themed cake and cupcakes to go with it.

To make this cake you will need to make up one and a half times the sponge cake recipe

(the recipe details are on my howtocookthat.net website and the video on how to make sponge

cake is there too, I'll link to that below) and bake that in 12 cupcake cases and two

8" round cake tins.

Once the cakes are cooled level them and then cut out the pieces shown on the template.

Now I'm making this cake to serve 20 if you want it bigger just scale it up and use a

bigger round cake tin or make more cupcakes.

For the cupcakes roll out some white fondant and then cut out heart shapes.

Now you can either use a heart cutter or you can just use a knife and trace around a heart

shape.

Place each one over a cardboard roll that's covered with some non-stick baking paper and

shape it so it curves around like the bodice of a dress.

These will take a couple of days to harden so you can make them ahead of time.

Or if you're out of time, you can add tylose powder to them and the fondant will dry out

quicker.

Do the same with some pink fondant so that you have the two coloured dresses.

Take a cake board and place a wooden skewer through the centre.

Add some frosting to the base of the board.

This just keeps the cake from slipping, then add the first layer of cake.

And we've made this layer one in two halves so we could cut it all out of the two round

cakes without wasting too much excess cake.

Top that with more frosting - and I am just using my basic vanilla buttercream recipe

- that's on the website for you too.

Then add the next layer of cake.

And now the cake gets fatter here so we want to add some support on those skinny levels

so that it will balance on top.

So measure how tall the cake is and cut three cake pop sticks to size and poke them into

the cake.

They will just hold the cake board up.

Add some frosting, and then place the cake board on top, more frosting on that and then

the next layer of cake.

Then we want more frosting and continue with the next two layers of cake on top.

Now hold your template in front of the cake and lining it up with the shoulders, just

trim around the template.

Down the side and across the top of the shoulders on both sides.

Then just use your knife to shave off a tiny bit at the corners of the cuts you've just

made just to make it smooth and round like the waist of a ballerina.

Now add some frosting to the top and place a cupcake that you've cut the top off - and

put it upside down for the neck.

Now you want to cover the whole thing in frosting so that there is no cake visible.

Then use a piece of acetate to smooth it out around all of those curves and then place

that in the fridge for about an hour.

Warm the chocolate buttercream and place a teaspoon full on top of each cupcake.

Then using a piping tip like this, start at the centre and pipe out to the edge and back

in, turn, out in, turn, and keep doing that the whole way around the cupcake out and in

to make the ballerina skirts.

Take the cake out of the fridge and then add some fondant over the top smoothing it down

with your hands.

We are going to have the dress over the top of this so the fondant doesn't need to come

all the way down to the cake board.

Just over the top part of it.

This is like the manequins that dresses sit on in the shops so you can make this part

any colour you want - just make sure it's different enough from your dress so you have

a bit of contrast, that is why I made this quite pale.

Roll out some fondant for your dress and cut around the top following the line of the template

and when you get to the edge, just let your knife go straight across so that we have some

for the back of the dress that we can wrap around.

Slightly dampen the back of the fondant and then place it into place on the front of the

cake.

Position the top where you want it then wrap around the rest around the back.

At the back, squeeze it to together at the join and then use scissors to trim it off.

And using the scissors just helps to pinch it together.

Grab a ball of fondant and then just rub it gently to smooth out any imperfections or

any spots where you've bumped it as you were putting it on.

Roll some fondant so it's very thin and then gently make ruffles and add them down the

side.

I found using a cake pop stick really helped with this because it's just the right size

for making those ruffles and also for pushing it so it attaches to the cake.

Then cut a strip of white and add it down over the join of the ruffle just to neaten

that up on both sides.

Then add more strips criss-crossing across the front like laces.

Place the cake on top of your cake stand.

And roll out some white again, very thin, and add it around the base of the cake so

it completely covers the cake board and comes to the edge of your cake stand.

Once you have the first layer in place add a thinner strip, it doesn't need to go all

the way to the cake, and place them around just the edge just ruffling them as you go.

So this is probably about an inch thick, so we're not going all the way back so we use

less fondant.

Once you're happy with the amount of layers of ruffles that you have, add another strip

of fondant over the top and this one does need to come all the way to the body so it

makes it look like it is a full skirt.

For the cupcakes, use some of the royal icing and pipe dots along the top of the heart.

Then pipe two lines coming down and then another line criss-crossing across the body so it

matches the laces that are on the cake.

For some variety you might also like to pipe some that are different using swirls, and

you can just have fun wtih this and make it however you want.

I suggest you try and make them symmetrical so it looks like they're supposed to be like

that.

If you like you can also pipe some details along the top of the dress there just to make

it look pretty and also to bring it all together so it matches the cupcakes.

Add the hearts into the top of your cupcakes to make the mini ballerina dresses and add

them into place on the cake stand and it's party time!

Subscribe to How To Cook That for more crazy, sweet creations, click here for more cake

ideas, here for the recipe and here for macarons and sweet snacks

This cake was requested by: dancers dream big

it's pupz craftomatic

rachel dalisay lalita nurak

rubydoo 123 mckenzie sandstrom

jadeew lovley brianna Chavez

charlotte black magic

karly idstein morgan

And more...

Put all your requests in the comments below, make it a great week and I'll see you on Friday.