Icy Christmas cakes recipe: Mini glazed cakes from 1969 - Click Americana (2024)

FAQs

What is a mini cake called? ›

Petit* fours come in three varieties: Glacé ("glazed"), iced or decorated tiny cakes covered in fondant or icing, such as small éclairs, and tartlets. Salé ("salted"), savory bite-sized appetizers usually served at co*cktail parties or buffets.

The videos below give great tips on how to trim it neatly and create the perfect base for icing your Christmas cake. Leave the Christmas cake covered in marzipan in a cool, dry place. Allow it to dry for at least 24 hours before covering with fondant icing, and at least two days before covering with royal icing.

Brush the cake with a colourless alcohol (vodka is a good option) or cold boiled water to help the icing stick. Start by laying the icing at the back of the cake and lower it down to the front. Use the flats of your hands to smooth the icing over the cake. Neatly trim away any excess icing.

Brush cake with a little whiskey or brandy and apply the ready to roll as per the almond paste above. Alternatively, spread cake with the instant royal icing and use the back of a spoon to raise the icing to give a snow effect!

Petit fours are delicate little cakes that originated in France. Their name translates to “small oven” in English as petit fours were baked with the residual heat of brick ovens used for breadmaking in the past. The bakers would use the lower heat to make pastries, and thus their name was coined.

Lunchbox cakes are a style of mini cake. The individual cake layers range in diameter from 3-4 inches (7.5-10 cm), though I have seen some that are larger. My lunchbox cakes contain two or three layers, which ends up being 4-5 inches (10-13 cm) wide after it's frosted.

Other good choices of booze include brandy, rum, or whiskey. Feel free to use one or a mix of these to best complement your fruitcake. Once you've chosen the liquor, bake the cake, poke holes throughout the whole thing, and pour a few tablespoons of the alcohol over it. Or, you can brush the cake with the alcohol.

Quick Christmas Cake decorations

It is a soft icing that dries so it is often better to just put it on the top of your cake. I used a long length of liquorice around mine but the decorating is up to you. You can leave the sides free of icing.

Once the cake has been covered with marzipan, the marzipan needs to dry out. Otherwise the oils from the marzipan can seep into the icing, causing discolouration. As you need the marzipan to dry out, we do not recommend wrapping the cake at this point or storing in an airtight container.

Fruited Christmas Cakes are traditionally covered with marzipan followed by a layer of white icing. You may wish to Feed and Store your Christmas Cake before adding the icing layers.

What is Christmas cake icing made of? ›

The type of icing used for "Snowscapes" (peaked icing) on Christmas cakes is called Royal icing and is made with egg whites, lemon juice and icing sugar (confectioner's sugar). The icing seems to have quite a long shelf life, particularly once it is fully dried, regardless of which type of egg white is used.

Apply the Royal Icing

Decorate as you wish with silver or gold sugar balls, Christmas ornaments, or other festive decorations. Let the cake dry, uncovered until the icing sets hard, at least overnight or up to three days before serving. If not serving immediately, store in an airtight container.

In a medium bowl, stir together powdered sugar and remaining 3 tablespoons water until a thick icing forms. Once cakes are cooled completely, gently remove from pans and place on serving platter. Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons icing onto center of each cake, allowing icing to drip down sides.