Rubix Cube Illusion Cake

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 150°c/130°c fan/gas 2

2. Grease and line the base and sides of your tin or tins. If you have only one tin you will have to bake one tin at a time.

3. Make up the cake mixes one at a time by creaming 350g butter and 350g sugar until it is very creamy and almost white. Measure out 350g self-raising flour and 175g plain flour. Beat in 6 eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour each time.

   • 350g Butter (Unsalted, Softened)
   • 350g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
   • 6 Eggs (Free Range, Large)

4. Add 1 tbsp of vanilla extract and then sift in the remaining flours. Fold in the flour and then turn into your prepared tin.

   • 350g Self-Raising White Flour
   • 175g Plain White Flour
   • 1 tbsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract

5. Bake in your preheated oven for 2 hours but check how far it has baked at 1 ½  hours. It is a good idea to bake the cakes individually as they will bake more evenly if the oven is not overcrowded.

6. When the cakes are cooked allow the to cool in the tin before turning out.

7. Make the buttercream filling by beating together the icing sugar with the butter and the vanilla bean paste.

   • 1kg Icing Sugar (plus extra for rolling out the icing)
   • 500g Butter (Unsalted, Softened)
   • 2 tbsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste

8. Level the top of each cake and slice each one in half horizontally. Fill and stack the cakes on the board using ¼ of the buttercream.

9. Check that the cake is stable and level and then cover with the remaining buttercream to create a crumb coating. Make this as smooth as you can, as this will be a base for your fondant icing.

10. When you are ready to cover the cake, knead and roll out the black icing according to the instructions on the pack to make a circle about 65cm in diameter (but check the size of your own cake first).

11. Carefully roll the icing around your rolling pin and drape over the cake,smoothing down over the buttercream sides. Once the cake is covered in fondant, it is a good idea to let the icing dry out a little for a few hours or overnight.

    • 2kg Black Fondant Icing

12. When you are ready to finish the cake you will need 45 coloured squares. Roll out your coloured icings and cut out squares using a 2 1/2 inch square cutter. Fix the squares to the cake using a paintbrush lightly brushed with water.

    • 200g Blue Fondant Icing
    • 200g Green Fondant Icing
    • 200g Orange Fondant Icing
    • 200g Red Fondant Icing
    • 200g Yellow Fondant Icing
    • 200g Yellow Fondant Icing