How to Make a Celebration Number Cake

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/320°f/Gas mark 3.

Prepare the cake tin by placing the required inserts in position and give the whole tin a coating of cake release.

Top Tip: If you don’t have cake release, grease the tin (and inserts) with butter and a light coating of flour – tip out any excess flour.

In a stand mixer, or using an electric hand whisk, beat together the sugar and butter/margarine until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time along with the vanilla extract. Finally, sieve in the flour and fold in until all of the flour is just incorporated.

Carefully pour the cake mix into the tin and spread out evenly, making sure to get right into the corners.

Bake in the oven for approximately 30 - 40 minutes or until a light golden brown and a cocktail stick or skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

When the cakes are baked, turn them out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool.

Use a long, serrated knife to split the cake in half. For the number ‘0’ cut off the four corners to make a more rounded shape.

Top Tip: chill the cakes in the fridge or freezer first to make cutting easier.

Place the bottom layer of cake on a cake board or serving board.

Fit a piping bag with a large round nozzle and load it up with vanilla frosting. Pipe rounds of frosting in rows all over the cake - you can experiment with different flavours, add jam or fruit curd or even drizzle with salted caramel!

Place the top layer of cake onto the piped frosting and repeat piping rounds in rows.

How to Make Meringue Kisses

Pre-heat the oven to 90°C fan/190°f and line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper.

Weigh two egg whites into a large metal bowl – you will need twice the weight in caster sugar. 

Top Tip: Make sure your bowl is clean, dry and free of grease or fat as this can hinder the egg whites achieving the required volume.

Whisk the egg whites in a stand mixer or with an electric whisk until it forms soft peaks. Add the sugar gradually (a spoonful at a time) until it is fully incorporated and the meringue is stiff and glossy. Add a small amount of gel food colouring and whisk again until you reach your desired shade. 

Top Tip: Rub a little of the meringue between your thumb and forefinger – it should feel smooth. If it still feels a bit gritty then whisk it some more until the sugar has fully dissolved.

Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with an open star nozzle.Pipe small meringue kisses and swirls onto the lined baking sheets. 

Top Tip: Use a small blob of meringue in each corner to stick the baking paper to the tray. Put the meringues in the oven to dry out for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, turn the oven off and leave the meringues inside with the door closed until they are cool, crisp and dry. Remove the meringues from the baking paper and store in an airtight container.

To complete the cake, decorate the top with your choice of fruit, meringues and sprinkles.

Top Tip: It's best to decorate the cake just before serving, to avoid the meringues absorbing any moisture from the fruit or frosting.