Diamonds are forever Part 2

A Diamond Wedding Party Cake   

Last week was P and C’s Diamond wedding party. They invited 25 family and friends to lunch in a restaurant near their home. We ate their Diamond Celebration cake as a dessert after the speeches.

I did two tiers with the bottom tier as a fruit cake, as I showed you in the recipe in Diamonds are Forever Part 1. The second tier was a Victoria Sandwich so everyone had a choice. I followed Grandma Abson’s recipe for a traditional Victoria Sandwich with Raspberry Jam and butter cream filling. 

I covered the fruit cake with homemade marzipan/almond paste and then covered both cakes in 'ready to roll' icing.   This way of icing cakes is a real life saver as I’ve never done intricate icing unlike Grandma and her niece Ivy, who both excelled in producing amazing sugar craft flowers. I used a cake polisher to give a smooth and shiny finish to the icing.  

Kay at Flowers by Kay made a lovely Lily of the Valley decoration for the top of the cake. The shimmery green ribbon and the sparkling ‘60’ gave a final flourish to the masterpiece! I can tell you that we all had a great time celebrating their 60 years together.

The happy couple ready to cut the cake!

Diamonds are forever Part 1

Pat and Colin

I’ve started the cake for P and C’s Diamond wedding celebrations in April. They’ve requested a fruit cake to celebrate their 60 years together. The first stage is to make the cake so I’ve used one of Grandma Abson’s tried and tested Celebration Fruit Cake recipes in an 8 inch or 21 cms cake tin. 

Celebration Traditional Fruit Cake

8oz/225g brown sugar

8oz/225g butter

1 tbsp black treacle (warmed)

1 tbsp golden syrup (warmed)

5 eggs (beaten)

9oz/250g self raising flour

3-4oz/100g glace cherries

4oz/110g mixed peel

10oz/275g each of sultanas, raisins, currants

1tsp each of cinnamon and mixed spice

2oz/50g nut mix +1oz/25g ground almonds or

3oz/75 ground almonds

1/6 pint/110ml stout

Cream the butter and sugar and add the treacle and golden syrup. Add the eggs and half of the flour and spices. Beat the mixture. Stir in the almonds and cherries and then the rest of the flour and dried fruit. Add the stout. Bake for 3 – 3 ½ hours. Start warm for 30 minutes and then gradually reduce and finish in slow oven. (325F, Mark 3, 170C to 250F. Mark ½ 130C)

Celebration Cake ready for the next stage

Meryl's tips : It’s important to cook a fruit cake like this gently and in advance so it can mature over the next couple of months. Wrap it in foil to store until it’s ready for the next stage. I’ve pencilled in a date around mid-March (2 weeks before the Diamond ‘do’) to put on the almond paste and then the end of March (1 week before) to complete it with the icing. I’m going to make a 2 tiered cake with a Victoria Sandwich as the second tier so I’ll keep you posted with the preparations.

I’m wondering how to decorate the cake. Pat carried lilies of the valley at her wedding so I’m on the lookout for a spray of these flowers .....