OS Fruit Cake People - when to marzipan and ice?

skypie123_2

I am getting married in 8 weeks :eek::eek::eek:

I have made 3 square fruit cakes as my wedding cakes and have been faithfully feeding them with finest brandy :T

I know I need to leave a gap between marzipanning and icing for the marzipan to dry out but how long in between and how far in advance please?

Smokemeakipper_3

My advice would be don't leave it too late. The last thing you want is to be stressing close to the day. I would put the marzipan on about 10 days in advance then leave it for 2 or 3 days before icing. You then have time to decorate it should you wish. I'm no expert though so someone else might say differently. HTH.

gibson123

Plan to have the icing totally complete at least 3 days before the wedding. Start now, cover your cake in the first coat of apricot jam and leave for 24 hours, then do another coat of apricot jam, 24 hours then marzipan, leave for at least 48 hours and then more apricot jam. Then first coat of Royal Icing and let it set for a week, then a quick rub with sandpaper and then the second layer of Royal Icing, leave for another week and then start decorating. Take your time. You need to make sure the cake doesn't get dusty so get a big clean cardboard box to pop over the cake between stages. Good luck.

skypie123_2

Thank you for your answers.
Gibson I have 8 weeks to go so had I best leave starting for a few weeks yet? I read somewhere that jam from a jar will go mouldy under the marzipan so what do you recommend I use? Is jam from a jar ok?
Which sandpaper should I get (probably a daft question but is there a food grade sand paper?)

gibson123

I have never known the Jam to go mouldy, i use a high sugar jam (cheap stuff) boil the jam with some water so it is hot and liquid and then brush on with a pastry brush, I do several coat.

I use white sandpaper very fine, the sandpapering bit ensures you do not have air pockets and gives a nice smooth surface. i would have a maximum of one week between the first coat of apricot and the first coat of Royal Icing, once it reached this stage it can literally keep for years, but keep the dust off. So i would pick a week when I have plenty time to get it to the first coat stage. If my wedding was 8 weeks, I think I would start this weekend and then get to the Royal Icing stage next weekend, then 2nd Royal Icing the following week, with decorating the week after. That way your cake would be finished 4 weeks before the wedding but if you find you encounter difficulties you have plenty time to strip it down and start again.

Big hint - when you are covering the cake with Royal Icing, use the left over icing to practise your decorating. practice on the cake tin you baked in turned upside down.

skypie123_2

Thanks Gibson!v:beer:
I will start this weekend then.
Beware I will be back with questions if I run into difficulty! (which I no doubt will run into soon!) :rotfl:

gibson123

Your welcome, now as success depends mostly on preparing properly.. How experienced are you? Pardon me if you know this but before you start, please make sure you have a turntable or it will be impossible, and a pallet knife and a bowl preferably metal or porcelain (not plastic) that you only use for icing, you do not want ANY oil even greasy fingers to be near the icing, otherwise your icing will break up or go grainy. Have you done much sugarcraft before? and what sort of design are you doing, do you have a cake stand or are you using pillars? Ask away, I was many years ago a confectioner baker, a bit out of practise but I think the knowledge is still there.

gibson123

PS you also need a spirit level!

Take_it_like_a_man,_sonny

Orange marmalade spread on cake, then rolled white marzipan, you're getting married. Then ice. Make royal icing, do not forget to add juice from lemon as this makes it set, harden and gives it a glaze. Oh, and hot, near boiling water, to keep pallet knife clean. I spoon on icing and use fork to spread, then pallet knife later to smooth.