Courtney McGrailCome autumn, I love decorating cakes and bakes with autumnal sugar decorations. A single copper oak leaf resting on top of an iced cupcake is the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon tea in October or November. If decorating an entire wreath takes too much time, simply sprinkle these sugar leaves on top of cupcakes, cakes, pies and tarts.
Make the leaves a few days or a few weeks before baking the cake. Store them in a cardboard box until needed. You will need:
For the edible leaves:
- gum paste
- small leaf cutters
- edible gold shimmer
- edible copper shimmer
- edible autumn gold dust
- one unused paint palette
- 225g unsalted butter
- 225g caster sugar
- zest of two large unwaxed oranges
- 225g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 9inch bundt tin
- l Syrup
- juice of 2 large oranges
- 100g caster sugar
- l Buttercream
- 150g unsalted buttercream
- 200g icing sugar
- juice of 2 large oranges
When working with the gum paste, break off a little at a time to avoid it from drying out. Roll the paste out as thinly as possible and stamp out the leaf shapes.
Transfer to the paint palette to give them shape and leave to dry overnight. You can brush some of the leaves with the edible shimmer right away. This will give them a darker colour. Or you can wait for them to dry before brushing.
For the cake, preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease the bundt tin. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. In another bowl, beat the butter with the sugar and orange zest until pale and fluffy. Add two tablespoons of the flour to the butter and sugar mixture then gradually add the eggs a little bit at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gently fold in the rest of the flour and divide the batter between the prepared tins. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer emerges clean.
Pierce the cake with a wooden skewer and brush the syrup over the sponge. Leave to cool completely before turning out onto a wire rack. This cake can be fiddly to ice so wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for an hour.
Beat the butter and icing sugar for five minutes until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the orange juice, beating until combined.
Using a palette knife, spread the buttercream all over the sides of the cake and down into the ring in the centre.
Now place the leaves around the cake. Start from the bottom of the cake, working in a circle all the way round to the top.