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1
Cakes.
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Preheat oven to 175 C.
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Weigh the empty bowl you are going to use and 0 your scales or write it down the weight.
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Grease and line three 21cm inch round cake pans, then line with waxed paper.
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Cream the butter and sugar until creamy, smooth and light in colour.
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Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
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Sift the flours together and alternate adding with the milk and the vanilla extract, beating well after each addition.
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Weigh the finished batter (making sure you're not including the bowl, or minus it from the total) and then divide the weight by 6.
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Carefully measure the batter equally between 6 bowls (it will be somewhere just over 300 grams each) and colour 3 with Purple, orange and green.
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Spread batter into three tins and smooth it out to the edges, I like to make it slightly thicker around the edges becase it rises a little in the center and by doing that you get a more level cake.
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While the three are baking colour the remaining three bowls of batter.
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Bake until cooked and gently turn them out onto wire racks to cool.
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Reline the tins and repeat with the remaining three bowls of batter.
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Put the cakes into the fridge until ready to use.
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15
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing:.
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Put the egg whites and sugar into a bowl and whisk over heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture feels smooth to touch.
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Remove the bowl and beat (this is where a stand mixer is ideal) in high until the mixture has cooled right down and become a smooth, sticky and thick meringue type consistency.
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That part is vital, don't rush to put the butter in until it is definately cooled and thick.
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Start adding the pieces of room temp butter to the mixture one piece at a time incorporating each piece before the next.
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This will take quite a while and when you have added all the butter it will take on a curdled appearance.
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Don't worry, continue on beating, it will all come together and change into a thick icing.
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Add whatever flavouring you would like.
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I like vanilla and lemon.
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If during the butter adding stage it becomes too soft, put it in the fridge for a few minutes till it firms up and continue.
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Trim any brown crusty edges on the cakes with scissors.
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Starting with violet, layer the cakes spreading the buttercream a few mms thick between each layer then fill the sides and ice the top and sides.
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Put in the fridge to form a crust.
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Buttercream is best served at room temp so remove a couple of hours before serving or cut straight from the fridge and let the pieces sit for a few minutes before eating.
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Rolled Fondant:.
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Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water in a small bowl and let it rest for 5 minutes to soften
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Place the bowl over a pot simmering water until the gelatin dissolves.
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Add the glucose or corn syrup and the glycerin and stir until the mixture is smooth and clear
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Sift 7 1/2 cups of the sugar into a large bowl.
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Make a hole in the sugar and pour the liquid mixture into it.
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Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes sticky.
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Sift some of the remaining sugar onto a smooth work surface and add as much of the remaining sugar as the mixture will take.
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Knead the fondant, adding a little more sugar if necessary, to form a smooth, pliable mass.
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Rub the vegetable shortening on your thumbs and knead it into the fondant.
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At this point you could knead some colour into it if you like.
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I kept it white because I wanted the inside of the cake to stand out.
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Wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and place it in a tightly sealed container to prevent it from drying out.
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If the icing dries out and hardens it can often be revived by popping it into a microwave for a few seconds and then kneading it back to life.
