Fudgy, delicious chocolate cake. You can add cocoa to the buttercream if you want a chocolate filled cake, but I wanted to keep it light so the chocolate wouldn't discolour the white sugar paste. This cake has a high sugar content. It is solid enough to shape and stack and the sugar allows it to be kept unnatural amounts of time, unrefridgerated. This means its great for cake decorating
350gmgluten free flourI used 250 hazelnut flour and 100 gluten free flour
135gmcocoadark
2teaspoonsbaking powdergluten free
1/2teaspoonbi carbonate of soda
200mlbuttermilk
200mlcoffeecooled
200mlmilk
125gmmelted butter
Buttercream
200gmbutterunsalted
400gmicing sugarsifted
1teaspoonorange zest
1teaspoonvanilla
2.5kgsugar pastefondant or roll out icing
Instructions
I used a 28 cm cake tin (12 inch) and baked this recipe 3 times. I start this about 2-3 days ahead. Line and spray the tins very well.
Combine the zest and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and mix for 1 minute to extract the flavour. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix.
Melt the butter and set aside
Mix the eggs, liquids and eggs together. Add the wet ingredients and butter to the dry ingredients and beat several minutes till smooth. Bake each layer at 170 deg ( 340 F) for approx 40-50 minutes. Insert a skewer into the centre of the cake. It should come out clean. Cool completely
Buttercream
Beat the softened butter with the very finely zested orange and vanilla till
very light. Add the sifted sugar and beat till very light and fluffy. You can add cocoa to this buttercream if desired. Add 1/2 a cup at a time.
Decorate
Layer the 3 cake layers with 1/2 of the buttercream. Setting the rest aside for coating the cake.
Put the cake into the fridge to set 1/2 an hour or more. Once cooled put the cake onto the base it will be served on. Spread the remaining buttercream onto the cake smoothing out the top and sides as much as you can. The edges should be crisp and smooth.
Set aside at least 700gm of icing for the shoes. Dust the bench with powdered sugar and knead the sugar paste till smooth. Roll out the sugar paste as you would pastry making sure that the bench is dusted with enough icing sugar to stop it sticking.
Measure the sides of the cake. the paste needs to reach over the sides and across the 28 cm (12 in) top. Roll the paste onto the cake using the rolling pin and smooth down eliminating all the air. It will stick to the buttercream. This can be put into an airtight container and put into the fridge.
To make the shoes. Shape two pieces of sugar paste into logs and then gradually into ballet shoes.
I decorated the shoes with satin look ribbon and sugar balls. Make an edible sugar paste glue by using a Tablespoon of egg white and enough sifted icing sugar to make a stiff paste. Leave the shoes out of the fridge to dry
The Tuille skirt ( 1 metre) is gathered together and tacked with blue cotton before sitting the cake on top.