Preparation method

Boiled fruit cake:

• Preheat the oven to 180 C and spray an 18cm tin and a 12cm tin
• Combine the fruit, nuts, sugar, water, butter and place over medium heat
• Once the butter has melted, increase the heat and boil for 5 minutes
• Remove from heat and place in a bowl over an ice bath, to cool completely
• Stir together the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon
• Mix in the eggs to the cooled fruit mixture
• Fold in the flour mix and brandy
• Divide between the prepared pans, filling them to three quarters full
• Bake for 90-120 minutes
• Cool in tins for 20 minutes, then turn out and fully cool on a wire rack

Apricot jam:

• Combine the apricots, water and lemon juice over medium heat
• Simmer until thick and the apricots have broken down

Marzipan:

• Stir together the almonds, castor sugar and icing sugar
• Stir together the lemon juice, vanilla, rum, and 6 of the egg yolks
• Add to the almond mix and stir until bound
• Knead the dough a bit and if it is too crumbly, add the 7th egg yolk
• Wrap in plastic and set aside

Fondant:

• Sprinkle the gelatine over the cold water and soak until spongy
• Stand the bowl over the hot water and stir until the gelatine dissolves
• Stir in the glycerine and glucose
• Put the icing sugar into a bowl and make a well in the centre
• Slowly pour in the liquid, stirring
• Colour half of the fondant with the green food colouring
• With the remaining half, colour as needed for decorating

Assembly and decoration:

• Roll the marzipan thinly
• Brush the sides of the cake with some reheated jam
• Cover cake with marzipan, then cover with reheated jam
• Cover with rolled out green fondant
• Use remaining fondant to create Easter decorations
• Decorate cake using fondant decorations and speckled chocolate eggs