Serves 20
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For the red velvet sponge

For the buttercream

To decorate

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 ̊C/160°C fan/gas mark 4. Line three deep 20cm cake tins with non-stick parchment paper.
  2. For the red velvet sponge, in a large bowl, sieve together all the dry ingredients. 
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, eggs, buttermilk, food colouring, vinegar and vanilla extract. Whisk them together using an electric, handheld whisk for at least two minutes so they are mixed well and aerated.
  4. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing after each addition. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl regularly to be sure all the ingredients are well mixed.
  5. Split the batter evenly amongst the cake tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer is inserted and comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
  6. For the buttercream, in a large bowl, beat together all of the ingredients until smooth. Add a splash of milk if the icing is too thick. Set aside 80g buttercream for piping later.
  7. To assemble the cake, place one sponge onto a cake board or serving plate, using a teaspoon of buttercream on the board to help the cake stick. Spread on some of the buttercream and add the next sponge on top. Repeat this step.
  8. Using a palette knife or offset spatula, spread the buttercream over the top and sides of the cake, making sure to fill in any gaps. There will be crumbs in the icing, so place the cake into the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
  9. Once set, spread over more buttercream to cover any crumbs and smooth out the buttercream.
  10. To cover the cake with fondant, knead 800g fondant until elastic. Add a few drops of pink or red food colouring and knead until the colour is full distributed. Roll the fondant on a surface dusted with cornflour or icing sugar, working quickly to stop it from dying out. Lift the fondant and drop it onto the cake.
  11. Smooth the fondant around the top edge first, then stretch and pull the fondant around the edges until all the sides are smooth. Use a cake smoother to smooth the rest of the cake. Trim around the edge of the cake and set the cake aside.
  12. To decorate the cake, take 150g of white fondant and knead until soft. Dust your surface with icing sugar or corn flour and roll out until 2-3mm thick. Using a sharp knife, cut out a wiggly shape. Add some water to the top of the cake which will glue the top down.
  13. For the sprinkles, colour four small balls of fondant with various colours. Roll these fondant balls out to 2mm thick and cut out small strips. Add a little water on to the cake and stick your sprinkle strands on all over the top of the cake.
  14. For the sides of the cake, take 50g of fondant and knead in some yellow food colouring. Knead in the food colouring until you reach the desired colour. Roll the fondant into a thin sausage. Brush the side of the cake with some water and ripple the sausage of fondant around the side of the cake.
  15. Using any scrap pink fondant, knead in some red food colouring until a deep red shade. Take some of the red fondant and roll into a sausage, using some more water on the side of the cake, ripple the red fondant on top of the yellow. Reserve the remaining red fondant for the cherries.
  16. For the top of the cake, take the remaining 50g of white fondant, knead and roll into a sausage. Make some small coils of fondant and using some water, stick them around the top edge of the cake, there should be about 12.
  17. Using the excess red fondant, roll them into small balls and stick them to the top of the coils of fondant so they look like cherries.
  18. Store the cake in a cool, dry place.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving: 458kcals, 26.7g fat (9.8g saturated), 53.8g carbs (40.2g sugars), 3g protein, 0.6g fibre, 0.271g