Happy Sunday everyone 😀 I hope you’ve all had a fabulous weekend? I have been full steam ahead in the kitchen and loving it, I woke up feeling so rotten yesterday I finished all my jobs and really considered heading straight back to bed … I’m glad I didn’t because I decided to have a go at a rainbow zebra cake I’ve been asked to do for a client and I’m over the moon with my first attempt!

All the videos I’d seen had the standard white and black fondant covering but I decided the vibrant colours inside should be met with the same on the outside, what do you reckon I LOVE it. I took photos every step of the way so you too can make one just the same, it’s a little time consuming but actually not all that difficult and really effective. Mine was a tester so I used my smaller 6 inch tins and did three layers, I’ll try and put up my chart later which has the ingredients for each size so you can use whichever you’d like. So here’s how guys …

• Preheat oven to 165c fan assisted or 180c if not.
• Beat 200g of caster sugar and soft unsalted butter for 5 mins or until very pale (I use a stand mixer and just leave it running while I get the next ingredients ready).
• Add 3 eggs, 200g self raising flour, 1tsp baking powder and 1tsp vanilla essence then beat until mix is fully combined, use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated .
• You need to add milk until your mixture is quite a runny consistency, I used almost 50ml in mine so keep adding gradually until you’ve got it right

• Divide the mixture between seven bowls, you need roughly 40% in one, 15% in two and the rest between the the last four…. I did 50% and the rest split evenly and the colours didn’t come out right so I think this division will work better.
• Now you need your colours, I use Sugarflair as I find them to be the best (Royal blue was all I had but it was way too dark so I advise sky blue instead). I suggest using Black extra, Red extra, Tangerine, Primrose, Party Green, Sky Blue and Fushia. The biggest bowl is black, the next two red and orange and then the rest with the last four. Mix with a spatula and try to avoid beating too much air out of your mixture.
• Line your baking tins and you now need to get filling so put a dollop of black in the centre of each tin, then put the red directly on top (split evenly between all three tins), then more black, then orange and so on until you have used all your mixes. Bang the tins or giving them a gentle juggle inbetween to help the colours squish outwards or gentle push with the spoon in the centre as you add each colour.

• Once all the tins are filled pop them in the oven for 20-25 mins until they are springy to touch and a skewer comes out clean. Turn out on a wire rack to cool.
• Prepare your buttercream by beating 200g unsalted butter and 400g icing sugar together until pale with a dollop of vanilla essence.
• When all the cakes are cooled level off the tops with a bread knife or levelling tool and stack the cakes on a 9″ drum with jam and buttercream inbetween each layer.
• Put a rough coating of buttercream around your whole cake and chill in the fridge for about an hour, apply a second layer of buttercream and get it as smooth as possible, refrigerate for 20 mins.

• Take 1kg white icing and split into 6 pieces (this is too much but it allows room for error when rolling to ensure you get all six colours), colour each piece with the same shades as your sponges.
• Remove the cake from the fridge and roll your colour fondant into rough sausages lining them up next to each other in order, press them together, flip and roll until you have a big sausage of colour!

• Sprinkle some cornflour on your work top and roll the fondant out to size, apply to cake smoothing with your hands as you go and apply some water to the board to allow the icing to stick. Once smooth trim excess with a knife.
• Add some Tylo powder to black fondant and roll out as thin as possible, take a knife or modelling tool and cut ‘zebra stripes’ out, stick to the cake in your desired pattern with a little dab of water.
• Using double sided tape stick a black ribbon to the edge of your board

• YOU’RE ALL DONE! Now you can eat it …

Well there you have it, a brightly coloured, not at all ‘ordinary’ yummy scrummy zebra cake, enjoy xx