Baking ingredients
- 675 g unsalted butter – softened
- 675 g caster sugar
- 12 large eggs
- 600 g self-raising flour
Decorating ingredients
- 250 g unsalted butter - softened
- 800 g icing sugar
- 6 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Strawberry jam
- 7 kg Renshaw White Ready to Roll Icing
- 1 kg Renshaw Pastel Yellow Ready to Roll Icing
Renshaw products used
Email this recipe
Instructions
Baking Instructions:
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ gas mark 4.
Step 2
Grease and line three 25cm (10") square cake tins with silicon paper.
Step 3
Cream the unsalted butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 4
Add the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of self-raising flour between each.
Step 5
Fold in the rest of the self-raising flour.
Step 6
Pour the mixture into the prepared tins and bake in turn for approximately 40 minutes, until a cake skewer comes out clean.
Step 7
Leave the cake in the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn out and leave to cool fully.
Decorating Instructions:
Step 8
To make the buttercream, put the unsalted 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 6-8 tablespoons of milk and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
Step 9
Cut each square cake in half and sandwich with strawberry jam and buttercream
Step 10
Place the cakes on a 30cm (12") round cake drum.
Step 11
Carefully carve each of the cakes into the folded towel shape, rounding of the edges of the top and bottom half of each sandwiched sponge with a sharp knife.
Step 12
Coat each of the cakes with a thin layer of the remaining buttercream.
Step 13
Knead and roll out 1kg Renshaw White Ready to Roll Icing on a work surface dusted with icing sugar. Lift the icing onto the 30cm (12") round cake drum, smoothing the icing with the palms of your hands.
Step 14
Trim off the excess with a sharp knife around the edge of the cake drum.
Step 15
For each of the three sandwiched cakes, roll out 2kg Renshaw White Ready to Roll Icing on a work surface dusted with icing sugar. Lift the icing over each of the carved cakes, smoothing the icing over the surface with the palm of your hands.
Step 16
Using the palms of your hands, mould the icing into the folds and crevices you have created when you have carved the shape of the folded towel cake. You can mark in the folds using the back of a knife if needed. Trim off the excess with a sharp knife around the base of the cake.
Step 17
Use a stiff brush to stipple the fluffy towel effect all over the cake.
Step 18
Carefully place the first cake onto the pre-iced cake drum.
Step 19
Push four evenly spaced out cake dowels into the base cake and trim in line with the surface of the cake.
Step 20
Stack the second tier directly on top of the base cake securing into position using royal icing.
Step 21
Add dowels into the second tier and place the top tier into position, again securing with royal icing.
Step 22
Knead and roll out the 1kg Renshaw Pastel Yellow Ready to Roll Icing on a work surface dusted with icing sugar. Use a ruler to cut wide bands of icing to create the ribbon to drape over all four sides of the towel cake.
Step 23
Carefully lift the icing ribbons and secure into position on the cake using cool boiled water.
Step 24
Roll out two wider pieces of Pastel Yellow Icing and cut out two large diamond shapes. Fold each diamond shape of icing over and create folds to make one side of the bow. Allow each to set on a piece of foam.
Step 25
Using the remaining rolled Pastel Yellow Icing, cut two strips similar in size to the strips draped over the side of the cake to create the bow's loose ribbons. Cut out an inverted “V" shape to create a point. Secure the ribbons into position using cooled boiled water.
Step 26
Cut out a small rectangle of Pastel Yellow Icing and mould round the centre point of the two curved bows, securing in place using cooled boiled water.
