Tipi cake recipe

A tipi cake is a must if you're throwing your little one a cowboy party. This cake not only looks fab but tastes delicious, so each cowboy and cowgirl will definitely be wanting a slice!

Ingredients

• 7 eggs
• 440g self-raising flour
• 220g plain, all-purpose flour
• 440g butter
• 440g castersugar

For the decoration:

• 440g buttercream- get the recipe for buttercream here
• 1.35kg sugarpaste/rolled fondant
• Green, black, yellow, red, blue, cream & brown food colouring pastes
• Icing/confectioners' sugar in a sugar shaker
• Sugar glue
• Chocolate stick

You will also need:

• 20cm (18in) round cake tin
• 18cm (7in) round cake tin
• 10cam (4in) round cake tin
• 25cm (10in) round cake board
• Large rolling pin
• Miniature circle cutter
• Cocktail stick/toothpick

Method

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 160oC/325oF/Gas 3 then grease and line the bakeware.
   2. Sift the self-raising and the plain all-purpose flour together in a bowl.
   3. Put the soft butter and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
   4. Add the eggs to the mixture, one a a time with a spoonful of the flour, beating well after each addition. Add any flavouring required. (Vanilla add 1tsp vanilla essence/extract to every 6 egg mixture. Lemon - add the grated rind and or/juice of 1 lemon to every 6 egg mixture. Chocolate - add 2-3tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder mixed with 1 tbsp milk to every 6 egg mixture. Almond - add 1tsp almond essence/extract and 2-3tbsp ground almonds to every 6 egg mixture.)
   5. Using a large spoon, fold the remaining flour into the mixture.
   6. Divide the mixture with a spoon into the three cake tins, then make a dip in the top of the mixture with the back of the spoon.
   7. Bake in the centre of the oven, 1 hour for each cake, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
   8. Leave to cool for five minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. When cold, store in an airtight container until ready to use.
   To decorate:
   1. Colour 315g of sugarpaste green. Roll out and cover the cake board, trimming excess from around the edge, then put aside to dry. With trimmings, shape two cacti and put aside. Trim the crust off of each cake and slice all three tops flat. Stack the cakes together, graduating in size.
   2. Trim from the top, cutting downwards, removing the top edge of each cake to create the sloping sides of the tipi. Sandwich the layers together with buttercream, then spread a layer over the surface of the cake to help the sugarpaste stick.
   3. Colour 30g of sugarpaste black. Reserve a tiny amount for the boy’s eyes, then thinly roll out the remainder and cover the front of the cake for the opening. Place the cake on the board.
   4. Colour 875g of sugarpaste yellow. Using a small piece, cover the top of the cake. Roll out the remaining yellow and cut an oblong measuring 50 x 22cm (20 x 81/2 in). Carefully roll up, place a straight edge against the front of the cake by the black strip, then unroll around the cake, keeping the top smooth and neat against the cake. This will create excess at the bottom, so trim away until level with the opposite side. Trim at the join, smoothing open at the centre. Pinch around the top of the tipi, creating a lip.
   5. Colour 45g red and 22g blue sugarpaste. Thinly roll out red and cut squares from squares using the cutters. Cut in half to make ‘V’ shapes and stick around the wigwam creating a zigzag pattern. Thinly roll out blue and cut small squares, sticking in place following the zigzag pattern. Mark two line patterns using a knife. Using sugar glue, stick the cactus in place. Break the chocolate stick into three pieces and push gently into the top of the tipi.
   6. Colour 35g of cream sugarpaste and 7g brown. For the boy, model two teardrop shapes for hands, an oval nose and two ears, pressing in the centre of each to indent, then roll the remaining piece into an oval-shaped head. Stick the nose in place. Mark his smile by pressing in with the circle cutter. Stick in place with sugar glue.
   7. Thinly roll out blue trimmings and cut a strip for the head band and stick around his forehead. Model three teardrop shapes for the feathers using trimmings and press flat. Indent down the centre of each and gently cutlines either side. Stick on two oval-shaped eyes. Stick different sized pieces of brown sugarpaste over the boy’s head for his hair.