Anton du Beke's two-tiered drip cake
Keen baker Anton du Beke passes on his top tips to Maeve Beard from Kent, who is renowned in her family for her notoriously bad cakes.
Now Maeve's going to surprise them all by making a show-stopping celebration cake for her mum's 70th birthday.
Two-tiered drip cake
Serves: about 20
Ingredients
For the 20cm cakes
5 large eggs, weighed in their shells, approx. 330g
Approx 330g butter, softened
Approx 330g caster sugar
Approx 400g self raising flour
Pinch of salt
For the 15cm cakes
3 large eggs, weighed in their shells, approx. 200g
Approx 200g butter, softened
Approx 200g caster sugar
Approx 200g self raising flour
Pinch of salt
For the buttercream
225g unsalted butter, softened
350g icing sugar
8 tsp vanilla extract
For the icing ‘drip’
About 500g royal icing sugar
You will also need
3 x 20cm sandwich tins
3 x 15cm sandwich tins
Food colouring pastes of your choice
1 x 24cm cake board
1 x 15cm cake card
3 plastic cake dowel rods
Sprinkles, macarons and mini meringues to decorate
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C / 170C fan / Gas 4. Grease three 20cm sandwich tins and three 15cm sandwich tins and line with baking paper.
To make the 20cm cakes, weigh out the butter, sugar and flour so they are the same as the total weight of the eggs (still in their shells)
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one by one, until incorporated, adding 1 tbsp of flour with each one if the mixture starts to curdle.
Sieve the flour and salt into the mixture and lightly fold in using a large metal spoon. Divide the mixture between the cake tins, smooth over the surfaces and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown and risen.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Use a sharp knife or levelling tool to trim off any excess cake to make flat top surfaces on each cake.
Repeat the above instructions to make the 15cm cakes, again weighing the three eggs in their shells and then measuring out the butter, sugar and flour so they are the same weight
To make the buttercream, place the softened butter in a large bowl and gradually and carefully, beat in the icing sugar. Mix in the vanilla extract and then gradually add enough food colouring paste to make it your chosen colour.
Spread a little buttercream on the 24cm cake board, and sit one of the 20cm sponges centrally on top. Top this sponge with more buttercream, add another sponge and then repeat so you have a stack of three sponges with buttercream between each layer. Repeat using the 15cm cake card and 15cm sponges.
To crumb coat the cakes, spread buttercream all over the sides of the cake using palette knife, to cover it with a thin layer. Cover the top surface with a thin layer too.
Using a scraper or palette knife, sweep all the way round the sides of the cake to remove any excess icing and to smooth the surface, and then repeat to smooth the top surface as well. Place in the fridge for about 20 minutes, or until the icing has chilled and firmed up.
Repeat this process to add a second, slightly thicker coat of icing to the cake. Ice the 15cm cakes in the same way.
Insert one of the dowel rods to measure the height of the 20cm cake, and trim so it is exactly the same height. Cut the other dowels to the same size. Position the dowels in the centre of the cake.
To make the icing ‘drip’, place the royal icing sugar in a large bowl and gradually add just enough water to make a thick, dripping consistency. Carefully place in an icing bag and cut off a very small piece at the tip. Practice piping the icing to make sure it is the correct consistency (and adjust if necesary), then pipe the icing around the edge of the 20cm cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Cover the top of the cake with more icing and spread over to cover.
Sit the 15cm cake centrally on top of the larger cake, so it rests on the dowel rods. Decorate the top cake with icing drips as before, and cover the top with icing as well.
Decorate the top of the cake using sprinkles, mini meringues and macarons