In the ancient tale of the ‘Love Cake’, the cake is baked as a romantic gesture to charm a prince … what better lucky charm to serve up to guests on your special day.

Serves 40

Strawberry & lemon meringue buttercream

• 2 cups (440g) caster sugar
• 12 large egg whites (or pasteurised egg whites), chilled
• 750g unsalted butter, softened to a spreadable consistency
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 40g freeze-dried strawberry or raspberry powder (available from cake decorating stores or online)
• 1/2 cup (175g) lemon curd
• Pink gel paste food colouring (optional)

Place the sugar and egg whites in a heatproof glass bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the egg whites are slightly warm to the touch (at least 40°C). (You can omit this step entirely if you are using pasteurised egg whites, and instead, simply place the sugar and egg whites directly into the mixer.)

Transfer the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until the mixture has formed stiff and glossy peaks, around 10–15 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment. Add the butter in thirds and beat on high speed after each addition until incorporated. Don’t be alarmed if the buttercream appears curdled – it will become light and fluffy again with continued beating for around 2–3 minutes. Add the vanilla bean paste and beat until just combined.

Now add the strawberry powder and lemon curd and beat until fluffy. Add the pink colouring and beat until the desired shade is achieved.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature in a cool, dry environment until needed.

Spiced caramel & almond mudcake

• 600g unsalted butter, chopped into chunks
• 600g good quality white chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups (440g) firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 3/4 cups (685ml) hot water
• 1/2 cup (175g) golden syrup or honey
• 1 1/4 Tbsp vanilla bean paste
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3 cups (450g) self-raising flour
• 3 Tbsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp ground ginger
• 4 1/2 cups (450g) almond meal

Preheat your oven to 170°C. Grease a 23cm round cake tin and a 15cm cake tin, at least 6cm deep. Line the bases and sides with baking paper. Ensure the baking paper creates a collar around 5cm higher than the cake tins to allow the cakes to rise.

Place the butter, chocolate, sugar, water, golden syrup, and vanilla bean paste in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Stir the ingredients over medium–low heat with a silicone spatula for 5 minutes, or until the chocolate melts completely and the mixture is smooth. Set aside for at least 30 minutes to cool.

Transfer the melted chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition using a hand-held mixer or whisk until combined. Sift the flour and spices over the chocolate mixture and mix in until combined. Fold in the almond meal until combined.

Pour the cake mixture into the tins and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes– 1 hour 20 minutes for the 23 cm cake, and 45 minutes for the 15 cm cake, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 2 hours, before turning them out onto a baking rack to cool completely.

Once completely cooled, you may choose to trim the outside of the cake layers to remove any darker brown patches. Using a cake leveller or a long, thin knife, carefully divide your cakes into three even layers each. Cover the cake layers in plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator until it’s time to assemble the cake.

Now put it all together!

• 1/2 cup (165g) apricot jam, melted (this gives the outer layers of the cake a lovely glossy finish)
• Large piping bag fitted with a 2cm star nozzle
• 3/4 cup (100g) crushed pistachios, plus 1 tbsp extra for sprinkling
• 4 cake dowels (available from cake decorating stores or online)
• 13cm cardboard cake board
• 10g freeze-dried strawberry or raspberry powder
• Punnet edible flowers (available from specialty grocers and online)
• 1/2 cup (70g) Turkish delight, chopped into 1 cm cubes
• 4 fresh figs, sliced (or whole, if you prefer)
• Edible gold paint or edible gold lustre mixed into a paste using vodka (optional)

Working on a cake turntable, secure the bottom layer of the 23cm cake onto a cake board with a small dollop of buttercream and then gently twist in place. Use a pastry brush to thinly cover the outside edge with melted apricot jam.

Next, fill the piping bag with buttercream. Starting from the outside edge and working in a spiral to the centre, pipe individual stars onto the cake layer until completely covered. Sprinkle crushed pistachios on top.

Repeat the process, carefully stacking the two remaining large cake layers and applying jam, buttercream and pistachios. If the buttercream filling is getting too soft in between layering, place the cake in the refrigerator for a short time to firm the cake up.

Once the layers for the bottom tier are assembled, it’s time to prepare the placement of the top tier. I usually just estimate where the cake on top will sit but you can be more precise and mark an outline using a cake tin or a round of cardboard the same size as the next tier to be added on top. Place it in the middle of the cake and lightly mark the outline with a toothpick or a knife.

Take one dowel and insert it into the assembled cake inside the markings. Mark the height of the cake with your thumb, take the dowel out, mark with a pen and cut with scissors or a serrated knife. Using that dowel as a guide, cut the remaining three dowels. Insert the four trimmed dowels into the cake, well inside where the next cake tier will sit, and use an offcut of dowel to push them right down into the cake.

Place one of the smaller cake layers on the 13cm cake board and place it on top of the larger cake. Repeat steps 2–3 to fill, frost and chill the cakes until firm.

To finish, adorn the top of the cake with piped buttercream stars, then add the remaining crushed pistachios, a dusting of freeze-dried strawberry powder, a scattering of edible flowers, Turkish delight and figs. If you like, you could add a decadent lustre to your cake by decorating some of the figs with edible gold leaf.

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