I planned to make a Wedgwood Cake for a while now. I tried once, but I didn’t have enough blue fondant and it didn’t turn out good, obviously. The only option was to remake the decorations for that cake and keep this in mind for another time. With Bake Off starting this week and the Signature challenge being a fruit cake, it was the perfect opportunity to make this cake.

Now I finally made an Wedgwood Cake and I’m very happy.

I’ve used two ideas and made a cake by adding a bit of a twist to a Dundee cake I made before, by inserting a pistachio marzipan layer in the middle of the cake. The pistachio marzipan was inspired by another Bake Off related bake, Le Gâteau Vert-Vert. Furthermore, I covered the cake in marzipan before covering it with the blue fondant and white decorations.

Wedgwood Cake – Fruit cake:

– 225g self-raising white flour
– 175g vegetable spread
– 100g marmalade
– 100g dates
– 200g mixed dried fruits
– 100g dried apricots
– 75g cherries glace
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 3 medium free-range eggs
– 2 spoons of Scottish whisky
– 25g blanched almonds
– 100g pistachio kernels
– 50g icing sugar
– 1/2 tsp pistachio flavouring
– 1 spoon water

Preheat the oven to 150C.

Put the vegetable spread in the bowl of the food processor and beat it to soften, if necessary. Add the marmalade and mix until is incorporated. Add the eggs and mix. Tip the flour in, the blanched almonds, and the cinnamon, the whiskey. Mix the batter until all the ingredients are incorporated. Remove the bowl and add the dried fruits, cut in small pieces and the cherries, cut in two. Using a spoon or silicone spatula fold in the fruits into the cake batter.

To make the pistachio marzipan, start by grounding the pistachios in a food processor. Put the pistachios and the icing sugar in a bowl, pour the pistachio flavouring and a couple of teaspoons of water. Mix with a spoon. Then tip it on the worktop and make the marzipan by kneading the ingredients in. Add more water, less than a teaspoon at a time, until it has the right consistency.

Spray oil on the baking tray and spoon in half of the cake mixture. Roll the pistachio marzipan or press it in a round shape with your hands. Make it smaller than the baking tray. Put the marzipan in the middle and spoon in the rest of the cake batter.

Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 1 to 2 hours. I baked mine for 1 hour and 30 minutes. You can test to see if the cake is baked by inserting a skewer into the centre. If the skewer comes out clean, then the cake is baked. When ready, take it out of the oven and transfer the cake on a cooling rack. Leave it to cool completely.

Wedgwood Cake – Decorations:

– 150g ground almonds
– 75g icing sugar
– a few spoons of water and orange flavouring (optional)
– blue fondant
– white fondant

Make the marzipan by mixing the ground almonds with the icing sugar. Pour a bit of water and mix. Tip it onto the worktop and knead until is smooth. Add more water when necessary. Roll out the marzipan and cover the cake with it.

Roll out the blue fondant; use icing sugar to make sure the marzipan will not stick to the worktop. Now cover the cake as well. Brush the marzipan with water so the fondant can stick to it. Make the sheet of fondant much bigger than the cake to obtain a beautiful finish. Cut off the edges and keep it for future bakes in a plastic bag.

I would suggest making the white fondant flowers, leaves, and butterflies the day before. If they dry out a bit it is easier to work with them. Also, I would suggest not trying to colour match the fondant at 6am in the morning, like I did. This is why it has the purple hue to it. I used shop-bought fondant that I mixed with a bit of water and icing sugar to make it lighter, but I’ve added a bit of purple as it seemed to me that the Jasper has a bit of purple in it.

The pistachio layer is visible in this picture. It was a great idea. I’m very pleased with how my Wedgwood cake turned out. This design is not complicated to make and it is perfect for a fancy occasion. I might bake it again for Christmas.