How to make adorable miniature iced cakes

Miniature cakes are extremely popular at the moment.

Not only do they look adorable but, because of their little size, they help those of us who might be watching our waistlines and / or our pockets. 

These small luxuries can help celebrate any occasion. A stack of miniature cakes along with a single, 6 inch cake tier would be a lovely alternative to a traditional tiered wedding cake.

Here is my guide to making miniature cakes covered in marzipan and sugarpaste. Ideas to decorate these mini cakes will follow over the coming days and weeks.

You will need:

A cake, icing sugar, apricot jam, marzipan, boiled water or clear alcohol, a little white vegetable fat such as Trex and sugarpaste.

Fruit cake, icing sugar, apricot jam and marzipan

You will also need the following equipment:

Spacers, smoothers, templates, measuring tape, cake board, pizza wheel cutter, brush,  palette knife, rolling pin

1) Start by making the cake templates. Round, square, heart-shaped, hexagonal are all great shapes. I made a selection of templates, all about 4.5cm wide.

2) Place the template onto your cake and slice carefully with a sharp knife, being careful to cut neatly so that the final cakes will be lovely and smooth. This is a little tricky if your cake's a fruit cake, but don’t worry if you do have a few lumps and bumps, any gaps can be “filled” with marzipan so that the finished cakes will be perfect.

3) Place your cake onto a small board and coat your cake with the apricot glaze (this is just apricot jam which has been heated till it just starts to bubble, which is then sieved and cooled). This acts as a glue for the marzipan

4) Sprinkle your work surface and rolling pin with a little icing sugar, using a shaker if you have one. Kneed the marzipan, this releases all the oils. Roll out about 250g of marzipan between a pair of spacers – these ensure the marzipan is an even thickness and also thick enough so ensure it doesn’t tear. When you roll out the marzipan, roll in one direction then give it a small turn after each roll, this will make sure you roll it in a nice round shape.

5) Lay the marzipan over the cake. If it is a square cake, tuck in the corners first, then shape the rest around the cake.

6) Cut off the excess marzipan using a pizza wheel, cutting in quite close, leaving only a 1mm edge.

7) Dust a smoother with icing sugar and use it to "polish" the sides and top of your cake.

8) Leave the covered cake for 24 hours to dry.

9) Brush the marzipan with (cooled) boiled water or a clear spirit (again, this acts as a glue).

10) Rub a (very!!) tiny amount of white vegetable fat (eg Trex) onto your surface and rolling pin. Kneed then roll out the sugarpaste using spacers to create the right thickness. As with the marzipan, turn a small amount after rolling to keep paste in a nice round shape.

11) Place the sugarpaste over the cake. Tuck down at each corner by forming a cup shape with your hands.

12) Cut off the excess sugarpaste with a pizza wheel and "polish" with a pair of smoothers.

And that’s it! Your cakes are now ready to decorate!