How to Make a Crossword Cake
I've made these crossword cakes for the books' launch at the end of this month. I thought you might be interested in the recipe, which is a family favourite, and the method.
The recipe is my great-aunt's fruit cake. It's a boiled fruit cake, which means the dried fruit is boiled before baking, which makes it all soft and tender and nommy. This is the cake I made for my wedding cake, many years ago, in the mists of time.
It is also a very easy and inexpensive cake to make (always a plus)! Keep in mind that the whole decorating process takes quite a few days (as the marzipan layer needs to dry first), so this isn't a project to undertake in a rush at the last minute. There are quicker crossword biscuits at the end of this post, if you are in a hurry.
Aunty Joyce's Fruit Cake
500g sultanas120g dried orange peel (or you can substitute another dried fruit if you're not a fan of peel)250 g butter, chopped1 cup sugar1 cup plain flour1 cup self-raising flour3 eggs60-90 ml brandy
You will need:
a large saucepan - all mixing is done in the saucepan, so make sure it's large!a knife for cutting the buttera mixing spoonmeasuring cupsdeep cake panskewer of some sort for testing donenesswire cake cooling rack
1. Put the sultanas and peel (or chopped dried apricots, or currants, or whatever) into a large saucepan. Pour in enough water to cover the fruit. Bring to the boil, then simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.
2. Preheat the oven to 175ºC (NOT fan forced) or 165º fan-forced.
3. Stir in the chopped butter and sugar, mix until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.
My goodness, doesn't it look yummy?
4. Mix in the flours, eggs, and brandy.
5. Grease and line a deep cake tin. If you're using a silicone pan, you don't need to line it, just greasing will do. Pour in the batter.
6. Bake! My cakes usually take 70 minutes, but test yours at one hour. Allow to cool in the tin for a bit, then on a wire rack.
At this point you can just either wrap it in foil, to ice another day, or proceed to icing right away.
The Crossword Decoration
I got the basic idea and method for how to do this from the Cake or death? website (see the cryptic crossword cake close up, and Janet's decoration technique). This is her cryptic crossword cake, which I love. Looks, an icing pencil! She's gone as far as adding custom cryptic clues, a step I haven't done (this time!) ... the by Araucakia line is hilarious (a take on Araucaria, a famous UK cryptic setter). I also highly approve of her Eddie Izzard Cake or death? connection!
You will need:
apricot jammarzipan or almond cake paste (~600g)fondant icing (~600g)icing sugar (for dusting)black paste food colouringblack edible ink pen – I used the Jet Black Edible Food Penrolling pinpastry brushtiny paintbrushclean rulerprint out of an enlarged crossword
1. You need a basic marzipan and fondant icing coating on the cake. There are many online tutorials and videos on how to do this; I found these two useful:
How to marzipan a cake (VideoJug)Icing a fruit cake (BBC Good Food)
The marzipan layerBasically, you coat the cake with a thin layer of strained, warm apricot jam. Then you roll out the marzipan layer and cover the cake with it. Then the cake needs to dry for several days. Finally, you roll out the fondant icing, and cover the cake with that.
The apricot glaze ready to go
Adding the fondant layer
All neat and tidy!
Once the fondant icing has dried for a bit (at least 4-5 hours):
2. Using the back of a knife, or a very clean ruler edge, lightly press a regular grid design into the top of the cake. You don't want the lines to press down too far into the icing. You can also photocopy a crossword (enlarged) and use that as a guide, running a blunt edge over the lines, to lightly mark the icing surface.
Ruling up the cake
Grid lines!3. Mix up the black paste food colouring in a little bowl, with a few drops of water, to get a nice painting consistency. Practice on some scraps of icing first.
The round cake just started4. Paint in the indented lines (or use the pen, but I found the brush worked better), to draw the grid. Avoid leaning your hand on the cake, if you can help it (I didn't manage this well, though, LOL!). Rest your elbow on the bench, and hold the wrist of your painting hand with your other hand.
The square cake in progress5. Colour in the squares that should be black, using your printed-out crossword as a guide. You can use kitchen paper or cotton buds dipped in clean water to carefully wipe away any mistakes. Work slowly and carefully! This part takes quite a while, I did it over several days. Good to do while watching NCIS.
6. Leave to dry overnight.
7. Using the edible ink pen, write in the tiny grid numbers to correspond with the crossword design you're using.
8. Ta dah! You're done!! Sit back and bask in the glow of your cleverness. Then nom it :)
If you really want to go to town, you can fill in some of the grid with appropriate words for the cakey occasion!
The recipe is my great-aunt's fruit cake. It's a boiled fruit cake, which means the dried fruit is boiled before baking, which makes it all soft and tender and nommy. This is the cake I made for my wedding cake, many years ago, in the mists of time.
It is also a very easy and inexpensive cake to make (always a plus)! Keep in mind that the whole decorating process takes quite a few days (as the marzipan layer needs to dry first), so this isn't a project to undertake in a rush at the last minute. There are quicker crossword biscuits at the end of this post, if you are in a hurry.
Aunty Joyce's Fruit Cake
500g sultanas120g dried orange peel (or you can substitute another dried fruit if you're not a fan of peel)250 g butter, chopped1 cup sugar1 cup plain flour1 cup self-raising flour3 eggs60-90 ml brandy
You will need:
a large saucepan - all mixing is done in the saucepan, so make sure it's large!a knife for cutting the buttera mixing spoonmeasuring cupsdeep cake panskewer of some sort for testing donenesswire cake cooling rack
1. Put the sultanas and peel (or chopped dried apricots, or currants, or whatever) into a large saucepan. Pour in enough water to cover the fruit. Bring to the boil, then simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.
2. Preheat the oven to 175ºC (NOT fan forced) or 165º fan-forced.
3. Stir in the chopped butter and sugar, mix until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.
My goodness, doesn't it look yummy?
4. Mix in the flours, eggs, and brandy.
5. Grease and line a deep cake tin. If you're using a silicone pan, you don't need to line it, just greasing will do. Pour in the batter.
6. Bake! My cakes usually take 70 minutes, but test yours at one hour. Allow to cool in the tin for a bit, then on a wire rack.At this point you can just either wrap it in foil, to ice another day, or proceed to icing right away.
The Crossword Decoration
I got the basic idea and method for how to do this from the Cake or death? website (see the cryptic crossword cake close up, and Janet's decoration technique). This is her cryptic crossword cake, which I love. Looks, an icing pencil! She's gone as far as adding custom cryptic clues, a step I haven't done (this time!) ... the by Araucakia line is hilarious (a take on Araucaria, a famous UK cryptic setter). I also highly approve of her Eddie Izzard Cake or death? connection!
You will need:
apricot jammarzipan or almond cake paste (~600g)fondant icing (~600g)icing sugar (for dusting)black paste food colouringblack edible ink pen – I used the Jet Black Edible Food Penrolling pinpastry brushtiny paintbrushclean rulerprint out of an enlarged crossword
1. You need a basic marzipan and fondant icing coating on the cake. There are many online tutorials and videos on how to do this; I found these two useful:
How to marzipan a cake (VideoJug)Icing a fruit cake (BBC Good Food)
The marzipan layerBasically, you coat the cake with a thin layer of strained, warm apricot jam. Then you roll out the marzipan layer and cover the cake with it. Then the cake needs to dry for several days. Finally, you roll out the fondant icing, and cover the cake with that.
The apricot glaze ready to go
Adding the fondant layer
All neat and tidy!Once the fondant icing has dried for a bit (at least 4-5 hours):
2. Using the back of a knife, or a very clean ruler edge, lightly press a regular grid design into the top of the cake. You don't want the lines to press down too far into the icing. You can also photocopy a crossword (enlarged) and use that as a guide, running a blunt edge over the lines, to lightly mark the icing surface.
Ruling up the cake
Grid lines!3. Mix up the black paste food colouring in a little bowl, with a few drops of water, to get a nice painting consistency. Practice on some scraps of icing first.
The round cake just started4. Paint in the indented lines (or use the pen, but I found the brush worked better), to draw the grid. Avoid leaning your hand on the cake, if you can help it (I didn't manage this well, though, LOL!). Rest your elbow on the bench, and hold the wrist of your painting hand with your other hand.
The square cake in progress5. Colour in the squares that should be black, using your printed-out crossword as a guide. You can use kitchen paper or cotton buds dipped in clean water to carefully wipe away any mistakes. Work slowly and carefully! This part takes quite a while, I did it over several days. Good to do while watching NCIS.6. Leave to dry overnight.
7. Using the edible ink pen, write in the tiny grid numbers to correspond with the crossword design you're using.
8. Ta dah! You're done!! Sit back and bask in the glow of your cleverness. Then nom it :)
If you really want to go to town, you can fill in some of the grid with appropriate words for the cakey occasion!
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