Special Occasion Cakes Recipes - Flickering Birthday Candle Cake

Ingredients

• 20cm square madeira cake

• 350g butter icing

• 45ml apricot jam, warmed and sieved

• 800g sugar-paste icing

• pink, yellow, purple and jade food coloring

• edible silver balls

• 23cm square cake board

• small round cutter

• pink and purple food coloring pens

• 5mm wide jade colored ribbon

---

Method:

1. Cut the cake into three layers. Sandwich together with the butter icing and brush the cake with the apricot jam. Roll out 500g of the sugar-paste icing and use to cover the cake. Position on the cake board.

2. Divide the remaining sugar-paste into four pieces and tint them pink, yellow, pale purple and jade.

3. Make the candles from jade and the flames from yellow icing. Press a silver ball into their bases. Position the candles and flames on the cake with a little water. Mould strips in yellow and purple icing to go round the candles. Secure with water. Cut small wavy pieces from the pink and purple icing for smoke, and arrange them, using water, above the candles.

4. Cut out yellow circles with the cutter for the side decorations. Mould small pink balls and press a silver ball into their centers. Attach using water

5. Using food co coloring pens, draw wavy lines and dots coming from the purple and pink wavy icings. Decorate the sides of the cake board with the ribbon, securing at the back with a little softened sugar-paste.