recipe in pastry and cake fillings, as well as to make small candy shapes that you can tint, using a small brush and food coloring.

The advantage of making your own, over most of the versions available in shops is the absence of inexpensive fillers and excessive bitter almond extract that compromise the delicacy of the flavor. Those with nineteenth century leanings might prefer rose water to the almond extract in the recipe. (Nice for wedding or special cakes.) Well wrapped and refrigerated, the paste will keep for many months.

.1/2 pound whole, blanched Almonds
2 tablespoons Water (for processing almonds)
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Water (for the syrup)
2 tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract, or more to taste

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and spread the blanched almonds on a baking sheet. Bake, stirring frequently, until they are heated through but not browned.

While the almonds are still hot, put them into the container of a blender or food processor and grind them as fine as possible, adding the 2 tablespoons water gradually and stopping to scrape down the sides of the container occasionally. When you pinch a bit and feel no coarse grain, the nuts are fine enough.

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, 1/2 cup water, and corn syrup. Boil without stirring until the syrup reaches 235 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in the flavoring.

Start the blender (or food processor) and add the hot syrup in a thin stream through the feeder opening in the cover. Continue to process until the mixture is uniform.

Cool the almond paste and pack it into a jar, or wrap it in plastic, allow it to ripen in the refrigerator for a week or so before using it.

(If necessary to soften the almond paste after storage, heat it, wrapped in foil, in a steamer over boiling water, or put it
unwrapped in the upper part of a double boiler over boiling water, just until it is pliable enough to use.)