Ingredients

150 grams	Medjool Dates Roughly chopped
110 grams	Sultanas
110 grams	Almonds Roughly chopped
75 ml	Amaretto Liqueur
150 grams	Unsalted Butter
150 grams	Billington's Light Muscovado sugar
3	Eggs Beaten
110 grams	Self Raising Flour
110 grams	Ground Almonds

Additional Ingredients

1 tbsp	Apricot Jam Or Redcurrant Jelly
275 grams	Ground Almonds
275 grams	Billington's Golden Icing Sugar Plus extra for kneading
4 tbsp	Liquid Glucose Warmed
1	Almond extract
1	Egg Yolk Beaten (to finish)

Method

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1. Put the dates, sultanas and walnuts in a small bowl and pour over the liqueur.
2. Cover and leave to soak overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to180°C/fan 17C/gas mark 4. Grease and base line a 20cm(8") round cake tin. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Gradually beat in the eggs.
5. Sift in the flour and gently fold into the mixture with the ground almonds.
6. Stir in the soaked fruit and spoon into the prepared cake tin.
7. Bake for 40-50 minutes.
8. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire cooling rack.
9. Place the ground almonds and Golden Icing sugar in a mixing bowl and add just enough warmed liquid glucose to make a pliable paste.
10. Turn out on to a surface dusted with Golden Icing sugar and knead lightly.
11. Pat or roll out and cut out a circle using the base of the cake tin as a guide.
12. Cut out holly leaves with a cutter from the surplus marzipan.
13. Heat the jam or jelly until melted then brush over the top of the cake.
14. Place the circle on top of the cake.
15. Place the holly leaves around the edge.
16. Brush the marzipan with beaten egg yolk and put the cake into the oven for about 5 minutes at Gas 6/200°C/400°F until the marzipan is lightly browned.
17. Store, wrapped in greaseproof paper in an airtight tin for up to a week.

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