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PRINCESS CAKE

Having a trendy gender reveal party (it’s a girl!) or looking for a birthday cake for your daughter? Surprise everyone with this show-stopper.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

Having a trendy gender reveal party (it’s a girl!) or looking for a birthday cake for your daughter? Surprise everyone with this show-stopper.

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Prep 2 hours + Setting | Serves 10

200 g pale pink fondant

Cornflour, for dusting

55 pink cachous

10 silver cachous

100 g white royal icing, tinted pink

500 g butter, softened

2 x 500 g packets pure icing sugar, sifted

Pink food colouring

2 x 460 g double unfilled sponge cakes

Edible baby decorations

1. Roll out half fondant to 3 mm thick on a cornflour-dusted surface. Cut into a 4 x 20-cm rectangle. Scallop along long edge to make crown. Decorate with a 1-cm star cutter. Dampen other long edge and attach pink cachous. Mould around a 6-cm cutter, joining edges. Attach silver cachous to tips. Dry 1 hour.

2. Roll out remaining fondant to 3 mm thick. Cut a 3 x 18-cm strip. Cut ends and fold to form a ribbon. Pipe “It’s a princess” or “Happy Birthday” onto ribbon with royal icing.

3. In a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter until pale. Gradually beat in icing sugar until fluffy. Divide icing into separate bowls (one with half and ¼ mixture in the other two). Tint the large portion pale pink and the other two medium and dark pink.

4. Trim tops of 3 sponge cakes to level. Place one cake on board. Top with ¼ cup pale pink icing. Repeat layers. Spread 1½ cups pale pink icing over cake (crumb coat). Freeze 30 mins.

5. Spread dark pink icing around bottom third of cake. Spread medium pink icing around middle third of cake. Spread pale pink icing on remaining side and top of cake. Dip pallet knife in boiling water, dry and use to blend and smooth icing in one sweeping. Top with crown, ribbon and baby decorations.

PHOTO: ROB SHAW/BAUERSYNDICATION.COM.AU

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