Baking ingredients
- 116 g unsalted butter – softened for the 4in Cake
- 500 g unsalted butter – softened for the 6in Cake
- 116 g caster sugar for the 4in Cake
- 500 g caster sugar for the 6in Cake
- 2 large eggs for the 4in Cake
- 10 large eggs for the 6in Cake
- 150 g self-raising flour for the 4in Cake
- 700 g self-raising flour for the 6in Cake
- Splash of milk for each of the cakes
Decorating ingredients
- Strawberry jam
- Unsalted butter - softened
- Icing sugar
- Milk
- 1 kg Renshaw White Ready to Roll Icing
- 500 g Renshaw Baby Blue Ready to Roll Icing
- 250 g Renshaw Pink Ready to Roll Icing
- 250 g Renshaw Deep Purple Ready to Roll Icing
Instructions
Baking Instructions:
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 150°C / 300°F / gas mark 2.
Step 2
Grease and line one 4in cake tin and two 6in round cake tins.
Step 3
Starting with the 6in cake ingredients, in a large bowl cream the unsalted butter and caster sugar.
Step 4
Add the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour between each.
Step 5
Fold in the rest of the self-raising flour and when mixed in, add a splash of milk if required.
Step 6
Divide the mixture between the two 6in lined cake tins and bake for 1hr to 1 hour 10 minutes each until a cake skewer comes out of each cake clean.
Step 7
Repeat the mixture process for the 4in cake ingredients, then bake the 4in cake for 45 minutes to 1hr or until a cake skewer comes out clean.
Step 8
Once the cakes are out of the oven, leave cakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then turn out on the wire rack and leave to cool completely.
Decorating Instructions:
Step 9
To make the buttercream, put the butter into a mixing bowl and beat until creamy in colour and light in texture. Sift the icing sugar into the bowl and combine, then add the milk and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
Step 10
Using a cake leveler, cut the top off each cake to give it a flat top and then cut in half. Repeat this for all the cakes.
Step 11
Take the prepared buttercream and the strawberry jam and sandwich the two layers of the 4in cake and four layers of the 6in cake together.
Step 12
Cover the two cakes with a thin layer of the remaining buttercream.
Step 13
Knead 1kg Renshaw White Ready to Roll Icing and 500g Renshaw Baby Blue Ready to Roll Icing until pliable before rolling out.
Step 14
Lightly dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll out the white icing to the desired thickness.
Step 15
Place the 6insponge cake on a 10in iced cake drum, then lift the white icing over the cake, smoothing down the sides with the palm of your hand. Using the smoothers push down the icing to create a line to trim excess icing from the edge of the cake. To give sheen to the surface, smooth with the palm of your hand.
Step 16
Cover the 4in cake in in the baby blue icing.
Step 17
Be sure to evenly space and insert four long pieces of plastic cake dowelling into the center of the 6in cake, ensuring that the 4in sponge cake will cover the dowels when placed on top. Trim the dowels to the same height as the 6in cake using wire cutters or strong scissors. Place a 3in thin cake board on top of the dowels, making sure it rests on the dowels.
Step 18
Gently stack the 4in baby blue iced cake on top of the 6in white iced cake. Using smoothers to push any icing down.
Step 19
Knead and roll out sections of Renshaw Pink, Baby Blue and Deep Purple Ready to Roll Icing to the desired thickness.
Step 20
Using various sized circle cutters cut out a mixture of sizes for each colour icing.
Step 21
Using cooled boiled water and a paint brush, wet a spot on the cake and stick in place a pre-cut out circle.
Step 22
Repeat all the way around the 6in cake tier.
Step 23
Roll out the remaining pink and white icing to the desired thickness. Using a small triangle cutter, cut out triangles in both colour icings.
Step 24
Using cooled boiled water and a paint brush, wet a wiggly line around the top of the 4in cake, making sure it touches the top of the cake at four points to stick the bunting to.
Step 25
Now stick the icing triangles on the wet line in alternate colours all the way around, using the end of the paint brush to lift the bunting slightly.
Step 26
Using any remaining white icing, roll a thin sausage shape to sit on top of the bunting triangles to finish it off.
Step 27
Thickly roll out the remaining deep purple icing and using a number cutter of your choice cut out the number. Using a cocktail stick, insert into the base of the number and leave overnight to dry.
Step 28
Once the icing number has fully dried, insert into the top of the cake.
