UNION JACK JUBILEE CAKE

As you can see from my previous post (http://aspoonfulofsugarblog.com/2012/07/01/diamond-jubilee-party/), I made a Union Jack cake for my Jubilee party at the weekend. I’ve had quite a lot of requests from people asking how I made it, so here goes!

INGREDIENTS
For the sponge:
350g (12oz) soft margarine (I used Stork)
350g (12oz) caster sugar
450g (1lb) self-raising flour
1½tsp baking powder
6 medium eggs, beaten

To decorate:
600ml double/heavy cream
340g jar strawberry jam
Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries – the amounts really depend on what you can find. I think I used about 200g of strawberries, sliced in half, about 20 raspberries and a handful of blueberries but it really does depend on the size of the blueberries.

METHOD
Start by laying out your weighed ingredients…

Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4. Line the base and sides of a 30 x 20 x 5 cm/12 x 8 x 2 inch rectangular cake tin (or roasting tin with the same base measurement) with a large piece of non-stick baking paper, snip diagonally into the corners then press the paper into the tin so that the base and sides are lined and the paper stands a little above the top of the tin sides.

Cream the soft margarine and sugar together in a bowl or food processor until light and fluffy.

Mix the flour and baking powder together then gradually mix in alternate spoonfuls of egg then flour until both have all been added and the mixture is smooth.

Spoon the cake mixture into the lined tin.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the cake is well risen, golden brown and a skewer comes out cleanly when inserted into the centre of the cake. Leave to cool for a few minutes then invert the cake on to a wire rack, remove the tin and leave to cool.

Once the sponge has completely cooled, carefully slice the sponge in half. You need a flat top for this cake so I sliced a very thin slice off the top and made that the bottom, so the original bottom of the cake could be used on the top. (I hope that makes sense!)

Spread strawberry jam over the cake.

And top with the whipped double/heavy cream and spread it over the jam, making sure you reach the edges and the corners.

Place the other half of the sponge on top then spread the rest of the whipped cream on top.

Add the strawberries in a cross… (The English flag)

Then add the strawberries out to the corners… (to represent the St Patrick’s Saltire for Northern Ireland)

Then fill in the rest with blueberries… (to represent Scotland!) And Voila! You have the Union Jack which represents the United Kingdom.

I then added some amazing Royal pop tops that my mum sent me! (You can buy them here – http://amzn.to/LABrTF but you can get these in most shops at the moment)…