Baking ingredients
- 1125 g unsalted butter - softened
- 1125 g caster sugar
- 6 tsp vanilla extract
- 20 large eggs
- 1000 g self-raising flour
- 125 g corn flour
- 18 tsp milk
Decorating ingredients
- 625 g unsalted butter - softened
- 1200 g icing sugar
- 9 tbsp milk
- 5 tsp vanilla extract
- 12 tbsp raspberry jam
- 35 kg Renshaw Dusky Lavender Ready to Roll Icing
- 2 medium eggs - whites only
- 340 g icing sugar – sieved
- Blue, purple, yellow and pink coloured craft jewels (NON EDIBLE)
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
Grease and line four 6in round cake tins and four 8in round cake tins.
Step 3
In a large bowl, cream the unsalted butter and caster sugar and add six teaspoons of vanilla extract.
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 corn flour and when mixed in, add 18-20 tablespoons of milk.
Step 6
Divide the mixture between the eight lined cake tins and bake in two batches for about 25 minutes each until a cake skewer comes out of each cake clean.
Step 7
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 8
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 9-12 tablespoons of milk and four teaspoons of vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
Step 9
Take half the prepared buttercream and the raspberry jam and sandwich the four layers of the smaller (6inch) cake and then the larger (8inch) cakes together. The cakes should be four sponge layers deep each. (Remember to cut the tops off each cake to give you a flat surface to work with)
Step 10
Cover the two cakes with a thin layer of the remaining buttercream.
Step 11
Knead the 3.5kg Renshaw Dusky Lavender Ready to Roll Icing until pliable before rolling out. Lightly dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll out the icing to the desired thickness.
Step 12
Place the larger (8in) sponge cake on a 10in iced cake drum, then lift the dusky lavender icing over the cake, smoothing down the sides with the palm of your hand. Use icing smoothers to 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 13
Repeat the process to cover the small (6in) cake.
Step 14
Evenly space and insert four long pieces of plastic cake dowelling into the center of the larger (8in) cake, ensuring that the smaller (6in) sponge cake will cover the dowels when placed on top.
Step 15
Trim the dowels to the same height as the larger (8in) cake using wire cutters or strong scissors. Place a 5in thin cake board on top of the dowels.
Step 16
Gently stack the smaller (6in) lavender icing covered cake on top of the larger (8in) iced cake. Using smoothers to push any icing down.
Step 17
Once you have stacked your cakes, set to one side and make the royal icing. Do this by slowly beating the egg whites into the icing sugar until light and fluffy with a soft peak consistency.
Step 18
Add a number 2 piping tube to a small piping bag and fill the bag half full with royal icing. (Do not over fill or add too much royal icing to your bag or you will find it difficult to add pressure and pipe).
Step 19
Now it's time to stick the jewels to the cake in your desired pattern. This should be consistent around the 2 tiers. To apply the jewels, squeeze a little of the royal icing on to the back of the jewel and gently place on the cake in the desired place. Holding it in place for a couple of seconds for the royal icing to take hold.
Step 20
Repeat this process to get the desired pattern for both tiers.
Step 21
NB: The coloured craft jewels are NOT edible, and will need to be removed from the icing before the cake is consumed.
