White Rabbit, Rose & Lemon Marble Cake

Welcome to the recipe for White Rabbit, Rose & Lemon Marble Cake! There's no need to give this cake too much description, as the White Queen did such a good job of it in the Mad Tea Party post. Suffice to say it is a delicious and oh so pretty party cake, with a moist flavoursome crumb, and a psychedelic glamour all of its own.

Recipe
My own
Serves 10-12


For the white chocolate rabbits and roses:
approx 350g white chocolate, broken into pieces


1. Make the chocolate rabbits and roses in advance. Gently melt 250g of the chocolate over a bain mairie, a heatproof bowl over a pan of just simmering water. Stir the chocolate, and when melted, add the extra 100g, taking it off the heat but continuing to stir until melted.

2. When all the white chocolate has melted smoothly, carefully spoon it into the silicone moulds (I got roses one from Lakeland; the rabbit one from Baked & Delicious magazine). Place the filled moulds on a plate in the fridge for half an hour, before unmoulding. Don't touch them too much when unmoulding as the heat of your hands may soften them. When unmoulded, place the mice back in the fridge on a plate until ready to use.


for the marble cake:
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
250g caster sugar
250g self raising flour
4 eggs
1 large drop of rose water, for rose batter
1 large drop of lemon extract, for lemon batter
1 pin prick pink colour tint paste, for rose batter, I used Ruby by SugarFlair
1 pin prick yellow colour tint paste, for lemon batter, I used Primrose by SugarFlair


3.Turn the oven to 180C (160C fan oven). Grease a 20cm round baking tin and line the bottom with baking paper.

4. Cream butter and sugar together for at least 3 minutes in a large bowl until fluffy.

5. Add the first egg and a tablespoon of the flour, and beat well until smooth. Repeat the process with the other two eggs one after the other, adding a little flour with each and beating until smooth.

6. Then divide the batter evenly into two bowls. To one half of the batter add the lemon flavouring and the yellow colouring, and mix together gently with a metal spoon.

7. To the second bowl of batter, add the rose flavouring and the pink colouring, mixing until combined as before.

8. Dollop spoonfuls of each batter, one after the other, into the prepared baking tin. When all the mixture has been used up, swirl once around the spoonfuls of batter with a skewer.


9. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes. You'll know it's done when a skewer comes out clean.

10. Remove from the oven and leave the cake in its tin for 20 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack or a plate to cool.


for the icing (this makes more than enough, so there'll be spoonfuls of leftovers for licking!):
500g icing sugar
160g unsalted butter, room temperature
50ml whole milk
2 drops vanilla extract

11. Once the cake is cool, you can make the icing. Slowly beat the icing sugar and butter together using a food mixer or a handheld electric whisk until they are well combined.


12. In a separate bowl, mix the milk and vanilla together.

13. Add a couple of spoonfuls at a time of the vanilla milk to the icing, mixing well.

14. When all the vanilla milk has been added, beat the mixture quickly, and continue beating for a minimum of 6 minutes, until the icing is fluffy and light.

15. When you're happy with the consistency of the icing, spread it over the top and sides of the cake with a spatula or palette knife.

16. Before the icing starts to harden, quickly place the white chocolate rabbits and roses into the icing, pressing them in firmly so that they stay put. Place the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes, then take out at least 5 minutes before serving at room temperature.

This cake was idly baked while listening to Edith Sitwell sing William Walton's Facade