Floral Ruffles Wedding Cake

Roll out 900g (2lb) sugarpaste on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to approximately 3mm (1/8in) thickness. Brush the cake drum with a little water, then cover it with the paste. Use the smoother to create an even surface. Cut off any excess and allow to dry overnight.

Adhere each cake to the corresponding size cake card using a little buttercream.

Dust a surface with icing sugar and roll out 1.6kg (3lb 8½oz) sugarpaste to a 3mm (1/8in) thickness so that it is large enough to cover the 30.5cm (12in) cake. Lift the sugarpaste over the cake and smooth down with your hands. Use the smoother to create an even surface and cut off any excess.

Dust a surface with icing sugar, then roll out 1.5kg (3lb 5oz) sugarpaste to a 3mm (1/8in) thickness so that it is large enough to cover the 25.5cm (10in) cake. Lift the sugarpaste over the cake and smooth down with your hands. Use the smoother to create an even surface and cut off any excess.

Dust a surface with icing sugar and roll out 1kg (2lb 3¼oz) sugarpaste to a 3mm (1/8in) thickness so that it is large enough to cover the 20.5cm (8in) cake. Lift the sugarpaste over the cake and smooth down with your hands. Use the smoother to create an even surface and cut off any excess.

Dust a surface with icing sugar and roll out 700g (1lb 6oz) sugarpaste to a 3mm (1/8in) thickness so that it is large enough to cover the 15cm (6in) cake. Lift the sugarpaste over the cake and smooth down with your hands. Use the smoother to create an even surface and cut off any excess.

Leave all the cakes to set for approximately 24 hours.

During this time, you can make the heart topper. Shape the 24g wire into a heart shape. You can do this by wrapping it around a heart cookie cutter, or alternatively you can do it by hand. At the base of the heart, twist the excess wire around it to create a ‘stem’.

Roll out a long thin worm of modelling paste, the same length as your bead mould. Press it into the mould and then release, trimming any loose edges. Paint the back side with edible glue and press firmly around the wire heart. You may have to make more than one strip to cover the whole heart. Leave this to dry for 24 hours.

Place the 30.5cm (12in) cake onto the cake board, sticking it down with some royal icing. Dowel the bottom three tiers of the cake, then stack the tiers one by one, starting at the bottom and working your way up. Use royal icing to stick each tier down to the next.

Add the ribbon around the base of each tier, and fix at the back with a dab of royal icing or double sided tape.

Roll out some of the flower paste thinly, then use the circle cutters to cut out 10 of each size. Frill the edges of the circles using a ball tool on a foam pad, then stick a small, medium and large circle together using a dab of edible glue in the centre of each. Repeat this process over and over. You can also stick a small and a medium circle together to create a smaller flower. Start to attach this all over the sides and the top of the top tier using a dab of edible glue. You can also attach some of the frilled small circles on their own to act as fillers. Make sure you leave a small space right in the centre of the top tier to add the topper later. This process can be repeated on the 25.5cm (10in) tier also.

Put twisted wire from the topper into a flower pick, using a bit of sugarpaste inside it to hold it in place, then insert into the top of the cake. Give the whole cake a spray with pearl lustre, then add the ribbon around the side of the cake drum to add a nice finish.