Cakes Of The Month
MINI ROSE PINK
OMBRE CAKES
PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES MAKES 6
EQUIPMENT
4 x 20cm x 30cm rectangular cake pans
8cm round cutter
ALMOND SOUR CREAM CAKE
500g butter, chopped, softened
4 cups (880g) caster sugar
12 eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (300g) plain flour
1 cup (150g) self−raising flour
2 cups (240g) ground almonds
1⅓ cups (320g) sour cream
rose pink food colouring
BUTTER CREAM
250g butter, softened
3 cups (480g) icing sugar
⅓ cup milk
2 teaspoons rosewater
DECORATIONS
assorted fresh flowers
(see cook’s notes)
florists’ tape
cake toppers
1 Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan.
Grease cake pans; line bases and long
sides with baking paper.
2 To make cakes, beat butter and
sugar in a large bowl with an electric
mixer until mixture is light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until
just combined between additions (the
mixture will look curdled at this
stage). Stir in sifted flours, ground
almonds and sour cream, in two
batches, until well combined.
3 Divide mixture into four bowls.
Tint each mixture a different shade of
pink, so each is darker than the last
(leave one plain, if you like). Divide
cake mixture evenly between prepared
pans. Bake for 45 minutes or until
a skewer inserted into centres comes
out clean. Stand for 10 minutes; turn,
top−side up, onto wire racks to cool.
4 Using cutter, cut six rounds
from each cake. Trim each round
to 1cm in height.
5 Make butter cream.
6 Secure the lightest−colour cake
rounds on serving plates with a little
of the butter cream. Spread a third of
the butter cream over the cake
rounds; top with a slightly darker
shade of cake. Repeat with the butter
cream and remaining cakes, finishing
with the darkest shade of cake.
7 Trim stems so the flowers lie neatly
on top of the cakes. Wrap stems in
florists’ tape; position cake toppers
and the flowers on top of cakes.BUTTER CREAM
Beat the butter in a large bowl with
an electric mixer until the butter is
as white as possible. (This will result
in a whiter butter cream, which will
give you better results when colouring
it.) Gradually beat in half the sifted
icing sugar, then the milk, then the
remaining sifted icing sugar. Beat
until the butter cream is smooth and
spreadable, scraping down the side
of the bowl occasionally. Add the
rosewater and beat until combined.picture
PRETTY AS A
This Valentine’s Day, bake from your heart and
capture the essence of love.PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES MOFFATT STYLIST OLIVIA BLACKMORE PHOTOCHEF NADIA FRENCHCOOK’S
NOTES
Ensure the flowers you buy are
pesticide free – ask your florist.
Cakes can be made up to 2 days
ahead; store in an airtight
container in the fridge.
When baking, cover tops of
cakes with a round of baking
paper to prevent over-browning.
When tinting the cake mixture,
bear in mind that some
of the intensity will be
lost during baking.