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Cyw Birthday Cake

Baking the cake

Sponge cake ingredients

225g of caster sugar

225g o baking butter at room temperature, plus a little extra to grease the tins

4 eggs

225g o self-rising flour

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (if you wish to use it)

Cake filling ingredients

225g of icing sugar

112g of butter

½ tea spoon of vanilla extract (if you wish to use it)

4 tablespoons of strawberry or raspberry jam

Method

1.Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

2.Grease and line two 20cm/8in sandwich tins. Rub a little butter around the inside of the tins until the sides and base are lightly coated, then line the bottom with a circle and the sides with a line of baking/greaseproof paper.

3.Into a large mixing bowl add the sugar, butter and vanilla extract (if using it). Mix with an electric hand mixer (you can also use a wooden spoon) until the mixture as become light in colour and fluffy in texture.

4.Break the eggs into a separate bowl (to ensure that no egg shell goes into the cake mixture). Add and mix one at a time into the mixture.

5.Add the flour into the mixture and mix un till the mixture is smooth and has a slight shine to it (be careful not to over mix). The finished mixture should fall off a spoon easily.

6.Divide the mixture evenly between the tins: this doesn't need to be exact, but you can weigh the filled tins if you want to check. Gently smooth the surface of the cakes.

7.Bake the cakes on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Check them after 20 minutes. The cakes are done when they're golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins. Press them gently to check – they should be springy to the touch.

8.Set aside to cool in their tins for 5 minutes, then carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.

Set aside to cool completely.

Assembling the cake

Method for the cake filling

  • 1.Into a medium mixing bowl add the butter and half of the icing sugar and vanilla extract and mix together.
  • 2.Finish off by adding the remaining icing sugar and mix well. The mixture of buttercream should be light in colour and fluffy in texture.

Assembling the sponge cake

(Make sure that the cakes have completely cooled down before assembling)

  • 1.If your cake isn't level, use a bread knife to slice the top of the cakes to make it level.
  • 2.Place one cake on top of a square of baking/greaseproof paper and spread a thin layer of buttercream. Spread a thin layer of jam on the other cake and turn upside down and place on top of the bottom layer.
  • 3.Cover the whole cake with a very thin layer of buttercream (this will trap the crumbs and make if smooth for decorating). With a palette knife scrape off any excess buttercream.
  • 4.Place the cake to set in the fridge for half an hour.
    ...

Decorating the Cake

You will need:

25cm/10in or 28cm/11in cake board

500g ready to roll out blue icing

250g ready to roll out green icing

100g ready to roll out white icing

75g ready to roll out red icing

50g ready to roll out orange icing

50g ready to roll out yellow icing

25g ready to roll out black icing

Corn flour

Rolling pin (preferably a non-stick one)

  • 1. Start by covering your cake board with the green icing. Damp your cake board with little water and set aside.
  • 2. Dust your work surface with corn flour and place the green icing in the middle. Roll out the icing and between each roll spin the icing round to ensure the icing isn't sticking to the work surface (if you feel the icing is sticking add a little more corn flour underneath it). Roll out to a thin layer, approx. 4 - 5mm in thickness.
  • 3.To lift the rolled out green icing to the board, place your rolling pin in the middle of the icing and lift half of the icing over it. Use the rolling pin to lift the icing from the work surface and place over the cake board.
  • 4. Use the palm of your hand to smooth the icing on the cake board. With a knife trim off the excess icing to create a sharp edge finish to the cake board. Set the cake board aside.
  • 5. To cover the cake with blue icing repeat step 2, rolling it out smooth to a thickness of approx. 8mm - 1cm.
  • 6. To lift the icing onto the cake repeat step 3.
  • 7. Use the palm of your hand to smooth the icing on the top circle of the cake first. To smooth the icing on the side of the cake, use both hands to slightly stretch/pull and the smooth/mould the icing into shape. Your cake should look like a hat on the work surface
  • 8. Use a pizza wheel or a knife to cut the excess icing from the bottom of the cake.
  • 9. With a knife spread a little buttercream in the middle of the cake board. Lift and position the cake on the board. If you want to write a message on the board place your cake more towards the back of the board leaving enough space for your message.
  • 10. Print the picture of Cyw and cut around it. You can use this as a template for cutting Cyw out of the icing.
  • 11. Start by rolling out white icing to a thin layer approx. 5mm thick. Place the picture of Cyw in the middle of the icing and cut around it with a knife. Brush a little water on the back of the cut out shape and place it on top of the cake.
  • 12. Cut around the red parts of Cyw from the paper template. Roll out the red icing to a thin layer approx. 5mm thick. Place the red parts in the middle of the icing and cut around them with a knife. Brush a little water on the back of the cut out shapes and place them on the white Cyw shape on the cake.
  • 13. Repeat step 12 with the yellow, orange and black elements of Cyw and icing.
  • 14.To finish the eyes, in the palm of your hand using your finger roll 2 tiny amount of white icing into a ball and stick with very little water to the black eyes.
  • 15. With orange icing, repeat step 14 to roll out 10 tiny orange balls and stick them underneath Cyw's eyes.
  • 16. For Cyw's legs and feet, repeat step 14 to roll out 2 legs approx. 2cm long and 6 balls for the feet.

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