Ingredients

To cover the cake

• 20cm fruitcake, see 'Goes well with'
• 5 tbsp apricot jam (optional)
• 750g golden marzipan
• 750g white ready-to-roll icing

To decorate

• three 5-pointed star cutters - small, medium and large
• 30g pack small gold balls
• approx 65cm length of wide ribbon

Method

1. Lift the cake onto the cake board or a plate and cover with jam, marzipan and – brushing with water around the sides of the cake only – ready-to-roll icing. Trim at the base.
2. Press star cutters gently into the icing, stopping when you get to the marzipan. Pull the star shapes out with the cutter, or ease it out with the tip of a knife. Stamp out a couple of small stars from re-rolled trimmings of icing (from icing the cake) and sit them inside the large star-shaped spaces.
3. Sprinkle the gold balls into the gaps and tie the ribbon around the cake. Can be decorated up to a week ahead.