Pastry Chef Fiona Cairns' Royal Wedding Cake Recipe

April 27, 2011— -- As the official baker of the royal wedding cake, British pastry chef Fiona Cairns has her work cut out for her.

Cairns showed "Nightline's" Nick Watt the plans for Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding cake, which will be a multi-tiered, traditional fruit cake with white icing. She said the couple chose her because of her reputation for luxury cakes and incredibly crafted pastry designs.

Her first cookbook, "Bake and Decorate," was released in March. Read more about Fiona Cairnes here.

Here is the recipe for Prince William and Kate Middleton's vintage glamour wedding cake, shown above, which includes the instructions for making the tamarind fruit cake batter, icing, cake decorations and assembly, so now you can recreate the royal wedding cake in your own home.

Vintage Glamour Wedding Cake

A Note From Pastry Chef Fiona Cairns:

A beautiful three-tiered timeless classic, this could take center stage at any wedding feast. It can be baked and decorated at least a month in advance and there are no colors to mix as the entire scheme is in ivory fondant with highlights of gold (you could also make this cake in white and gold.) If you break down each stage, giving yourself plenty of time, you may find it easier than you think.

Serves about 120-150 people

Ingredients for the Cake:One 6-inch square (3-inch deep) square cake pan

One 8-inch square (3-inch deep) square cake pan

One 10-inch square (3-inch deep) square cake pan

Double the recipe for Rich Tamarind Fruit Cake batter (recipe below)

6 tablespoons brandy, plus more to feed the cake

1 cup apricot jam, gently warmed and pushed through a sieve

6 3/4 pounds marzipan

confectioners' sugar, for rolling

Sizes for Cake Boards and Drums:One 8-inch square thin boardOne 10-inch square thin boardOne 12-inch square thin boardOne 6-inch square (1/2-inch thick) cake drumOne 8-inch square (1/2-inch thick) cake drumOne 10-inch square (1/2-inch thick) cake drum

Preparing the Rich Tamarind Fruit Cake:

Single cake makes 25-30 slices

A Note from Fiona Cairns About the Recipe:

I started my business using this particularly moist, dark recipe as a Christmas cake, producing hundreds of miniatures cooked in baked bean cans from my kitchen table. It has been tweaked by adding tamarind -- my husband's bright idea. Make it up to three months in advance, or at least a week before you want it, to let it mature and absorb the brandy.

Ingredients for the Fruit Cake:

1 1/2 cups candied cherries

2 cups golden raisins

2 cups dark raisins, preferably Thompson

1 1/4 cups mixed candied citrus peel

2/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger

1/2 cup dried currants

3 tablespoons molasses

3 tablespoons bitter orange marmalade

1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate

finely grated zest of 1 organic orange

finely grated zest of 1 organic lemon

1 heaped tablespoon apple pie spice

6 tablespoons brandy, plus 3 tablespoons to feed the cake

1 cup walnuts

1/3 cup blanched almonds

1 1/4 cups self-rising flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 1/2 cups almond flour

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preparing the Fruit Cake Batter:

The day before, rinse the cherries, then dry them well with paper towels and cut each in half. Place the golden and dark raisins, mixed peel, ginger, currants, cherries, molasses, marmalade, tamarind paste, zests and spice into a large bowl. Pour in 6 tablespoons of brandy, stir well, cover with plastic wrap and let stand overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Wrap the outside of the pan with brown paper and tie with string, to protect the cake from scorching in the oven.

Spread the nuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes in the oven, shaking once. Cool slightly, chop coarsely and set aside.