Equipment
Fruitcake
Marzipan
Royal icing
Apricot glaze
Icing sugar in a sifter
Cake Drum 3” larger than the cake
Rolling pin
Space bars
Side scraper (metal and plastic)
High turntable (approx 6 inches)
Pallet knife
Straight edge (metal ruler) or Ham knife
To achieve a nicely coated royal iced cake its important that
the foundation (cake) is level/smooth, so please take the
time to make sure that your marzipaned cake is just that ie.
level the cake and use space bars when rolling out the
marzipan.
Heat the apricot glaze (bring to the boil). Use a knife and apply a thin layer of the hot
apricot glaze to the top of the cake only.
N.B.
Using a pastry brush for this purpose is not recommended as you run the risk of leaving
bristles on the cake surface
Knead the marzipan on a clean work surface ie not on icing sugar
Lightly dust the rolling out surface with icing sugar. Place the space bars either side of the
marzipan. Roll out the marzipan, turning frequently (approx 25 deg on each turn). DO NOT
turn the marzipan over.
Do not roll the marzipan out on the same area that it has been kneaded on - as there will
be a residue on the work surface - which will cause the marzipan to stick to the rolling out
surface
Re dust the rolling out surface with icing sugar and flip the rolled out disc of marzipan
over.
Invert the cake (apricot glaze side down) and place on the disc of marzipan
Press the cake down firmly onto the marzipan disc and move the cake/marzipan a round
the dusted work surface.
Trim the marzipan level with the side of the cake.
Take hold of the cake and flip the cake the right way up – place the cake on the cake drum
(1/2 inch thick cake board)
Use a knife and apply a thin layer of the hot apricot glaze to the side of the cake.
Roll a long sausage of marzipan
Lightly dust the work surface with icing sugar. Place the space bars either side of the
marzipan. Roll out the marzipan, re-dusting the area turning frequently. DO NOT turn the
marzipan over
Cut a neat edge
Roll the strip of marzipan up - just like a bandage
Unwind the strip of marzipan around the cake
Overlap the marzipan where it meets and cut through both layers.
Remove the surplus marzipan
Use a plastic side scraper to smooth the cake sides (backwards and forwards motion)
Trim/cut away the surplus marzipan, using short cutting movements towards the centre of
the cake. A royal iced cake is all about sharp edges, so make sure you hold the knife level
with the top of the cake and not at an angle.
The completed marzipaned cake.
If possible leave the cake to skin over (24 hours) before coating with royal icing.
It’s important that all the equipment used in the making of royal icing is grease free (as
even a tiny smear of grease will create heavy/unusable royal icing). So if you can’t keep a
dedicated set of equipment just for royal icing, then I highly recommend that all the
equipment used is scoured with a salt/water paste.
Royal icing
1 tbsp (15 ml) Meri white
4 tbsp (60 ml) cold water
Approx. 1 lb (454g) Icing sugar
1 tsp (5ml) glycerine
Always try and make up sufficient royal icing (in one go) to coat the cake three times. The
above recipe is sufficient for three coats on a 6 inch (15 cm) round cake.
Apply a small amount of royal icing to the top of the cake. Keep the tip of the knife in the
centre of the cake and paddle the royal icing while turning the cake on the turntable.
Continue to paddle the royal icing till it reaches the edge of the cake (apply extra royal
icing to the top of the cake if necessary)
There are two main choices of tool re levelling the icing on the top of the cake.
The first is a ham knife – to use this tool the knife is held firmly in one hand and three
fingers are placed centrally on the flat side of the blade. Pressure is applied with the
fingers to help create a smooth coat
The second is a metal ruler (straight edge) – to use this tool the ruler is balanced on two
fingers of each hand and the thumbs are placed on top (facing in towards the centre of the
ruler). Pressure is applied with the thumbs to help create a smooth coat.
Remove the cake from the turntable.
Working from the centre of the cake with every increasing lengths of strokes (top to
bottom), paddle the royal icing on the cake. Do not turn the ruler over ie the icing should
only be on the underneath side of the ruler. Once the paddle stroke is at the top edge of
the cake, take the ruler straight down and off the bottom edge of the cake.
Remove the surplus royal icing from the top edge of the cake. Using small downward
strokes of the pallet knife (the blade of the pallet knife should run down the side of the
cake (not at an angle). It’s important that the blade of the pallet knife is wiped clean each
time. On no account must you use a sweeping action with the pallet knife around the top
edge of the cake to remove the surplus royal icing.
Place a small piece of masking tape on the side of the cake drum/board - at the take off
point of the straight edge.
N.B.
The reason for the masking tape is to ensure that the take off is at a different point on the
cake each time;cake top - 6, 9, 12 o'clock
cake side - 3, 6, 9 o'clock
Unless you are working in a trade environment I highly recommend that you leave the
royal icing on the top of the cake at least four hours to dry, before applying a coat of royal
icing to the side of the cake
Apply a small amount of royal icing to the side of the cake. Keep the tip of the knife
touching the cake drum/board at all times and paddle the royal icing while turning the
cake on the turntable. Slope the pallet knife to work the royal icing up to the top edge or
down to the base of the cake
Continue to paddle the royal icing till the whole of the cake is covered (apply extra royal
icing to the side of the cake if necessary)
Hold the metal side scraper firmly in your hand (fingers evenly spaced). Pay great
attention to the pressure created by your small finger – if you don’t apply enough pressure
you will normally end up with slopping sides ie. Lighthouse effect
The base of the side scraper should always touch the cake drum.
If the angle of the side scraper to the surface of the cake is too acute then a smooth
surface will not be achieved. If the angle is too obtuse then you will end up removing all
the icing from the side of the cake.
Make sure that the piece of masking tape on the side of the cake drum is level with the
side scraper on the cake (3 o’clock position). Firmly hold the side scraper against the side
of the cake. With your other hand take hold of the underneath lip on the turntable (this
hand should be in advance of the hand holding the side scraper). It’s important that the
turn table is turned 360 degrees in a smooth single action. If you stop turning the turn
table you will create a line/ridge on the side of the cake
It’s normal on a first coat to have the marzipan shinning through the royal icing in
parts/places
Remove the surplus royal icing from the top edge of the cake. Using small cutting actions
with a pallet knife (the blade of the pallet knife should run towards the centre of the cake)
ensure the blade of the pallet knife is level with the top of the cake and not at an angle.
It’s important that the blade of the pallet knife is wiped clean each time. On no account
must you use a sweeping action with the pallet knife around the top edge of the cake to
remove the surplus royal icing.
It’s important when royal icing to clean as you go, so clean/wipe away any royal icing
which is visible on the cake board – do not allow this excess royal icing to dry on the cake
board
Leave the coated cake to dry (ideally for no less than 4 hours) before removing the take
off mark on the side of the cake (left by the side scraper). Always use a knife for this
purpose.
Brush away all the dry particulars of royal icing from the cake/cake board before
continuing
Apply a small amount of royal icing to the top of the cake. Keep the tip of the knife in the
centre of the cake and paddle the royal icing while turning the cake on the turntable.
Continue to paddle the royal icing till it reaches the edge of the cake (apply extra royal
icing to the top of the cake if necessary
Remove the cake from the turntable. Make sure that the piece of masking tape on the side
of the cake drum is at the 9 o’clock position.
If using a ham knife – Hold the knife firmly in one hand and place three fingers centrally
on the flat side of the blade. Apply pressure with the fingers to help create a smooth coat.
Working from the centre of the cake with every increasing lengths of strokes (top to
bottom), paddle the royal icing on the cake. Do not turn the knife over ie the icing should
only be on the underneath side of the knife blade. Once the paddle stroke is at the top
edge of the cake, take the ruler straight down and off the bottom edge of the cake.
Remove the surplus royal icing from the top edge of the cake. Using small downward
strokes of the pallet knife (the blade of the pallet knife should run down the side of the
cake (not at an angle). It’s important that the blade of the pallet knife is wiped clean each
time. On no account must you use a sweeping action with the pallet knife around the top
edge of the cake to remove the surplus royal icing.
Leave this coat of royal icing to dry (ideally no less than 4 hours).
Apply a small amount of royal icing to the side of the cake. Keep the tip of the knife
touching the cake drum/board at all times and paddle the royal icing while turning the
cake on the turntable. Slope the pallet knife to work the royal icing up to the top edge or
down to the base of the cake.
Make sure that the piece of masking tape on the side of the cake drum is at the 6 o’clock
position. Firmly hold the side scraper against the side of the cake. With your other hand
take hold of the underneath lip on the turntable (this hand should be in advance of the
hand holding the side scraper). It’s important that the turn table is turned 360 degrees in
a smooth single action. If you stop turning the turntable you will create a line/ridge on the
side of the cake.
Remove the surplus royal icing from the top edge of the cake. Using small cutting actions
with a pallet knife (the blade of the pallet knife should run towards the centre of the cake)
ensure the blade of the pallet knife is level with the top of the cake and not at an angle.
It’s important that the blade of the pallet knife is wiped clean each time.On no account
must you use a sweeping action with the pallet knife around the top edge of the cake to
remove the surplus royal icing.
Leave the coated cake to dry (ideally for no less than 4 hours) before removing the take
off mark of the side scraper from the cake. Always use a knife for this purpose.
In years gone by the rule of thumb was three coats of royal icing on a wedding cake and
two coats of royal icing on any other celebration cake (hence the difference in price). I
always apply three coats of royal icing, unless it’s a competition piece in which case it may
end up with seven coats of royal icing.
Apply small amounts of royal icing to the cake drum/board
Paddle the royal icing on the cake drum/board till its completely covered.
Hold the blade of your knife level with the cake drum/board and turn the cake on the
turntable.
Use the pallet knife (small downward cutting actions) and remove the surplus royal icing at
the edge of the cake drum/board.
Clean the edge of the cake drum/board with a damp cloth. Leave the royal icing on the
cake drum/board to dry (no less than 4 hours) before continuing.
Place a small amount of royal icing in a glass jug/bowl. Add a small amount of water to the
royal to create a thick run sugar consistency. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave
to stand for no less than 15 minutes before continuing.
Apply the run sugar to the coated cake drum/board
Continue to paddle the run sugar till the whole cake drum/board is covered.
Turn the cake on the turn table while holding the pallet knife level with the run sugar on
the cake board.
Clean up the side edge of the cake drum/board using a pallet knife/damp cloth.
Leave the run sugar (royal icing) to dry completely (24 hours)
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