Jungle themed gluten free birthday cake

Strawberry gluten free layer cake (makes one cake)

Ingredients
125g (slightly over 1/2 a cup) butter, softened
190g (2 cups gluten free all purpose flour) gluten free plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200g (1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
152g (1 cup) fresh chopped strawberries
2 eggs
40ml semi-skimmed milk (half fat milk)
1 or 2 drops pink food colouring


Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160-180 deg C (325-350 deg F).
2. Lightly grease and line 23cm (9 inch) spring form cake tin with paper.
3. Beat butter, honey and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture turns a pale colour.
4. Lightly beat eggs.
5. Stir in sieved flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, eggs, strawberries, milk, vanilla extract and food colouring till mixed thoroughly.
6. Spoon into cake tin.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes until cooked or a skewer comes out clean.
8. Place cake on a wire rack to cool.

Banana gluten free layer cake (makes one cake)

Ingredients
125g (slightly over 1/2 a cup) butter, softened
190g (2 cups) gluten free plain (all purpose) flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200g (1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
1 freshly chopped large banana
2 eggs
40ml semi-skimmed milk (half fat milk)
1 or 2 drops pink food colouring


Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160-180 deg C (325-350 deg F).
2. Lightly grease and line 23 cm (9 inch) spring form cake tin with paper.
3. Beat butter, honey and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture turns a pale colour.
4. Lightly beat eggs.
5. Stir in sieved flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, eggs, banana, milk, vanilla extract and food colouring till mixed thoroughly.
6. Spoon into cake tin.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes until cooked or a skewer comes out clean.
8. Place cake on a wire rack to cool.

Kiwi gluten free layer cake (makes one cake)

Ingredients
125g (slightly over 1/2 a cup) butter, softened
190g (2 cups) gluten free plain (all purpose) flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200g (1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
2 freshly chopped kiwis
2 eggs
40ml semi-skimmed milk (half fat milk)
1 or 2 drops pink food colouring


Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 160-180 deg C (325-350 deg F).
2. Lightly grease and line 23 cm (9 inch) spring form cake tin with paper.
3. Beat butter, honey and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture turns a pale colour.
4. Lightly beat eggs.
5. Stir in sieved flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, eggs, kiwi, milk, vanilla extract and food colouring till mixed thoroughly.
6. Spoon into cake tin.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes until cooked or a skewer comes out clean.
8. Place cake on a wire rack to cool.

To decorate (one cake)

You will need
Chocolate butter frosting
Roll on white icing
Sugar paste
Smooth strawberry jam
Food colouring
Petal paste
Oak leaf cookie cutter
Palm tree cookie cutter
Jungle animal mould, medium
Monkey lollipop mould
Small flower blossom plunger cutter
Nigella Lawson Living Kitchen cookie cutters A-Z/0-9 shapes, blue

Instructions

1. Using a wire cake cutter trim off top of all three cakes.
2. Sandwich cakes together using chocolate butter cream.
3. Lightly cover cake in strawberry jam.
4. Lightly dust surface with icing sugar, knead icing till soft and pliable.
5. Roll out white icing using rolling pin to be a bit bigger than the size of your cake so that you can easily cover the sides.
6. Use a rolling pin to help support the weight of the icing as you lift it over your cake. Once in place begin smoothing and firming the icing from the centre of the cake, working out towards the edges and down the sides to give a smooth, even finish.
7. Trim off any excess icing with a sharp knife.
8. Add a couple of drops of green food colouring to white roll on icing and roll out as before.
9. Using the oak leaf cookie cutter, cut out 20 leaves.
10. Lightly dampen undersides of the cut leaves with water using a small paintbrush and place 10 of them around the top edge and 10 around the base.
11. For the flowers, palm trees and letters repeat steps 8 and 9, colouring icing as required, and cutting with the small flower blossom plunger cutter, the palm tree cookie cutter, and the Nigella Lawson Living Kitchen cookie cutters A-Z/0-9 shapes in blue.
12. To make the animals around the sides, I used petal paste which I coloured using food colouring. Simply push coloured petal paste into the jungle animal mould. Once set, push out and using an icing sugar/water solution paint onto the backs of the animals and stick into place on cake.
13. To make the monkey on top I did as step 12, pushing small amounts of different coloured petal paste into the leaf section, the face and the monkey, with one of the monkey lollipop moulds.

Have a sweet day!