Baking ingredients
- 225 g unsalted butter - softened
- 225 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 200 g self-raising flour
- 25 g cornflour
- 3 tbsp milk
Decorating ingredients
- 4 tbsp raspberry jam
- 125 g unsalted butter - softened
- 400 g icing sugar
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1.5 kg Renshaw Pastel Green Ready to Roll Icing
- 750 g Renshaw Grey Ready to Roll Icing
- 250 g Renshaw Baby Blue Ready to Roll Icing
- 250 g Renshaw Pink Ready to Roll Icing
- 500 g Renshaw Pastel Yellow Ready to Roll Icing
- 250 g Renshaw Jet Black Ready to Roll Icing
- Black food colouring
- 500 g Renshaw White Ready to Roll Icing
Renshaw products used
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Instructions
Baking Instructions:
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas mark 4.
Step 2
Cream the butter and caster sugar and add one teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Step 3
Add the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour between each.
Step 4
Fold in the rest of the self-raising flour and cornflour and when mixed in, add 3-4 tablespoons of milk.
Step 5
Pour the batter into two 21cm (8") round cake tins and bake for about 25 minutes until a cake skewer comes out clean.
Step 6
Leave cakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn out on the wire rack and leave to cool completely.
Decorating Instructions:
Step 7
Take one layer of the cake and spread the top with 4 tablespoons of raspberry jam.
Step 8
To make 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 3-4 tablespoons of milk and one teaspoon of vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
Step 9
Take half the prepared buttercream and spread on the bottom of the top layer of the cake.
Step 10
Place the buttercream covered cake layer on top of the jam covered cake layer, sandwiching the buttercream and raspberry jam together.
Step 11
Knead the Renshaw Pastel Green Ready to Roll Icing until pliable before rolling out on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to the desired thickness.
Step 12
Cover the sponge cake with a thin layer of the remaining buttercream. Lift the icing over the cake smoothing down the sides with the palm of your hand.
Step 13
Trim excess icing. To give a sheen to the surface, smooth with the palm of your hand.
Step 14
Knead and roll out the remaining pastel green icing on a work surface dusted with icing sugar. Lift the icing onto a 30cm (12") round cake drum and smooth the icing with the palms of your hands. Trim excess icing.
Step 15
Lift the covered sponge cake onto the covered drum, offsetting to the back of the board and securing in place using royal icing.
Step 16
Glue two 15cm (6") drum boards together using royal icing and cover with the remaining pastel green icing. Secure to the centre of the covered sponge cake using royal icing.
Step 17
To make the bunting, knead and roll out Renshaw Grey Ready to Roll Icing into thin long string shapes on a work surface dusted with icing sugar.
Step 18
Secure drooping strings of the grey icing round the top edge of the cake using cooled boiled water, repeating in six evenly spaced sections round the circumference of the cake.
Step 19
Using the remaining thinly rolled grey icing, carefully loop bows on each of the grey icing joins and finish with a small ball of grey icing in the centre of each bow.
Step 20
Knead 250g of Renshaw Baby Blue, Pink and Pastel Yellow Ready to Roll Icing until pliable before rolling out on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to the desired thickness.
Step 21
Using a small, sharp knife, cut out even sized triangles out of the three colours and attach in alternate colours along the drooping strings of grey icing using cooled boiled water to create the bunting.
Step 22
To create the bow, knead the remaining Renshaw Pastel Yellow Ready to Roll Icing until pliable before rolling out on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to the desired thickness.
Step 23
Cut a long strip approximately 2.5cm (1") wide to fit round the base of the cake. Wet the bottom edge of the cake with cooled boiled water and position the pastel yellow icing around the bottom of the cake. Cut the excess icing at the back of the cake and smooth the join together to create the ribbon.
Step 24
Cut out two strips of the pastel yellow icing slightly wider than the strip cut for the icing ribbon. Fold each in half and pinch the ends together using your finger and thumb, cutting each bow loop to equal lengths. Attach both to the cake using cooled boiled water.
Step 25
Cut a small strip of pastel yellow icing and stick over the centre of the bow to create the knot.
Step 26
To make elephant's body, roll a large ball of grey icing and shape into a cone shape. Stick the bottom of the cone to the board using cooled boiled water, and place a skewer through the body. Cut the skewer leaving 2.5cm (1") of skewer left showing.
Step 27
To make the legs, roll out four short sausage shapes. Roll each sausage between your hands and for each press one end against your work surface to flatten. Cut the opposite end in to a 'V' shape.
Step 28
Stick two to the top, front edge of the cone to create the front legs, and two to the base of the cone facing forward to create the back legs using cooled boiled water. Use a small circle cutter, or a large nozzle, press three small indents into the edge of the legs to mark the toes.
Step 29
Roll out two small balls of Renshaw Pink Ready to Roll Icing and flatten using your thumb. Stick to the bottom of the elephant's back legs using cooled boiled water.
Step 30
To make the head, roll a small ball of grey icing and shape into a pear shape. Place on top of the skewer on the body.
Step 31
To make the trunk, roll a thin sausage of grey icing that is slightly thinner at one end. At the thicker end, fan out the edges using your finger and thumb and attach to the head using cooled boiled water. Use a wet paintbrush and your finger to blend the trunk smoothly to the head. Use a small sponge underneath the trunk for a few hours to support it until it sets.
Step 32
To make the ears, roll out the remaining grey icing on a work surface dusted with icing sugar. Use a circle cutter to cut out each ear.
Step 33
Roll out two small balls of pink icing and flatten using your thumb. Stick each to the centre of the two grey icing circles using cooled boiled water.
Step 34
Use cooled boiled water to attach each ear to the head. Use pieces of sponge to support the ears until they set.
Step 35
Use a small, sharp knife to create a line for the mouth under the trunk. Cut a small line at each end of the mouth. Place the end of a small paintbrush in the centre of the line and pull down to create a smile.
Step 36
Roll two tiny balls of Renshaw Black Ready to Roll Icing and attach to face. Paint on two thin eyebrows above the eyes to create eyebrows using black food colouring and a thin paintbrush.
Step 37
To make the decorative bow, knead a small amount of Renshaw White Ready to Roll Icing until pliable before rolling out on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to the desired thickness.
Step 38
Cut out two small strips of the white icing. Fold each in half and pinch the ends together using your finger and thumb, cutting each bow loop to equal lengths. Attach both to the cake using cooled boiled water.
Step 39
Roll small balls of pastel yellow icing, sticking over the centre of the bow to create the knot and over the remainder of the bow to create polka dots.
Step 40
Using a square cutter, cut out four white blocks and stick to the board base of the cake using cooled boiled water.
Step 41
Knead the remaining pastel yellow icing until pliable before rolling out on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to the desired thickness.
Step 42
Using letter cutters, cut out the letters B, A, B and Y and stick to the four blocks in order using cooled boiled water.
