Vanilla Layer Cake with Cherry Berry Jam and Vanilla Bean Buttercream

I don’t know if you have heard, but apparently it is the Queen’s 90th birthday this year. Her actual birthday is in April but for some reason it is celebrated in June – perhaps hoping for better weather which is actually pretty unlikely at the moment. It is freaking COLD outside. But whether an actual or official birthday what the occasion calls for is, of course, cake! I was lucky enough to attend a Tesco royal cake decorating masterclass hosted by master pâtissier Eric Lanlard recently. Eric knows a thing or two about royal cakes, having delivered a cake for the Queen Mother’s birthday not so long ago. He has teamed up with Tesco to create a ‘Cake fit for a Queen‘ to help everyone celebrate and with two layers of pink velvet, a contrasting layer of chocolate sponge, raspberry conserve, white chocolate buttercream and prosecco flavoured buttercream roses he has definitely outdone himself.

Images above ©Tesco

Eric is always a very charming and engaging speaker and a font of helpful hints when it comes to cake decorating. I must say my cakes have a tendency to be lopsided and his advice to combat this is to bake the cake a day in advance and then level it just before you fill and frost it. Oh and don’t forget to put a little buttercream to stick the cake on your stand or plate to prevent those very entertaining ‘flying cake’ moments – I have had my share of those… Eric got us to decorate vanilla layer cakes and the results where very colourful – practically rave-like in some cases! My cake was very modest and tidy compared to the rest but it won Eric’s seal of approval as I was the lucky recipient of his latest baking book