Fun and Original Character Cakes. Maisie Parrish

cakes are very popular and make the main cake go much further. Children love them, especially if they are made from sponge, which you can flavour to your personal taste. Ideally, use the Silverwood 5cm (2in) multi-mini pan set (see Suppliers, page 126), but if you don’t have this you can just make one large cake and cut it into individual squares. Serve the cakes on 7.5cm (3in) cake cards.

       Tip

      There are special silicone liners available for the mini cake pans, but if you don’t have them it is best to line the tins with greaseproof paper. Alternatively, grease the tins well, sprinkle them with flour, then shake off the surplus making sure all the greased surfaces are covered.

       Ingredients

       For 16 mini cakes or one 18cm (7in) cake to be cut into squares

      * 250g (9oz) self-raising flour

      * 250g (9oz) caster sugar

      * 250g (9oz) butter (at room temperature)

      * 4 eggs

       Method

      1 Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mark 4), and prepare the cake pans (see tip above left).

      2 Prepare the mixture as for the Madeira cake (see page 18) and half fill each cake pan. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15–20 minutes. You may wish to put a baking sheet on the bottom shelf to catch any drips. When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

      3 For perfect cubes, leave the cooled cakes in the pans and slice neatly across the tops with a long-bladed knife, using the pan tops as a cutting guide.

      4 Remove the pans from the base and gently pull the halves apart to remove the cakes. You may need to run a thin-bladed knife around the top edges to release any slight overspill. Place the cakes on a wire rack. Once cooled, keep them covered, as they will dry out very quickly.

      5 Cover each cake around the sides and top with a coating of buttercream (see page 24), then cover with rolled sugarpaste (see pages 26–27).

       Tip

       The mini cakes can also be made in rich fruit cake. If you are making fruit versions it is best not to cut off the tops, so take care to fill the pans to the correct height. For fruit cakes, use apricot glaze and marzipan (see pages 25 and 28) instead of buttercream.

       Cup Cakes

      An alternative to the mini cakes is to use good old-fashioned cup cakes, which are simple to make and just as delicious. They can be iced rather than covered with buttercream and sugarpaste for a lighter, less indulgent treat.

       Ingredients

       For 12 cup cakes

      * 175g (6oz) unsalted butter

      * 175g (6oz) golden caster sugar

      * Finely grated zest of 1 orange

      * 2 large eggs

      * 100ml (7tbsp) milk

      * 175g (6oz) plain flour

      * 7.5ml (1½tsp) baking powder

       Method

      1 Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mark 4).

      2 Place all the ingredients into a food processor and cream together.

      3 Arrange the paper cases inside two fairy cake tins and spoon the mixture into them, filling them two-thirds full.

      4 Bake for 15 minutes until risen and springy to the touch, then remove from the oven and leave to cool.

      5 Ice and decorate as desired.

       Other Recipes

      Now you have your sugarpaste (see pages 8-9) and your cakes (see pages 18-21) ready and waiting, there are a few other recipes you will need in order to complete the projects in this book.

       Pastillage

      Pastillage is a form of sugarpaste that dries very hard, so is wonderful for building things like tables and chairs, houses and so on (see the baby carriage on page 84, for example). For the best results you have to give it 12 hours to dry on one side, and then turn it over for another 12 hours. You can colour it with paste food colour while it is still pliable, or spray colour on to it once it has dried. I have also painted it with liquid food colour to great success. As an alternative to using dry spaghetti to support your models (see page 14), you can make sugar sticks by rolling lengths of pastillage and cutting them up. You can buy pastillage powder from sugarcraft shops – just add water, following the instructions on the packet – but it is not difficult to make your own from this recipe.

       Ingredients

       To make 350g (12oz) of pastillage

      * 1 egg white (or the equivalent made up from dried egg albumen)

      * 280g (10oz) sifted icing (confectioners’) sugar

      * 10ml (2tsp) gum tragacanth

       Method

      1 Place the egg white in a large mixing bowl and gradually add enough icing (confectioners’) sugar to make a very stiff paste. Mix in the gum tragacanth and then turn the paste out on to the work surface and knead it into a smooth paste.

      2 Store the pastillage in a polythene bag and then place it into a plastic airtight container. It can be kept in the fridge or frozen for up to a month.

      For delicate models that need to stand up, it is best to use pastillage instead of regular sugarpaste, as it is stiffer and dries to a harder finish.

       Tip

       Dry pastillage pieces cannot be stuck together with edible glue (see opposite) alone. You need a much stronger paste, so mix together some edible glue and pastillage and work it into a creamy paste with a palette knife. Apply the strong glue to your pieces and leave them to dry completely.

       Sugar Flower Paste

      This is a good strong paste that can be rolled very thinly. It is ideal for making delicate objects such as facial details and flowers (see pages 49 and 111 for examples).

       Ingredients

      * 25ml (5tsp) cold water

      * 10ml (2tsp) powdered gelatin

      * 500g (1lb 1½oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar

      * 10ml (2tsp) liquid glucose