Recipe

Broderie anglaise lace cake

Broderie anglaise, French for `English embroidery', is characterised by cutwork, lace and small eyelet patterns, just like we've used in this cake.

Mar 31, 2010 1:00pm
  • 1 hr preparation
  • Makes 1 Item
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Ingredients

Broderie anglaise lace cake
  • 20 centimetre (8-inch) square cake of choice
  • 15 centimetre (6-inch) square cake of choice
  • 25cm (10-inch) square wooden cake board
  • 15cm (6-inch) square wooden cake board
  • 1.6 kilogram (3¼ pounds) ready-made white icing
  • cornflour (cornstarch)
  • pink food colouring
  • 4 wooden skewers
  • 1 1/2 cup (240g) pure icing (confectioners’) sugar, approximately
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/4 teaspoon strained lemon juice
  • silver cachous

Method

Broderie anglaise lace cake
  • 1
    Trim cakes. Secure 20cm cake to largest board; secure small cake to remaining board. Prepare cakes for covering with ready-made icing.
  • 2
    Knead ready-made icing on surface dusted with a little cornflour until icing loses its stickiness. Roll 400g (12½ ounces) of icing on cornfloured surface until large enough to cover small cake. Using rolling pin, lift icing onto cake; smooth with hands then smoothing tools. Trim icing neatly around base of cake.
  • 3
    Use 550g (1 pound) of the icing to cover large cake in the same way. Dry cakes overnight.
  • 4
    Push trimmed skewers into centre of large cake to support the top tier. Secure small cake to large cake. Dry cakes overnight.
  • 5
    Use paint brush to lightly brush water around sides of cakes to cover where the pink bands of icing will be positioned.
  • 6
    Tint remaining icing pink, reserve one-third of the icing in plastic wrap.
  • 7
    Measure around large cake. Roll icing into a strip long enough to wrap around cake and wide enough to almost cover sides of cake. Using a ruler and knife, or pizza cutter, cut icing into a neat strip, almost as wide as the side of the cake. Lift into position around cake. Repeat with small cake.
  • 8
    Gently press frill cutter, at an angle, into top of pink icing to scallop edge; remove excess icing. Using eyelet and flower cutters, and picture as a guide, cut out or mark random shapes on the cakes. Use a pin to remove some of the cut pieces.
  • 9
    To make royal icing, sift the icing sugar through a fine sieve. Lightly beat the egg white in a small bowl with an electric mixer until mixture is just broken up; do not whip into peaks. Beat in the icing sugar, a tablespoon at a time, to get the required consistency. When icing reaches the right consistency, mix in the lemon juice using a wooden spoon.
  • 10
    Tint royal icing pink. Fit piping bag with tube. Half-fill bag with icing; pipe around scallop edges and some of the cut outs.
  • 11
    Using tweezers, attach cachous to cakes with a little royal icing.
  • 12
    Re-roll scraps of pink icing, cut out several flower shapes; insert pieces of floral wire into shapes, stand on baking-paper-covered tray to dry overnight. Position wired flowers on day of serving.

Notes

Equipment: 25cm (10-inch) square wooden cake board; 15cm (6-inch) square wooden cake board; 4 wooden skewers; medium artist's paint brush; tape measure & plastic ruler; scalloped-edge frill cutter; set of eyelet cutters; 1.5cm & 2cm (¾ inch) flower cutters; fine pearl-headed pin; small piping bag small (number 2); plain piping tube; tweezers; 22cm (8¾-inch) 20-gauge floral wire.

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