Make-up compact birthday cake

Serves:

Serves 15

Ingredients

• 2 store-bought double sponges
• Meadow Lea or 125g butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups icing mixture, sifted
• 2 drops rose food colouring
• 20cm aluminium foil
• 50cm strap black licorice
• 1 musk stick
• 1 white marshmallow
• 2 fruit tingles
• sprinkles or sugar sands of choice

Method

Cut one edge off both sponges about 1 inch from edge, with a bread knife.

Stand up one of the cakes on its cut edge and move it to butt against the other cake to resemble an open compact. Measure the aluminium foil against the cake, cut or fold the aluminium foil to fit with about 1cm gap to the edge of the cake.

Make the icing by beating butter and icing sugar together until well combined. Add vanilla and food colouring and ensure it has a smooth, spreadable consistency. Add water by the drop if the mixture is too stiff, or add extra icing sugar by the tablespoon until you reach the desired consistency.

Ice the bottom half of the cake and then the top. Fix the aluminium foil to the the top part of the cake – it will stick to the iciing. Stand the top part of the cake up and ice the back of it.

To decorate, cut the strips of licorice with scissors to 5mm widths and arrange around the aluminium foil as a border to the ‘mirror’ and create some boxes or circles on the lower part of the cake to represent blush and/or eyeshadow.

Fill in the gaps with sprinkes/sugar sand, and press down with forefinger into the icing.

Place two fruit-tingles near the connection of the two cakes to represent hinges.

Lastly, place a musk stick and a marshmallow cut to size with scissors for the make up applicator.

Notes:

• Packaged sponge cakes can be found in large chain supermarkets with a bakery section, you may also order them from your local bakery.
• You don’t need to use a round cake, use a square on if you like – your only limit is your imagination!
• This cake is particularly popular with pre-teens, and can be decorated by them, freeing you of cake decorating duties if you so desire!
• This recipe was created by Melissa Klemke for Kidspot New Zealand’s best recipe finder.