Special Occasion Cakes Recipes - Easter Sponge Cake

Ingredients

• 3-egg quantity lemon-flavor quick-mix sponge cake

• 675g/3 cups lemon-flavor butter icing

• 50g/1/2 cup flaked almonds, toasted

TO DECORATE

• 50g/3/8 cup homemade or commercial white marzipan

• green, orange and yellow food coloring

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Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Bake the cakes in two lined and greased 20cm/8in round sandwich tins for 35-40 minutes until they are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed in the centre. Loosen the edges of the cakes with a palette knife, turn out, remove the lining paper and cool on a wire rack.

2. Sandwich the cakes together with one-quarter of the butter icing. Spread the side of the cake evenly with another one quarter of butter icing.

3. Press the almonds on to the sides to cover evenly. Spread the top of the cake evenly with another one-quarter of icing. Finish with a palette knife dipped in hot water, spreading backwards and forwards to give an even lined effect.

4. Place the remaining icing into a nylon piping bag fitted with a medium-size gateau nozzle and pipe a scroll edging.

5. Using the marzipan and food coloring, make six cut-out daffodils and ten green and eight orange cut-out marzipan flowers. Arrange them on the cake and leave the icing to set.