Birthday Cake

Yesterday we had a party for my daughter's 5th birthday and, of course, if there's party then there has to be a cake!  We came to the conclusion that a butterfly cake would be a good option (pink and pretty = happy Emma, not too difficult to make = happy Mummy!).

The basic shape is just a two layer sponge cake (filled with jam) which is cut in half down the middle, turned around and stuck back together to make the wings.  I then covered it with plain butter icing and piped on the decoration with pink butter icing using my trusty Tala icing syringe.  At first I just could not figure out how to recreate the shell pattern I was trying to copy from the picture I had but thankfully my Mum (cake maker extraodinaire) was on hand (via the telephone) to provide me with a bit of a masterclass and I was soon on my way.

I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned (and so was E which was the main thing) and it tasted good too.  I really recommend using a good raspberry jam when filling a layer cake as the slightly sharper flavour really balances out the sugary icing.

P.S. Please excuse the less-than-great photos.  The light in my kitchen was terrible and I couldn't fit the whole cake into my light box!