CAKES WITH ICING RECIPES

Steps:

• Ask a grown-up helper to turn the oven on to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put a paper case in hole of a 12-hole bun tin.
• Put the sugar and butter (it must be soft or you won’t be able to mix it properly) in a bowl and mix it together. Sift in the flour.
• Break the eggs into a separate bowl (spoon out any bits of shell that fall in) and add them to the bowl with the vanilla. Mix everything together.
• Divide between the cases using a spoon, scraping it off with a knife. Ask a grown-up helper to put the tray in the oven for 20 minutes.
• Mix the butter and icing sugar to make a creamy icing. Add colouring, if you like. Push an icing nozzle into an icing bag, then scoop in the icing.
• Let the cakes cool completely in the tray. Pipe icing onto each cake and decorate with marshmallows or sprinkles, or whatever you like.

Steps:

• Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, suspended over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir every now and then until melted. (Alternatively, melt in the microwave, stirring the chocolate every 20 secs so it doesn’t burn.)
• Remove the bowl from the heat and leave to cool a little. Meanwhile, put the butter and icing sugar in another large bowl and mash with a spatula to combine (this will prevent you covering the work surface in icing sugar), then whisk with a hand mixer until smooth.
• Sift in the cocoa and pour in the melted chocolate and milk, then mix again until smooth, and use to ice your chosen cake immediately. Will keep in the fridge for up to a week, but remove an hour before using to bring it back to room temperature, and beat well.