Cake recipe step by step

5 teaspoons gelatine

125 ml (4fl oz) liquid glucose

1 tablespoon glycerine

1 kg (2 lb) pure icing sugar

Put the gelatine in a small pan with 3 tablespoons water. Add the glucose and stir over gentle heat until the gelatine has dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the glycerine. Leave to cool for 1 minute.

Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl, then remove a cupful for use when kneading. Make a well in the centre of the icing sugar in the bowl and pour in the gelatine mixture. Combine with a wooden spoon, then use a dry hand to knead until the icing has a dough-like texture, adding a little of the reserved icing sugar if necessary. Turn out onto a work surface dusted with icing sugar and knead until smooth and pliable, adding more of the reserved icing sugar as necessary to prevent sticking.

Either use immediately or wrap in plastic and store in an airtight container in a cool place (not refrigerated) for up to 3 days. Makes 1 kg (2 lb).

Before you ice your cake, you want to make it as perfectly shaped as possible, both for ease of icing and appearances. 

          Some of the cakes in our collection  are cooked with a collar. This extends the height of the cake, giving a more dramatic result—the basic fruit and mud cakes are cooked with collars to give extra height and protection during cooking.

    Organization and commonsense are the keys to creating really beautiful cakes. Make sure you've read through the whole recipe before you start, checking you have the right equipment and enough time (often during decorating you will have to leave things to dry or set, sometimes overnight).