The Busy Girls Guide to Cake Decorating by Ruth Clemens Page A

than the height of the tin.
    4 Fold up 2.5cm (1in) from the base along the length of the paper and unfold.
    5 Snip into the marked strip at 2cm ( 3 ⁄ 4 in) intervals all the way along.

    6 Grease the cake tin lightly with a little butter or oil.
    7 Fit the long length of lining into the tin around the outside edge. The snipped section should sit flush on the base of the tin.
    8 Add the circular piece of greaseproof paper to the base of the tin and fill with the cake mixture.
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TIP
    When filling tins (pans), try not to get the mixture up the sides. This will quickly burn in the oven during baking and the smell will trick you into thinking your cake is burning!
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Recipes
    Before we can decorate we need to bake something delicious! You can use your own recipe or use one of these to get started.

Madeira cake
    The quantities given in the chart opposite will create a cake approximately 4cm (1 1 ⁄ 2 in) in height once levelled. For a deeper cake than this, bake two (one at a time), level and stack together when filling (see Levelling and filling a sponge cake ). Baking the cakes separately means that the baking time doesn’t turn into hours on end and the crust stays nice and pale. Trust me, piling double mixture into one tin (pan) won’t save you time!

Madeira cake quantities
Round
15cm (6in)
18cm (7in)
20cm (8in)
23cm (9in)
25cm (10in)
28cm (11in)
30.5cm (12in)
Square
13cm (5in)
15cm (6in)
18cm (7in)
20cm (8in)
23cm (9in)
25cm (10in)
28cm (11in)
Butter, softened
130g (4 1 ⁄ 2 oz)
200g (7oz)
250g (8 3 ⁄ 4 oz)
300g (10 1 ⁄ 2 oz)
400g (14oz)
600g (1lb 5oz)
700g (1 1 ⁄ 2 lb)
Caster (superfine) sugar
130g (4 1 ⁄ 2 oz)
200g (7oz)
250g (8 3 ⁄ 4 oz)
300g (10 1 ⁄ 2 oz)
400g (14oz)
600g (1lb 5oz)
700g (1 1 ⁄ 2 lb)
Eggs
2
4
5
6
8
9
10
Plain (all-purpose) flour
110g (3 3 ⁄ 4 oz)
150g (5 1 ⁄ 4 oz)
180g (6 1 ⁄ 2 oz)
220g (7 3 ⁄ 4 oz)
300g (10 1 ⁄ 2 oz)
450g (1lb)
530g (1lb 2 3 ⁄ 4 oz)
Self-raising (-rising) flour
30g (1oz)
50g (1 3 ⁄ 4 oz)
60g (2oz)
75g (2 3 ⁄ 4 oz)
95g (3 1 ⁄ 2 oz)
150g (5 1 ⁄ 4 oz)
175g (6oz)
Milk
30ml (2 tbsp)
37.5ml (2 1 ⁄ 2 tbsp)
45ml (3 tbsp)
52.5ml (3 1 ⁄ 2 tbsp)
60ml (4 tbsp)
90ml (6 tbsp)
105ml (7 tbsp)
Baking time
1hr
1hr 15min
1hr 25min
1hr 35min
1hr 40min
1hr 55min
2hr 10min
Serves (cut into 5 × 2.5cm / 2 × 1in slices)
12
17
23
29
35
42
50
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TIP
    Madeira cake can be kept in an airtight container, ideally in the fridge, for up to two weeks. To freeze, wrap well in cling film (plastic wrap) and store in the freezer for up to three months.
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Method
    1 Preheat the oven to 140ºC (fan)/160ºC/325ºF/Gas 3 and line the base and sides of the tin (pan) (see Preparing Tins ).
    2 Cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
    3 Beat in the eggs one by one until fully incorporated. Add a spoonful of flour at any sign of the mixture curdling, then fold in the remainder of the flours. Add the milk and stir through.
    4 Pour the mixture into the lined tin (pan) and smooth the surface then bake in the oven for the time indicated in the chart above.
    5 Cool in the tin (pan) for five minutes before removing and allowing to cool completely on a wire rack.
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    â€œFold in the flour carefully until just incorporated and the batter is smooth. Don’t beat the life out of it otherwise it will create large air bubbles in your cake!”
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Chocolate Cake
    This chocolate cake recipe is brilliantly moist and lovely! The milk and vinegar combination replicates buttermilk, which can be hard to find (life’s too short to hunt for buttermilk!). This recipe makes a fairly deep cake so you should only need one for the complete cake. Chocolate cake will keep well wrapped in an airtight container, ideally in the fridge, for up to one week. It can be kept frozen for three months.

Madeira cake quantities
Round
15cm (6in)
18cm (7in)
20cm (8in)
23cm (9in)
25cm