Valentine's Day Marble Cake

Let your loved one have their cake and eat it this Valentine's Day.  It really is a delicious cake so keep the recipe even for those times when you won't be getting the sugar paste out.

ingredients

vanilla mixture

125g butter, room temperature

125g sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

125g self raising flour

chocolate mixture

125g butter, room temperature

125g sugar

2 eggs, beaten

25g cocoa powder

100g self raising flour

method

Preheat the oven to 170c and grease and line a 20cm x 20cm tin

Cream the butter until pale and add the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.

Add the beaten eggs a little at a time and then the vanilla.

Mix the flour through to combine but be careful not over beat.

Repeat stage 1 but add the cocoa instead of the vanilla.

Pour the vanilla mixture into the tin and flatten out. Pour the chocolate mixture on top. Then, systematically go through with a spoon scooping the bottom layer onto the top layer, followed by dragging a fork through to create the marbled effect.

Bake for around 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

When completely cool, cut out 2 smaller and 2 larger circles of the sponge cake. Sandwich the small ones with butter cream and repeat with the larger ones. Now cover each with butter cream.

Roll out the white sugar paste and cover each cake separately, smoothing down the edges. Place the small cake on the top of the larger cake and then pipe royal icing around the join.  Once dried (at least a few hours) paint with gold lustre that has been mixed with a few drops of alcohol.  To make the roses make 5 small balls of sugar paste and then flatten each one inside a freezer bag. Use them one at a time and curl each petal around the last. CUt off the bottom to make a flat 'seat' and position on your cake. They will harden overnight and you could even reuse them (if your Valentine is willing to give them back!).