CAKE TRIM RECIPES

Steps:

• To make the chocolate cake, preheat the oven to 425ºF. Place a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat on a 17x12 sheet pan, and rub butter on it to grease.In a large bowl, whisk to combine the cocoa powder, flour, and salt.Bring an inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Combine the eggs and sugar in a heatproof glass bowl, then place over the simmering water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl). Using a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together over medium speed for about two minutes, until the eggs are thick, pale yellow, and warm to the touch (if you have a thermometer, you want the eggs to be about 120ºF. If you don’t have a thermometer, just touch the mixture with your finger every once in a while until it feels like hot tap water). Remove the egg bowl from the heat and continue beating at medium high speed for another 3 minutes, until it’s thick and airy, and has reached the ribbon stage. That means when you drag and drizzle a spoonful of the liquid, it shouldn’t settle back into the liquid for a good 5–10 seconds. Mix in the melted butter.Add the dry ingredients to the mixture, and gently fold it into the eggs with a spatula, working quickly. Spread the batter onto the buttered parchment or silicone mat, leaving an inch from the edges. Bake the cake for 5–6 minutes, until springy to the touch.Place a piece of parchment paper on a flat surface and sprinkle lightly with cocoa powder. Flip the cake onto the parchment, then remove the parchment or silicone mat that the cake baked on. Gently roll the cake up into a log while it’s still warm. This is like muscle memory for the cake, and it will roll easier again later.To make the filling, combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl, and whip with a hand mixer to stiff peaks, about 5 minutes on medium speed. Unroll the cooled cake, then spread the cream all over, leave a 1-inch border around all edges. Roll the cake up gently (leaving the parchment paper behind), then place on a wire rack.To make the chocolate ganache, microwave the cream and chocolate in a heatproof bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each time, until combined. Add the tablespoon of milk, which will give a more pourable consistency. Pour the chocolate ganache evenly over the cake, then refrigerate for 20 minutes before serving, so the ganache can firm up.The cake is now ready to be sliced and served. Enjoy!

Steps:

• To make the roses, pinch off a little icing and roll it in the palm of your hands to make it more malleable. Shape the icing into an oval shape, smooth out one end of the oval to make it thinner so that it resembles the frilly part of the tip of a rose petal. Make 8-10 more rose petals in this way. To make a rose, roll a small ball of icing into a cone shape, then wrap a rose petal around it. Carefully press the remaining rose petals around the central petal to form a rose shape. You may need to ‘tease’ the petals out from each other a little bit.
• Carefully brush the edges of the roses with pink dust. Repeat the process until you have made about 15 roses. Set aside for 2-3 hours, or until the icing has hardened. (The roses can be made up to a month in advance and stored in an airtight container.)
• Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Grease and line a 15cm/6in, 23cm/9in and 30cm/12in round cake tin.
• For the 15cm/6in tier, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl until well combined. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Stir in the dried fruit, orange zest and treacle, then fold in the bicarbonate of soda, flour and spices until well combined. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake in the oven for about two hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Repeat step 4 for the 23cm/9in tier and bake in the oven for three hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Repeat step 4 for the 30cm/12in tier and bake in the oven for 4½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• When the cakes are cooked, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Remove them from the tin and set aside on a wire rack to cool completely.
• Warm the apricot jam in a saucepan, then pass it through a sieve.
• Level the top of the 15cm/6in fruit cake, paint the top with a little apricot jam, then turn it upside down onto the 15cm/6in thin cake board. Using a piece of string, measure the top and sides of the fruit cake (this is so that you roll the marzipan out to the right size). Paint the fruit cake all over with the apricot jam.
• Dust a work surface with icing sugar and roll 500g/1lb 2oz of the marzipan out until it is large enough to cover the top and sides of the fruit cake (use the piece of string as a guide). Carefully lift the marzipan onto the cake and smooth it on with your hands. Trim off any excess marzipan, ensuring the cake board is also covered.
• Paint the cake with cooled, boiled water. Knead 500g/1lb 2oz of the white icing until soft and pliable and roll it out until it is 5mm/¼in thick and large enough to cover the top and sides of the fruit cake (use the piece of string as a guide). Carefully lift the icing onto the cake and smooth it on with your hands. Trim off any excess icing. Leave the cakes overnight so that the icing can dry (do not store the cakes in the fridge).
• Repeat steps 9, 10 and 11 for the 23cm/9in cake using 1kg/2lb 4oz each of marzipan and icing.
• Repeat steps 9, 10 and 11 for the 30cm/12in cake using 2kg/4lb 8oz each of marzipan and icing.
• Once the icing has dried, apply a thin line of edible glue around the bottom edge of each cake and carefully stick some ribbon around the cake, securing the join with a little extra glue.
• To insert the dowelling rods, hold a dowelling rod at the side of the 23cm/9in cake and mark with a pencil where the icing comes to. Cut the rod and three others to the same length. Push the rods into the cake about 5cm/2in away from the sides, to form the four corners of a square in the centre of the cake. Measure, cut and insert the rods in the same way for the 30cm/12in cake.
• To cover the 20cm/8in thick cake board, knead 400g/14oz of the icing until soft and pliable and roll it out until it is 5mm/¼in thick and large enough to cover the cake board. Spread a little glue over the board, then carefully lift the icing onto the cake board, smoothing it until flat. Trim the edges. Apply a thin line of glue around the edge of the cake board and carefully stick the ribbon around the cake, securing the join with a little extra glue.
• Repeat step 16 using 500g/1lb 2oz icing for the 28cm/11in cake board and 750g/1lb 10oz icing for the 35cm/14in cake board.
• If you’re transporting the cakes to a venue, it’s best to transport them separately and assemble the cake at the venue. To assemble the cakes, first stick the 30cm/12in cake to the 35cm/14in cake board: add a little glue to the middle of the 35cm/14in cake board, then position the 30cm/12in cake in the middle. Place four of the pillars on top of the largest cake, positioning each one over a dowelling rod. Top with the 28cm/11in cake board, and repeat the process with the 23cm/9in cake, finishing with the 20cm/8in cake board and the 15cm/6in cake. Using the edible glue, arrange the fondant roses in a cluster on the top of the cake and around the side of the 23cm/9in and 30cm/12in cake.