Chocolate rose cake
SERVES 6-8
For the chocolate cake
125g (4½oz) self-raising flour
15g (¼oz) cocoa powder
140g (5¼oz) caster sugar
140g (5¼oz) butter, softened
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 large free-range eggs
For the buttercream
100g (3½oz) butter, softened
120g (4½oz) icing sugar, sieved
30g (1oz) cocoa powder, sieved
For the decoration
500g (1lb 1oz) chocolate sugarpaste
50g (1¾oz) red sugarpaste
red edible glitter
edible glue
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark
4, then grease and line a 15cm (6in)
round cake tin.
2 Sieve the flour and cocoa into a large
mixing bowl, then add all the other cake
ingredients. Beat together until the
mixture is smooth and creamy. Spoon
into the cake tin, level the top, then bake
in the oven for 40-45 minutes. The cake
should be springy to the touch and
slightly shrunk away from the side of the
tin. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes,
before turning out onto a cooling rack.
When completely cool, split the cake
horizontally through the middle.
3 Prepare the buttercream by beating
together the softened butter, icing sugar
and cocoa until smooth. Use a quarter of
the buttercream to sandwich together
the two halves of the cake, then use the
remainder to spread over the top and
sides of the cake.
4 Take half the sugarpaste and knead
until soft. Roll out into a strip that is long
enough to reach around the
circumference of the cake, and is about
6cm (2½in) taller than the cake. Wrap
this around the side of the cake, allowingFEBRUARYit to curl over the top. Smooth the sides
to make a join at the back, then fold back
the top edge of the icing to form a ruffle.
5 Use the remaining chocolate
sugarpaste to design eight 6 petal roses
and one 8 petal rose. Use these to topthe cake. Roll out the red sugarpaste
5mm (½in) thick, then cut out two large
hearts. Brush with edible glue, then
sprinkle with the glitter. Use the edible
glue to attach these to the cake for a
glamorous finish.