Marble and Gold Leaf Cake

This Marble and Gold Leaf Cake is absolutely stunning but is so easy to achieve! 

Marble and Gold Leaf Cake

You will need:

• 20cm (8in), 2½cm (6in), 10cm (4in)  ganached cakes

• 2kg (4lb 4oz) white sugarpaste of your choice (I used Couture)
• Sugarflair gel in Liquorice
• 100% edible gold leaf (transfer sheets)
• icing sugar or cornflour
• sugar syrup (to coat your ganached cakes before icing)

• cocktail stick
• sharp knife
• cake smoother
• sharp edge smoother
• sugar glue
• 2 x brushes – 1 for gold leaf, 1 for glue
• large acrylic rolling pin

Method:

1. Brush your ganached cakes lightly with sugar syrup, which will help your sugarpaste adhere. Ensure there are no dry patches.
2. Take approx. 900g (2lb) sugarpaste and knead on a dusted surface until ready to roll. Once ready to roll, using your cocktail stick, apply small amounts of the gel colour of your choice. I have used Sugarflair Liquorice. Twist the fondant and apply further stripes. Knead the fondant together gently to lightly smooth the stripes out and create a marbled effect. Dust your work surface and gently roll your sugarpaste to the required size.
3. Once your sugarpaste is rolled out, roll it onto your rolling pin and check the underside to decide which has the best marble effect. With the sugarpaste over the rolling pin, drape it over your dampened ganached cake. Ensure the top edge of the cake is adhered before working around the whole cake to adhere the sugarpaste, smoothing gently with the side of your hand. Remove the excess sugarpaste at the base of the board.
4. Leave the cakes overnight to firm up before applying the gold leaf transfer. Cut your gold leaf into strips, then, using a dry brush, brush the edges of the gold leaf to give it an aged / rough appearance. Paint edible glue sparingly onto the surface of cake, removing excess glue with kitchen paper. Line up the gold leaf and press gently onto the cake, smoothing over the removable backing. Once adhered, gently remove the backing and the edible gold leaf will be on the cake. Repeat around the cake.
5. Dowel and stack the cakes, and if you wish add a sugar flower/real flower for decoration.