Pansy Retirement Cake Recipe

20 cm

45 ml

675 g

1.1 kg

7

Materials/equipment

25 cm

2

2 cm

3 mm

Round light fruit cake

Apricot jam, warmed and sieved

Marzipan

Royal icing

Orange food coloring

Sugar-frosted pansies (orange and purple)

Round cake board

Greaseproof paper piping bags

No 19 star and No 1 writing nozzles

Wide purple ribbon

Wide dark purple ribbon

• Brush the cake with the apricot jam. Roll out the marzipan and use to cover the cake. Leave to dry overnight.
• Secure the cake to the cake board with a little royal icing. Tint a quarter of the royal icing pale orange. Flat-ice the cake with three layers of smooth icing. Use the orange icing for the top and the white for the side. Set aside a little of both icings in airtight containers for decorations.
• Spoon the reserved white royal icing into a greaseproof paper piping bag fitted with a No 19 star nozzle. Pipe a row of scrolls around the cake top.
• Pipe a second row directly underneath the first row in the reverse direction. Pipe another row of scrolls around the base of the cake.
• Spoon the reserved orange icing into a fresh piping bag fitted with a No 1 writing nozzle. Pipe around the outline of the top of each scroll. Pipe a row of single orange dots below the lower row of reverse scrolls at the top and a double row of dots above the base row of scrolls.
• Arrange the sugar-frosted pansies on top of the cake. Decorate the side with the ribbons.