How To Make A Stunning Stained Glass Cake

Feb 5

Feb 5 How To Make A Stunning Stained Glass Cake

So many changes happening this week! And to kick it all off I have the perfect Galentines cake for you to show the amazing women in your life just how much you love them.

But first I probably owe you an explanation for the change of address. So, anyone that's been with me from the start will remember that when I started blogging I covered cakes and crafting, specifically for throwing handmade parties. Everything from transforming old vinegar bottles into vases, papier mache crowns and even paper flowers. But, as the weeks went on I was only really excited by the upcoming cakes, everything else just became filler and that's no good. Which was I decided I should focus solely on my real passion, cake decorating. At the time I knew that the name Wrap Champion no longer really fit. It bugged me too that I was some white British chick punning off rap music like, come on, I had a cheek. Turns out though, changing your website name after you've been blogging for 6 months isn't so easy. There's a lot to do and it takes blooming ages. But, thankfully we're finally here! Whoop whoop!

So, let me be the first to introduce you to my new home... Icing Insight. A place for me to give everyone a little window into the lessons every new cake brings. It's clear, it matches what I do and it lets me keep up my cookie lessons alongside cake decorating because they both need icing. Over the next few weeks, I can't wait to see how it evolves now it's live, Stay tuned!

Now for the cake. I love love love Galentines Day! I mean let's face it, most of the guys in our past we'd have been better off without but the women? Hell no! The women in my life are the reason I'm standing here today rather than rolled up in a duvet burrito refusing to see the outside world. Which is why I chose a stained glass design for this little beauty. For every man that's broken my heart into pieces, there have been 5 women standing by to solder it back together. And every time they do, I get a little bit stronger. Even when I'm in a different country or living in a different city, these women will Whatsapp my ass until I'm feeling like a bad ass bitch again. So, if you've taken me out dancing to distract me, or picked me up in the middle of the night because I've had a fight with a boyfriend, or held in your laugh when I whipped an entire toilet roll from my hoodie because I knew how many tears were coming or if you told me I deserved better and that I was worthy until I believed it then this cake is for you. I am endlessly grateful. I owe you all my life and I'm so happy you're in the world.

My lessons this week were pretty awesome. I discovered that tylose doesn't just help fondant dry a little harder but it improves the texture too. This time, I kneaded a little tylose and a little butter into my fondant before rolling it and oh my god, it was so much easier to handle. I honestly can't stress enough how big a difference it made. Every cake from now, I'll be pulling out this little trick. Game changed!

What You'll Need

2 chocolate cakes (you can find my recipe here)

250g butter

500g icing sugar

3tbsp raspberry jam

1tsp vanilla extract

500g purple fondant

250g pink fondant

150g grey fondant

Splash of vodka

Method

Bake the chocolate cakes in 6-inch cake pans. When cool, cut each into 2 layers, wrap in cling film and place in the freezer for 2 hours
In a large bowl, mix together 250g of butter, 500g of icing sugar and 1tsp of vanilla. It's really important that the butter is at room temperature otherwise it's very difficult to know when the icing is at the right consistency. We want it quite thick so it holds the shape well. If you need to thicken it add more icing sugar, if you need to thin it a splash of milk will do the job
Build the cake on a stand or plate with a layer of frosting and a tbsp of raspberry jam between each piece. I love adding jam to cakes because the sharpness helps to offset the sweetness of the frosting
When all the layers have been added, place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes
Once the cake has chilled, apply a crumb coat of frosting to the entire outside, smooth down and place in the fridge for another 30 minutes
Apply a second coat of frosting, this time be really careful to smooth everything down, any lumps or bumps now will show through the frosting later and spoil the lines
Pop it in the fridge for another 30 minutes. Chilling it now will help it to stiffen up and stay smooth while we're applying the fondant
While it's chilling, make a heart template from parchment paper and sketch out a rough guide inside for each pane of 'glass'
Once the cake has cooled, place the heart template on the front and mark the outline into the frosting
Colour the pink frosting until you have 3 different shades
Roll these flat one at a time. Lay the heart template on top and score in the outline of a pane of 'glass', this will be your guide. Remove the parchment and cut around where you made the indent
Mist the cake with vodka and place the first piece of the heart on to the cake, gently smoothing it out. Use the template as a reference to help place the fondant in the right spot
Repeat until the heart is complete. Remember that there should be some spaces between each pane for the solder
As you near the end it may become more difficult to stick to the template. If this should happen, use a knife to carefully cut away any excess fondant once it's on the cake, that way you can better see where to shape it
Colour the purple fondant until you have 3 different shades, light to dark

Repeat the same process as the heart but this time, the individual panes can be bigger and the spaces between each should be bigger too
Cut each pane roughly the shape you want it then, once it's on the cake you can trim it to better fit the space. If the frosting feels too dry at any point, or the fondant doesn't hold, re-mist with vodka

When the cake is fully covered, it's time to fill in the solder. Roll the grey icing into thin ropes
Use a paintbrush to wet the gaps with vodka and place the ropes of grey fondant into them, use a knife to snip either end to the right length and remove the excess
Press gently to flatten them slightly
Repeat until the entire cake is filled

And you're done! Now all that's left to do is to call up the amazing women in your life and tell them to get moving cos you're putting the kettle on for tea and cake.