Make your own white Christmas with this seasonal cake. It will keep in a cool, dry place, preferably in a tin, for up to 2 weeks.
1 large egg white
200g/7oz icing sugar, sifted
waxed paper or baking parchment
Edible Sparkle or Glitter Flakes, for sprinkling
100g/4oz granulated sugar
20cm/8in round homemade or shop-bought fruit cake, covered with natural marzipan and white ready-to-roll icing
6–8 lengths white floristry wire, made into coils round a spice jar
4 tbsp icing sugar
4 nightlights, removed from their cases, to decorate
Takes 1¾–2 hours, plus at least a day for setting the snowflakes • Cuts into 12–16
1 Beat egg white and icing sugar until smooth. Put in a piping bag fitted with a fine nozzle. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
2 For a large snowflake, pipe a 7cm/2¾in line on the paper, cross with two more lines to make a six-pointed star. Pipe six inverted arrows along each point, growing smaller as they reach the tips. Sprinkle with Edible Sparkle, then granulated sugar. Make 3–4 more, in different sizes. Shape 12–14 smaller snowflakes: each line 3–4cm/1¼–1½in long, with 2–3 arrows on each. Set overnight.
3 Place cake on a plate. Make a paste with icing sugar and a few drops of water. Arrange nightlights on cake, decorate with coils and stars, pressing into the icing, securing with icing paste. Sprinkle more sparkle on cake.
• Per slice for 12 663 kcals, protein 4.6g, carbohydrate 137.7g, fat 14g, saturated fat 2.3g, fibre 1.6g, sugar 129.4g, salt 0.36g