Decorative Cakes Recipes -  Basket Of Wine Cake

Ingredients

• 25 cm/10 inch square fruit cake (refer recipe)

• 125 g/4 oz apricot jam, boiled

• icing sugar for dusting

• 900 g/2 lb marzipan

• 1.3 kg/2 lb 12 oz ready-to-roll icing: 1.1 kg/2 1/2 lb cream, 125 g/4 oz black, 25 g/1 oz red

• food colors: cream, black, red, brown

• 225 g/8 oz pastillage (refer recipe)

• 450 g/1lb royal icing (refer recipe)

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Method:

1. Cut the cake into two 25 x 12 cm/10 x 5 inch cakes. Slice one of the cakes in half horizontally. Stick half on top of the 25 x 12 cm/10 x 5 inch cake with apricot jam. Trim the other half to a domed bottle shape and stick on top of the rectangular cake. Brush all over with apricot jam. Dust a work surface with icing sugar, roll out the marzipan and use to cover the cake (refer recipe). Place on the board and leave to dry.

2. Roll out 800 g/ 1 3/4 lb of the cream icing and cover the cake (refer recipe). Cut the icing off the bottle and replace with thinly rolled black icing. Form the neck of the bottle from the red icing - it should overhang the edge of the cake. Roll out the pastillage into two long sausages and form the handles for the basket. Leave to dry for at least 24 hours.

3. Roll out a little cream icing, cut out a rectangle for the label and stick to the bottle. Paint on a suitable design. Color the royal icing pale brown and, using the piping nozzles, pipe the basket weave around the cake.

4. Roll out some more cream icing and form the folds of the napkin around the bottle and on the board, sticking with a little water. Finally, paint and stick on the handle of the basket, supporting it with cocktail sticks until it dries.