Christmas cake icing

Fondant icing is the smooth stuff that you roll out...

You should leave the icing till just before you need it as the fruitcake can bleed through your icing and ruin all your hard work. Yes you use the jam to stick the marzipan on. leave it overnight to set a little, then just moisten the marzipan with a bit of water, or vodka (evaps quicker) and pop the sugarpaste or royal icing on top. a good tip to get nice smooth icing and marzipan is to cut up an icecream tup into 2 rectangles and use those as cake smoothers to smooth out the lumps and bumps

If you ice over marzipan would it still bleed through though? Surely not? I'm sure I always ice several days before Xmas. I do put quite a thick layer of royal icing on. I can never get it smooth though, so I get a fork and make snowy peaks

If you ice over marzipan would it still bleed through though? Surely not? I'm sure I always ice several days before Xmas. I do put quite a thick layer of royal icing on. I can never get it smooth though, so I get a fork and make snowy peaks

yes it can do. it does depend on how much booze you put in the cake and how think your marzipan is. I put LOADS of booze in mine so always ice in just a few days before xmas.
When IU say leave it, I do mean to a few days before, rather than icing it a month before IYKWIM

Oh yes, a few days. I was going to ice tomorrow/Sunday. The cake has plenty of booze in (don't think I could have put much more in tbh) and a good layer of marzipan over the top and my icing will be generous.