christmas cake icing disaster!

[Richard Johnson]

Dear All,

A friend of mine has just started making Christmas cakes on a
semi-commercial basis. The first lot were pulled because the icing was
lifting from the cake -- the shop deemed the cause to be the use of some
apricot jelly instead of jam to stick the marzipan to the cake. But over the
weekend, when my friend was icing the second batch, it was noticed that the
same problem was occurring - the icing domes upwards and ultimately cracks.
So the apricot jelly was clearly not the problem first-time round. Please,
please, please -- any ideas?



Yours,

--

Richard Johnson

[Steve Wolstenholme]

On Mon, 3 Dec 2007 12:48:19 -0000, "Richard Johnson"

Post by Richard Johnson
Dear All,
A friend of mine has just started making Christmas cakes on a
semi-commercial basis. The first lot were pulled because the icing was
lifting from the cake -- the shop deemed the cause to be the use of some
apricot jelly instead of jam to stick the marzipan to the cake. But over the
weekend, when my friend was icing the second batch, it was noticed that the
same problem was occurring - the icing domes upwards and ultimately cracks.
So the apricot jelly was clearly not the problem first-time round. Please,
please, please -- any ideas?

Fermenting fruit? That would produce carbon dioxide under the icing
and lift it upwards. The solution may be to use a more porous icing
mix.

Steve

[Sacha]

Post by Richard Johnson
Dear All,
A friend of mine has just started making Christmas cakes on a
semi-commercial basis. The first lot were pulled because the icing was
lifting from the cake -- the shop deemed the cause to be the use of some
apricot jelly instead of jam to stick the marzipan to the cake. But over the
weekend, when my friend was icing the second batch, it was noticed that the
same problem was occurring - the icing domes upwards and ultimately cracks.
So the apricot jelly was clearly not the problem first-time round. Please,
please, please -- any ideas?

Is she leaving the cakes at least 24 hours to cool down?
I found this, too:

"Apricot jam or Masking jelly ?

To stick the marzipan to the cake use apricot jam which has been sieved and
boiled. The boiling makes sure no mould is present. As an alternative try
some Imaginative Icing masking jelly. This does not need boiling, has a mild
flavour and can be used straight from the container."
http://www.imaginativeicing.demon.co.uk/howtomarzipan.htm

[Dora Crawford]

Post by Richard Johnson
Dear All,
A friend of mine has just started making Christmas cakes on a
semi-commercial basis. The first lot were pulled because the icing was
lifting from the cake -- the shop deemed the cause to be the use of
some apricot jelly instead of jam to stick the marzipan to the cake.
But over the weekend, when my friend was icing the second batch, it
was noticed that the same problem was occurring - the icing domes
upwards and ultimately cracks. So the apricot jelly was clearly not
the problem first-time round. Please, please, please -- any ideas?

Good - I see you posted to the newsgroup I gave you!
Someone on the rec.food.cooking newsgroup suggested you might want to
search on http://www.sugarcraft.com/
by posting on the cake decorators' message board. Good luck.

[limey]

Post by Richard Johnson
Dear All,
A friend of mine has just started making Christmas cakes on a
semi-commercial basis. The first lot were pulled because the icing was
lifting from the cake -- the shop deemed the cause to be the use of
some apricot jelly instead of jam to stick the marzipan to the cake.
But over the weekend, when my friend was icing the second batch, it
was noticed that the same problem was occurring - the icing domes
upwards and ultimately cracks. So the apricot jelly was clearly not
the problem first-time round. Please, please, please -- any ideas?

Richard - I went to the cake decorators' website. Here is my question,
plus the response:


: English Christmas cakes are heavy (usually fruit cake), with a thick
layer of marzipan and a hard white icing. I don't know how the icing is
made, but it's brittle, like a lot of wedding cakes.
Someone has asked a question of me re a problem. When putting the icing
on top of the marzipan, the icing is lifting off. Would anyone have a
suggestion what is going wrong?

Dated : December 05, 2007 at 08:37:36
Subject: Re: Icing an English Christmas cake

The icing is called Royal Icing....a mixture of egg whites and powdered
sugar that dries very hard. I really wouldn't know why it is not
sticking to the marzipan well....perhaps the marzipan is a bit
oily...try dusting the surface with powdered sugar before applying the
royal icing.

(The posted reply can be found at the following URL:
http://www.sugarcraft.org/forums/forum3/messages/666.html )

Hope that's of some help.
Dora

[Richard Johnson]

Dear Dora,

Thankyou for your help. I really appreciate you going to the trouble to ask
in America! Apparently, if the icing actually domes up, then it sounds like
there may be some fermentation occurring underneath. This can be caused by
cornflour, if this has been used for rolling out the almond paste. Also, it
helps to brush the surface of the almond paste lightly with a clear alcohol
such as vodka before applying sugarpaste icing, to create a good seal. Oh
and it might help to use egg white to brush the marzipan before applying the
fondant. We'll see!

[i***@googlemail.com]

Post by Richard Johnson
Dear Dora,
Thankyou for your help. I really appreciate you going to the trouble to ask
in America! Apparently, if the icing actually domes up, then it sounds like
there may be some fermentation occurring underneath. This can be caused by
cornflour, if this has been used for rolling out the almond paste. Also, it
helps to brush the surface of the almond paste lightly with a clear alcohol
such as vodka before applying sugarpaste icing, to create a good seal. Oh
and it might help to use egg white to brush the marzipan before applying the
fondant. We'll see!
--
Richard

this may be a little late for your friend now but the Royal Icing
traditionally used for English rich fruit cakes is made as follows:

1 and a half lbs of Icing Sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp Glycerine
1 tsp Lemon Juice

Lightly beat the egg whites.
Stir in the sifted icing sugar, a little at a time.
Add the lemon juice and glycerine and whisk until smooth.

I have made it without the glycerine but this makes a more brittle
icing.

As said before the cake should be brushed with heated and sieved
apricot jam (jelly?) before the marzipan is rolled and placed over the
it and allowed to dry for at least a couple of days before icing the
cake. The icing should either be peaked with a knife or smoothed over
allowed to dry again and then decorated with more piped icing swirls
or other patterns.

see http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/christmascake_2359.shtml