Fun cakes prep

BAKING

These recipes are designed to be baked in two 6-inch (or 20cm) round cake tins. Using two tins makes the baking process much faster. Plus, the cakes bake more evenly and will give you an easier product to work with for decorating. If you don’t have two tins, they can be baked as one big cake and sliced across the middle afterwards. However, you will need to adjust cooking time (bake for longer). Once the suggested baking time is up, check on your cake every 5–10 minutes. When it looks ready, poke a skewer in the centre. If it comes out clean, it’s done.

TO MAKE RASPBERRY COMPOTE:

Raspberry has a beautiful natural colour—and flavour, of course, too! Save the juice to add to icings, marshmallow and lots of other things to get a vast range of pinks. The berries can be used like jam, sandwiched between cakes or to decorate on top.

• 2 cups (250g / 8.8oz) frozen raspberries
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over low-medium heat for around 5 minutes.

2. Once berries have defrosted, strain liquid and set aside.

3. Return berries to pan and heat through a little longer until they are a jam-like consistency.

4. Berries and juice can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.

TO MAKE JELLY ORANGES:

These will give you childhood birthday party flashbacks! This recipe makes 250ml / 8.5 fl oz of raspberry jelly liquid and will fill around 3–4 small orange skin halves. It will hold in wedges without being too firm or rubbery, but we’ve included instructions to add extra gelatine in case of hot weather, to help it hold a bit better.

• 150ml / 5.1 fl oz peach syrup juice (we strained a tin of peaches and used the syrup)
• 2 tbsp sugar or sweetener– just add gradually, as you may find you need less, depending on your peaches. (If you’re not using peaches, you can also make a simple sugar syrup with 150ml / 5.1 fl oz water plus 1/3 cup sugar)
• 100ml / 3.4 fl oz hot (not boiling) water
• 2 1/2 tsp (8g) powdered gelatine or 8g sheet gelatine (add an extra 1/2 tsp of powder or an extra 1/2 sheet if you need your oranges to last a long time out of the fridge, or it’s really hot weather)
• handful of frozen raspberries
• 3–4 small oranges, cut in half from top to bottom and flesh gently removed

1. Place your peach syrup, any necessary sweetener (or water and sugar if