The Strawberries & Champagne Can-Can Cake
Degree of difficulty: high and requires overnight drying of parts
Time: 30 minutes to make legs (dries overnight), 50-60 minutes for cake, 1 hour to make and pipe icing onto cake
For the legs:
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100grams or so of white fondant
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a little pink and a little brown colouring gel
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black colouring powder mixed with a tablespoon of vodka
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a paintbrush
Step 1 - You will need to make the legs first so that they can dry overnight and harden so that they can stand upside down. Knead the white fondant until soft and pliable and then add a tiny amount of pink and brown gel. I did this the evening before while watching tv and I knew when I had hit skin tone when my husband started to look at the sausage of fondant in my hand with alarm. Yep it looked like a penis. Jackpot!
Step 2 - Roll out two sausages of fondant in a slender shape-these will be legs. Pinch the ends to make feet and allow to dry on a piece of parchment overnight. Turn over the legs carefully during the drying process so that all sides dry.
Step 3 - When dry, mix the black colouring powder with the vodka and paint shoes on the feet. Voila, you have legs!
For fresh strawberry cake 10cms/4 inches in diameter, double or triple if necessary if you want a larger cake:
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90g/3 ozs butter at room temperature plus extra for greasing
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2/3 cup caster or superfine sugar
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1 cup plain all purpose flour
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2 tablespoons cornflour
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2 teaspoons baking powder
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pinch of salt
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2 eggs at room temperature
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1/3 cup buttermilk
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1/3 cup pureed fresh (or frozen but thawed) strawberries plus 2 extra strawberries to put in the middle of the cake
Step 4 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line two 10cms round cake tins with baking paper (use a non stick spray or butter to adhere the paper).
Step 5 - In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium high for 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add sugar. Add eggs one at a time ensuring to incorporate the eggs completely after each addition. Then put the mixer on the slowest speed and alternately add flour, strawberry puree and buttermilk starting and ending with flour. It may look slightly curdled but that is fine.
Step 6 - Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool completely. Cut off the tops of the cakes so that you get a completely even surface. The cake is delicious so the cut off bits are the cook's treat ;) You will end up sandwiching the two halves with the cut surfaces facing each other as shown.
For simple champagne buttercream:
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1 cup champagne or prosecco (I used Prosecco-it would be a waste of champagne unless you happen to be replete with the stuff-lucky you if you are!)
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225g/1 cup butter
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8 cups of icing sugar, sifted
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a little rose pink colouring gel
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You will also need a petal tip
Step 7 - Firstly reduce the champagne to 2 tablespoons of syrup. Watch it as it can burn or cook off very quickly once it reaches a certain stage. You should get a thick syrup that looks like a light caramel. Cool completely.
Step 8 - In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium high until smooth for 2 minutes. Add the champagne syrup and half of the icing sugar on slow speed and once it has combined beat it on high for 4 minutes. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat for an additional 3-4 minutes until it becomes very smooth.
Step 9 - To assemble the cake. Spread both halves with a some buttercream and take the two extra strawberries and slice them up and place them on top of the buttercream and sandwich together. Then using an offset palette knife spread a thin layer of buttercream on top and on the sides of the cake. This is to give the ruffle icing something to adhere to. Refrigerate.
Step 10 - Fit a piping bag (a ziplock bag won't do for this icing) with a petal tip. Now the best way for me to show you the technique is point you to sweet and saucy's video here because it explained everything very well. Also I was at home alone when I did this so I couldn't quite aim the camera and do the icing at the same time. Follow her instructions and trust me, this works a dream! Even for the uncoordinated like me!
Step 11 - Poke two holes in the top-I used the thick end of chopsticks and I made sure that the holes were the right size to fit the legs in-you don't want to use the legs to push or dig a hole as they are delicate. Gently push them into the cake and your can-can cake is done!