Stained Glass Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: Over 3 days (with waiting/drying time)
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 20-25 small, tall pieces
Degree of difficulty: hard
- 500g/1.1lb butter, softened
- 500g/1.1lb caster or superfine sugar
- 600g/21ozs. cake flour
- 6 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 cups coconut cream
- 12 eggs, room temperature
- Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
- 180ml/6flozs. lemon juice
- Edible colouring gels in orange, green, pink and blue
Chocolate Ganache
- 500g/1.1lbs dark chocolate
- 1 cup cream
To decorate
- 1kg/2.2lbs fondant
- Vodka
- Edible colour gels to suit your pattern (I used pink, purple, red, yellow, black, blue and green)
Royal Icing
- 6g/0.2ozs. egg white powder
- 35ml/1.2flozs. water
- pinch cream of tartar
- 250g/8.8ozs/ icing sugar (not mixture, pure icing sugar)
- Edible black colouring
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 160C/320F and line threex15cm/6inch tins and 1x10cm/4 inch tin on the base and sides. Beat the butter, sugar, flour and baking powder together using a beater attachment until smooth and light (around 3 minutes or so).
Step 2 In a large bowl whisk the coconut cream, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice together. Add to the butter mix in 5-6 lots to avoid getting lumps. I made this a multi coloured batter but you can leave this regular vanilla looking too. If you're colouring it, divide into four bowls and tint each bowl mixing in the colour well. Use a tablespoon to dollop the mixture into each tin.
Step 3 Bake the cakes for 45 minutes or until the centre springs back when touched and isn't wobbly. The 10cm cake should bake within 30 minutes. Cool completely (I bake the cakes the day before).
Step 4 Trim the cake tops off if you have any doming using a cake leveller. Cut the half in half horizontally. Make the ganache. Place the chocolate in a large microwave proof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil and pour over the chocolate and cover with a plate and leave for 5 minutes. Then stir the cream and chocolate together-this may need 30 seconds or so in the microwave to fully melt it as it's quite a large quantity of ganache. Allow to cool at room temperature and become thicker and more spreadable.
Step 5 Using an angled spatula dab a little ganache on your cake board to secure one cake layer to it. Spread ganache between layers. Then spread ganache on the top and sides. This takes time and it's best not to rush this step and be generous with your ganache layer because everyone you want to be friends with loves chocolate and it makes the next step easier if it isn't too thin. Ganache the smaller cake separately and keep it separate for now. Place in the fridge to allow the ganache to set.
Step 6 Then comes the ganache smoothing. Take the ganache smoothing tool and scrape the ganache. This helps if you use a cake turntable, scrape and scrape until you get a smooth surface (it gets easier with practice).
Step 7 Then comes the fondant layer. Roll out the fondant onto a surface dusted with cornflour (fine cornstarch). Roll it out into a large disc (large enough to cover the cake with its height). Brush cake with a little water. Gently lift the fondant over the cake. I find it helps to gently fold the fondant in half and then lift it that way so that it doesn't tear. Cut off the excess folds making sure to reserve some fondant for the smaller cake. Smooth down the fondant cuts with your hands-the heat will smooth the fondant and seal any gaps or creases. Repeat with the leftover fondant to cover the smaller cake and then using a little water, place the smaller cake on top of the larger one. It will help if you let the fondant set a bit firmer at this stage.
Step 8 Take a pencil (don't worry, they don't use lead in pencils any more) and draw a pattern on the fondant (google some stained glass patterns and see which ones speak to you the most). Then mix a tablespoon of vodka for each colour you want to use and mix up painting solutions. Using small brushes, fill in the pattern. Allow to dry (I left this overnight). Then mix a tablespoon of vodka and black colouring gel and draw the outlines. Allow to dry.
Step 9 To draw the royal icing flowers version first make the royal icing. Place the icing sugar into a food processor and blitz out all the lumps. Then add the egg white powder, black colouring gel, cream of tartar and lemon juice so that you get a firm, stiffish pipeable consistency. Place in a small parchment piping bag (learn how to make a parchment piping bag here).
Step 10 I freehanded the flowers in pencil. Then I piped the royal icing and then filled in with a diluted colour (you can also colour in first and then pipe with royal icing).