• Soak the dried fruit in the rum for at least 45 minutes before you begin to bake your cake. (I prefer to leave my fruit to soak overnight).
• The day you wish to bake your cake, begin by lining your cake tin with two layers of baking paper and pre-heating your oven to 140C / 275F/ gas mark 1.
• In a large bowl, beat the non-dairy butter and sugar together until creamy and pale.
• Next add the mashed banana and continue to beat, ensuring there are no lumps.
• Fold in the flour, chopped almonds and cinnamon. Once these are well combined add in the fruit with any remaining rum, the mixed peel, glace cherries and the treacle. Mix well.
• Pour the cake batter into the lined tin and place in the centre of the oven.
• Bake for 4 hours and 45 minutes or until it is a golden brown and and the cake is coming away from the edges of the pan.
• Remove from the tin and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Feed the cake with 2 tbsp of rum every couple of days until you are ready to decorate. Rotate the cake occasionally so you are feeding both the top and bottom of the cake.

To decorate

• Knead the marzipan until it is soft and pliable.
• Roll it out into a large circle until it is large enough to cover both the top and sides of the cake.
• Place the marzipan on top of the cake and carefully smooth down the edges, lifting up any pleats or folds with one hand and smoothing them our with the other.
• Once covered with marzipan leave this to dry before icing. (I usually leave mine overnight).
• To make the vegan royal icing, whisk the aquafaba with an electric mixer until foamy.
• 500 grams of the icing sugar and continue to whisk on a high speed until it is thick and glossy.
• Whisk in the glycerine and the remaining icing sugar until the icing is able to form soft peaks in the bowl. It should be thick but spreadable. If it is too runny, simply add more icing sugar. If it is too thick, add more aquafaba.
• Spoon roughly half of the icing directly on to the top of the cake. Using a large spatula, slowly spread the icing out to the edges and then down the sides of the cake.
• Smooth out the top and sides of the cake (using extra icing from the bowl as required) then leave to set.
• While the icing on the cake is firming up, make sure you have covered the remaining icing with clingfilm to stop it drying out.
• When you are ready to ice the cake with your preferred design, colour the remaining icing sugar red and spoon it into a piping bag.
• Cut just the tip off of the icing bag to create a small opening. This will allow you to carefully pipe small dots and turn them in to your favourite Scandinavia inspired fairlise design!
• Once you have finished decorating, store the cake in an airtight container. The iced cake will last up to 2 weeks.