Renshaw’s Daffodil Cake

Method

1. For the cake and stems Prepare the cake by masking the outside of the cake with vanilla frosting.
2. Knead 200g of the white icing on a clean, dry surface until pliable. Colour with yellow food colouring. Dust the work surface with icing sugar and roll out the icing until it’s 3-4mm thick and large enough to cover the top of the cake. Place the icing on top of the cake and smooth down with the palm of your hand.
3. To create the stems around the side of the cake, create 3 different shades of green icing by kneading together some of green icing with the remaining 300g of white icing until you have your desired shades.
4. Marble these together by rolling each shade into a sausage shape the width of two hands, and then bringing all the green icing together into one large sausage shape. Fold the ends into the centre and reroll to the width of two hands. Repeat the folding and re-rolling 4 times.
5. Once the icing is marbled, cut the sausage into four equal pieces and lay them side by side and slightly overlapping on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. This will ensure the stems are vertical when the icing is placed on the cake.
6. Roll the icing into a rectangle 5″ by 15″. Use the kebab skewer to make some markings across the width of the icing rectangle.
7. Carefully lift the icing and wrap around the cake. Remove any excess icing and neaten the seam with your finger.
8. For the daffodils Knead 1 x 100g pack of the Petal Paste on a clean dry surface. Colour the paste with yellow food colouring until you achieve a pastel yellow shade. Split the coloured petal paste into two equal parts. Reserve one in a zip-seal bag and continue to colour the remaining half until you reach a vibrant yellow shade. Reserve in a zip-seal bag.
9. Roll out a small amount of the pastel yellow petal paste to 1mm thick on a clean, dry surface dusted with icing sugar. Use the large daisy cutter to cut out the flower shapes.
10. Thin out the edges of the petals with a kebab skewer by rolling it over the surface 3-4 times. Next, for the trumpet, take a small ball (2g) of the vibrant yellow petal paste and shape into a cone. Using the tip of the kebab skewer, thin out the wider end of the cone until it is thin and frilly. Attach the thin end of the trumpet to the flower shape with a small amount of edible glue. Place this in the egg carton to set some shape in to the petals.
11. Repeat the flower-making step until you have filled the egg carton. Attach these flowers to the cake with a small amount of edible glue. Start with the area at the top of the stems and work your way to the centre of the cake. Continue to make the flowers until the top of the cake is filled.