PIPING SMALL FLOWERS RECIPES

Steps:

• Butter three 20cm round cake tins and line with non-stick baking paper. Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and smooth. Gradually beat in the eggs until combined, then mix in the vanilla. Fold in the flour and baking powder until everything is combined. Stir in the milk to loosen.
• Bake the sponges for 20 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the Swiss meringue buttercream. Put the egg whites and sugar into a heatproof bowl over a small pan of gently simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Whisk for 3-4 mins until the sugar dissolves. Put into an electric mixer and whisk for 10 mins over a medium-high speed until you have a thick meringue.
• Gradually add the butter into the meringue mixture for 5 mins until incorporated and the buttercream is fluffy.
• Put one sponge onto a plate or cake stand, top it with a few tablespoons of the buttercream and spread into an even layer. Add the next sponge, and repeat. Top with the final sponge.
• Smooth a thin layer of the buttercream around the cake, so all the sides are coated – this is called a crumb coat. Chill in the fridge for 45 mins. Remove and smooth a thick layer of the remaining buttercream around the cake using a palette knife, reserving a little for decoration. Put back in the fridge for 45 mins-1 hr to set.
• Meanwhile, make the ganache. Put the dark chocolate in a bowl and heat the cream in a small pan until just steaming. Pour the cream over the chocolate and leave to melt for 5-10 mins. Stir to make a glossy ganache, then set aside to firm up a little – you want it to be pourable but not too runny. Spoon the ganache over the top edge of the cake, encouraging it to drizzle down the side with your spoon – start at the back of the cake to get the hang of it. Fill in the middle of the top of the cake with chocolate too. Leave to set for 10 mins.
• To decorate, put the leftover buttercream in a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe little dots on top of the cake. Decorate as you like, remove any flowers before eating.

Steps:

• 1. In a food processor, process cold cubed butter, flour, ground almond, powdered sugar and pinch salt. Process until crumbs are formed. Add egg and vanilla extract, process until dough is formed. 2. Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. 3. Preheat oven to 180C/375F.4. Roll out the dough on a parchment paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and cut your number/letter/shape. From the leftovers roll again the dough, refrigerate for 30 minutes and cut another number/letter/shape. For one cake you will need two layers of biscuit. 5. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until slightly golden in the edges. Let cool completely. 6. Make the cream: in a large bowl beat mascarpone and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Add vanilla extract and heavy cream and beat to stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag (you can buy piping bags and tips here: cake decorating kit)7. Pipe the mascarpone cream over the first biscuit, then gently place the second biscuit on top. Pipe the remaining cream and decorate as you like.Frequently asked questions:CAN WE MAKE NUMBER CAKE A DAY AHEAD?The number cake is at its best in the day of the preparation, but yes, you can prepare the tarts a day ahead, store them in the fridge. Also prepare the cream a day a head or in the day of serving and store in the fridge. Then, when ready to serve, pipe the cream over the tarts and assembly the cake and serve. But I would not recommend making the whole cake ahead of time, as the tart become soggy after some tome.HOW TO MAKE THE BEST NUMBER CAKE?To make the best number cake for the birthday of your loved ones you must follow these steps: 1. Go trough ingredient list and make sure you have all the ingredients ready. 2. To avoid mistakes, before you start making the cake, read the recipe instructions at least one time and watch the full video. Make sure you understand the whole process. 3. Print and cut the numbers/letters in advance. 4. Make sure you chill the dough in the fridge. 5. Decide how to decorate the cake before you start. 5. Don't assembly the cake ahead of time, otherwise the tart will become too soggy after one day.CAN THE MASCAROPNE BE REPLACED?Yes, instead of mascarpone you can use full fat cream cheese in the same amount.WHAT DECORATIONS CAN WE USE TO MAKE TART CAKE?If you wondering how you can decorate your letter cakes, I can give some ideas, but you need to remember that the options are endless and you can be as creative as you like and adjust the cake decorations to the person the cake is made for. Here are some ideas:  macaron cookies, meringue kisses, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mango cubs, kiwi, grapes, any fresh berries or fruits, chocolate, chocolate bars, candies, edible flowers, sprinkles, nuts, cocoa powder, marshmallows and more.WHAT SIZE IS THE LETTERS CAKE/TART CAKE/NUMBER CAKE?In this recipe I printed the number in a full A4 size, then I cut the number out of the paper, placed on the rolled dough as you can see in the video. If you prefer making a smaller size, you can do it, but I would not recommend making a bigger size.More Birthday Cake Recipes:Red Velvet Cake RecipeSnickers Mousse Cake RecipeOreo Cake RecipeNo-Bake Kinder Bueno Cheesecake