How to Bake a Union Jack Cake

* Round Cake Board

* Renshaw Ready to Roll Icing 250g - White, Navy Blue, Ruby Red

* 21cm Round Cake Pan x2

* Rolling Pin

* Knife

* 225g Unsalted Butter - Softened

* 225g Caster Sugar

* 2tsp Vanilla Extract

* 4 Large Eggs

* 200g Self-Raising Flour

* 25g Cornflour

* 3tbsp Milk

For Decorating

* 4tbsp Raspberry Jam

* 125g Unsalted Butter - Softened

* 400g Icing Sugar

* 3tbsp Milk

* 1tsp Vanilla Extract

* Cooled Boiled Water

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas mark 4.

Cream the butter and caster sugar and add one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Add the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour between each.

Fold in the rest of the self-raising flour and cornflour and when mixed in, add 3-4 tablespoons of milk.

Pour the batter into two 21cm round cake tins and bake for about 25 minutes (until a cake skewer comes out clean).

Put one layer of the cake on a cake board and spread the top with 4 tablespoons of raspberry jam.

Take half the prepared buttercream and spread on the bottom of the top layer of the cake.

Place the buttercream covered cake layer on top of the jam covered cake layer, sandwiching the buttercream and raspberry jam together.

Cover the cake with a thin layer of the remaining buttercream.

Lift the blue icing over the cake smoothing down the sides with the palm of your hand.

Trim excess icing.

Tip: To give a sheen to the surface, smooth with the palm of your hand.

Knead the white icing until pliable before rolling out. Lightly dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll out icing to desired thickness.

Cut two strips 3cm wide and long enough to go over the cake.

Place one of the strips across the cake. Trim at the base of the cake and stick to the blue icing with cooled boiled water. Place the second strip across the cake so it looks like a cross and again trim at the base of the cake.

Cut off the icing that overlaps with the first strip at the centre of the cross.

Cut a further two strips of white icing, each 1.5cm wide, and place and stick on a diagonal across the cake.

Trim at the base of the cake and cut off the overlapping white strips.

Repeat the process with the red icing. Cut the first two strips 1cm wide and the diagonal strips 1cm wide. Trim and stick on top of the white icing with cooled boiled water, again cutting off any overlaps.