Cakes For Romantic Occasions (15 page)

I love stars and have done ever since I was a little girl. I painted them everywhere and would often receive star-themed presents. The brooch
used on this cake was one such gift and seemed a perfect theme for a sophisticated cake design.

one
Dowel and stack the cakes (see pages 24–25) using seven dowels for
the bottom tier (six in a circle and one in the centre) and four for the middle tier.

two
Fill a piping bag with a no.1.5 nozzle and some white royal icing. Fix a length
of white satin ribbon around the base of each tier and secure with the royal icing.

three
To create the starbursts on the top and bottom tiers, first pipe a small sugar pearl onto the side of the cake. Then pipe eight slightly smaller pearls around it; pipe the first, then pipe the second opposite it, then repeat the process, always piping the next pearl opposite
the previous one to ensure equal spacing. Pipe the pearl and drag the nozzle away from the centre to create the teardrop effect (
a
). Dab down any icing peaks
with a little water.

SERVES
About 60

MATERIALS

• One 12cm (5in), one 18cm (7in) and one 22cm (9in) round white iced cake, each set onto a round cake board the same size as the cake • 1cm (³∕₈in) white satin ribbon • 1cm (³∕₈in) grey satin ribbon • White royal icing (see page 26) • Silver star brooch

• White disco hologram edible glitter
EQUIPMENT

• No.1.5 icing nozzle

• Piping bag

• Small paintbrush

• Double-sided tape

• 11 plastic dowels

Be Inspired

An exquisite brooch was the inspiration for this cake. If you have your own favourite brooch or piece of jewellery, why not use it as the basis for one of your own designs?

four
Fix two lengths of grey satin ribbon around the base of the middle tier with some royal icing. Pipe little sugar pearls around the middle tier, dabbing down any icing peaks with a little water.

five
Once the icing has dried, brush a little edible glitter
onto the central pearl of each starburst on the top and
bottom tiers (
b
).

six
Cut three lengths of the grey satin ribbon about 75cm (30in) long and tie all three together in one go to make the bow. Attach the bow to the side of the cake with some double-sided tape and then pin the brooch to the centre of the bow.

Starry Eyed

Position the starbursts evenly across the
top and bottom tiers for a pleasing effect.
With all the starbursts in place the design
really starts to come to life.

tip
To get the edible glitter to stick, you may need to brush the pearls with a little water first.

The understated design of this cake is complemented by the flamboyant triple bow with its sparkly brooch adornment.

Simple and sparkly, these white iced cookies are little showstoppers. Sprinkled with white edible glitter, they
really are simply irresistible!

one
Bake some star-shaped butter cookies (see page 34–35).

two
Ice the cookies with royal icing, following the instructions on page 37.

three
While the icing is still wet sprinkle the cookies with white edible glitter. Sparkle-tastic!

A truly romantic cake, this beautiful butterfly design marries the elegance of classic 18th-century Wedgwood designs with the modern whimsy of butterflies and bows. Using the white relief designs, this cake would work in other colours to match a wedding or anniversary theme, perhaps chocolate brown or soft yellow.

one
Mix up some blue icing leftover from covering the cakes and cake boards with a little water to make a paste with a royal icing consistency. Fill a piping bag with a no.3 nozzle and the blue icing and pipe a snail trail around the base of each cake (see page 27).

two
Roll out around 100g (3½oz) of white flowerpaste about 1mm (¹⁄₁₆in) thick. Cut out around 14 large butterflies and use the small blossom plunger cutter to cut patterns in the butterfly wings (
a
). Keep the blossom flowers to use on the cake. Cut out around 25 small butterflies. Cover the butterflies and the flowers with a stay-fresh plastic mat so that they don’t dry out.

three
Cut out a further nine large butterfly shapes and place in a card butterfly former (
b
).

SERVES
About 80

MATERIALS

• One 15cm (6in), one 20cm (8in) and one 25cm (10in) round pale blue iced cake, each set onto a round pale blue iced cake board 2.5cm (1in) larger
than the cake (see pages 20–23) • One 33cm (13in) round pale blue
iced cake board (see page 20) • Two 15cm (6in) round cake boards • 2.5cm (1in) ivory satin ribbon • 1.5cm (⁵∕₈in) ivory satin ribbon • White flowerpaste, 200g (7oz)

• White sugarpaste, 100g (3½oz)

• White royal icing (see page 26) • Glue stick

EQUIPMENT

• No.3 icing nozzle

• Piping bags

• Butterfly cutters, one large, one small • Small blossom plunger cutter

• Stay-fresh plastic mat

• Card butterfly former

• Ruler

• Sharp knife

• Small paintbrush

• Rolling pin

• Nine plastic dowels

four
Using a little water and a small paintbrush, stick the butterflies and blossom flowers to the sides of the top and bottom tiers in a pleasing arrangement (
c
). Don’t forget to
leave space for your 3D fluttering butterflies.

five
Fill a piping bag with a no.3 nozzle and some white royal icing. Pipe down the centre of each butterfly to form the body, and from the top of each butterfly pipe the antennae. Pipe a dot into the centre of each blossom flower (
d
).

Winged Dimension

The 3D butterflies are simple to apply and add movement to the airy, light feel of this design.

six
When the 3D fluttering butterflies are dry, stick them to the sides of the cake using a little royal icing. Pipe the bodies and antennae as before.

seven
Mix 100g (3½oz) of white flowerpaste with the same quantity of white sugarpaste to make the bow on the middle tier.

eight
Roll out the icing in a long thin strip and cut out two lengths 33cm (13in) long by 3.5cm (1¼in) wide (or the ruler’s width – see tip, above right) (
e
). Stick these two lengths around the centre of the middle tier with a little water to create a ribbon band. Make sure that any joins in the band are at the front and back of the cake.

nine
Cut out four more strips 13cm (5in) long by 3.5cm (1¼in) wide) and one smaller strip 5cm (2in) long.

ten
Form the bow. Cut an inverted V shape in the end of two lengths to make the ‘tassle’ end and pinch the tops together. Fold the other two lengths in half and pinch the ends together as shown. Place the two loops together and wrap the small length of icing around them and stick with a little water (
f
).

eleven
Stick the bow tassles to the middle of the cake with
a little water, covering up the ribbon band join, in an inverted
V shape. Using a little royal icing, secure the bow onto the side
of the cake (
g
).

twelve
Place a 15cm (6in) board on the top-middle of the 20cm (8in) and 25cm (10in) cake. Score around the boards and then dowel and stack the cakes (see pages 24–25) using five dowels in the bottom tier and four in the middle tier.

thirteen
Stick the two 15cm (6in) cake boards together with a little glue and edge with the 2.5cm (1in) ivory satin ribbon. Place on top of the 25cm (10in) cake as a separator between the bottom and middle tiers. Use the 1.5cm (⁵⁄8in) ivory satin ribbon to edge the other four boards, securing with glue (see page 27).

tip
I find using a ruler for cutting the width of the ribbon is ideal, as you can just cut on either side of the ruler’s edge (e).