Teenage Birthday -

Teenage Birthday

Ingredients

20 cm (8 inch) round fruit cake or sponge cake, covered with almond paste
1.2 kg (2 lb 10 oz) ready-to-roll fondant icing
Orange, blue, yellow, green, red and violet food colouring
¼ teaspoon gum tragacanth

YOU WILL ALSO NEED

25 cm (10 inch) round silver cake board
4.5 cm (1¾ inch) star cutter
3 cm (1¼ inch) star cutter
26 x 20 cm (8 inch) lengths of thin wire or thin-gauge florists' wire, covered with white florists' tape

Method

1 Roll out 900 g (2 lb) of the fondant to a 40 cm (16 inch) circle. Lift the fondant over the cake and smooth into place. Trim the edges, reserving the trimmings.

2 Knead a little orange food colouring into the remaining 275 g (10 oz) fondant with the gum tragacanth. Roll out the fondant to a circle just larger than the cake. Place on top of the cake and make folds to give a ruffled effect. Pinch the edges to give a delicate finish.

3 Roll out the reserved fondant trimmings and stamp out 8 large and 5 smaller stars. Twist 2 lengths of wire together. Attach some wire to each star, using a little fondant and a little water, as shown, right. Leave to dry overnight.

4 Mix a little water with each of the remaining food colours. Holding the stars by the wire, paint them in different colours. Leave to dry for at least 3 hours.

5 Gently push the ends of the wires through the 'crumpled' fondant, arranging the stars at different heights and angles to give a starburst effect.

Related food category:

• Celebration Cake