Cakes For Romantic Occasions (17 page)

These little sweeties pay small homage to Audrey Hepburn in the 1964 musical
My Fair Lady
– the black-and-white polka-dot ribbon and the pink flowers are a gesture to one of her fabulous costumes. The uniformity of the ribbon and flowers makes this cake very chic!

one
Roll out the white flowerpaste about 1mm (1⁄₁₆in) thick and brush lightly with some pink lustre dust with an uneven coverage (
a
), then cover with a stay-fresh plastic mat to stop it drying out.

two
Cut out one large and one small daisy for each flower. You will need three flowers per mini cake and 15 flowers for the top tier. Curl the petals on a flower foam pad using the small end of your bone tool (
b
).

SERVES
About 50

MATERIALS

• Ivory iced round mini cakes
(see page 33) • One 15cm (6in) round ivory iced cake, set onto an 18cm (7in) round ivory iced cake board (see pages 20–23) • 1.5cm (½in) polka-dot satin ribbon • White flowerpaste, 100g (3½oz) • White royal icing (see page 26) • Pink lustre dust

• Ten fresh daisies (to decorate
the top tier) • Glue stick

EQUIPMENT

• No.1.5 icing nozzle

• Piping bag

• Daisy cutters, one small, one large • Bone tool

• Small rolling pin

• Flower foam pad

• Stay-fresh plastic mat

• Dusting brush

• Small paintbrush

three
Stick a small daisy on top of a large daisy using the small paintbrush and a little water. Set aside to dry for a couple of hours (
c
).

four
Fill a piping bag with the no.1.5 nozzle and some white royal icing. Edge all the mini cakes and the top tier with the polka-dot satin ribbon, securing at the back with a little royal icing. Fix a length of ribbon around the cake board with glue (see page 27).

five
Stick three flowers to the sides of each of the mini cakes using a little royal icing (
d
).

six
Pipe the centres of the flowers and nine small sugar pearls around the cluster of flowers (
e
). Dab down any icing peaks
with a little water.

seven
Decorate the top tier with four little clusters of three flowers and the same sugar pearl design. Dress the top with
the fresh daisies (see pages 28–29).

Choosing the polka-dot ribbon makes these pretty daisy cakes a little more retro and fun. The design has a sweet, girly feel that your guests will love.

These lovely matching daisy cookies would be perfect served alongside the cake as an alternative to a mini cake or an extra treat for your guests. You could think about placing them in
a bag and tying them with the same polka-dot ribbon.

one
Bake some daisy-shaped butter cookies (see pages 34–35).

two
Roll out some white sugarpaste and cut out daisy shapes using the same cutter as for the cookies. Ice the cookies (see page 36) and then dust with pink lustre dust.

three
Pipe the centres of the flowers with some white royal icing and dust with pink lustre dust.

I adore the decadence of a chocolate iced cake. The little chocolate pearls and blue flowers on this design add a contemporary touch and the ribbons around the cakes are edible. You can change the colours of the flowers, but soft pastel shades work best with the rich chocolate colour.

one
You will need to make the blue flowers a day or two in advance so that they can set. Mix the flowerpaste and sugarpaste together and add a little baby blue food colouring to make a soft pale blue shade.

two
Roll out the blue icing about 1mm (1⁄₁₆in) thick and cut out three large and three small flowers.

three
Shape the petals on all of the flowers using a bone tool and flower foam pad (
a
).

four
Place the large flowers into shallow bowls and insert the smaller flowers inside the large flowers, sticking with
a little water. Leave them to set (
b
).

SERVES
About 50

MATERIALS

• One 12cm (5in) round chocolate-brown iced cake, set onto a cake board the same size as the cake • One 20cm (8in) round chocolate-brown iced cake, set onto a 28cm (11in) round chocolate-brown iced cake board (see pages 20–23) • 1.5cm (½in) brown satin ribbon

• White flowerpaste, 50g (2oz)

• White sugarpaste, 50g (2oz)

• Food colouring: baby blue

• Glue stick

EQUIPMENT

• No.1.5 icing nozzle

• Piping bag

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

• Bone tool

• Flower foam pad

• Stay-fresh plastic mat

• Ruler

• Three shallow bowls

• Sharp knife

• Small paintbrush

• Rolling pin

• Four plastic dowels

tip
To prevent the flowers from sticking, shake a
little icing sugar into the bottom of each bowl.

five
Dowel and stack the cakes (see pages 24–25) then fix the brown ribbon around the cake board with glue (see page 27).

six
Roll out the remaining blue icing into a long and thin shape. With a sharp knife, cut out a few strips of icing about 1cm (3⁄₈in) wide by 16cm (6¼in) long (
c
). Place the rest of the rolled-out icing under a stay-fresh plastic mat, as you might need more strips later.

seven
Indent the strips of icing using the small plunger blossom cutter (
d
).

eight
Brush a little water around the bottom of each tier
and carefully stick the strips of icing to the cakes (
e
).

nine
Mix up a little of the chocolate-brown sugarpaste (leftover from covering the cakes) with some water to create a smooth, slightly runny icing. Fill a piping bag with the no.1.5 nozzle and the brown icing.

ten
Pipe little dots into the centres of the indented blossom flowers and pipe a small snail trail (see page 27) around the top and bottom of the blue strip (
f
).

eleven
Pipe small dots evening spaced over the whole cake (
g
). Dab down any icing peaks with a little water.

twelve
Pipe little dots into the centres of the sugar flowers leaving the small sugar peaks to give the centres some texture (
h
).

thirteen
Once the flowers are set, stick them to the sides of the cake as shown, using a little of the brown icing in the piping bag.

Perfect Petals

The sugarpaste and flowerpaste mix for the petals must be rolled out very thinly to ensure they look delicate. Curl the petals in different directions for a realistic effect.