White Chocolate and Pistachio Cake

First up, preheat the oven to 190°C/ 170°C Fan/ Gas Mark 5. Grease and line 3 x 8inch round cake tins. Break the White Chocolate into a bowl and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts stirring between each burst until melted. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Sift your flour and Baking Powder into a large bowl, and stir in the ground pistachios and sugar. Make a well in the centre of your dry mix. Gradually mix in the eggs, melted butter and milk until combined. Next, add the Almond Extract and melted White Chocolate. Finally add a few drops of the Green Colour Gel and mix through well add a few drops more colour until you have a lovely pastel shade of green. 

Equally divide your mixture between the cake tins, smooth the tops and bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes, until risen, firm to the touch and lightly golden. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes then turn on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Whilst your cake is cooling it’s time to make the buttercream; first up break the White Chocolate into a bowl and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring between each burst, leave to cool.

Pop your softened butter into a large bowl and beat until smooth and glossy, this is best down with an electric mixer. Add you icing sugar in 3 intervals, missing sure it is all combined after each addition. Pour in the melted chocolate and Vanilla Extract and whisk together until light and whipped.

Once your cake has cooled, cut off any domed tops of your sponges using a serrated knife. Pop your first layer of sponge on your cake board and spread over a layer of buttercream, sandwich the next sponge layer on top and repeat until your 3 sponges are stacked up. 

Next up the crumb coat, use a palette knife to smooth a thin layer of buttercream over the top and sides of your cake, then use a cake scraper or long palette knife to smooth out the buttercream. Chill your cake for 30 minutes. 

Whilst your cake is chilling it’s time to colour the remaining buttercream. Take a couple of spoonfuls and set aside for decorating the top of the cake. Divide the remaining buttercream in to 4 bowls and colour 3 of them a different shade of green and the final one a pastel yellow. 

Once your cake has chilled, pipe rings of buttercream around the cake starting with the darkest shade of green and finishing with the yellow. Use a cake scraper to smooth out the buttercream on the top and sides of the cake. Pop into the fridge to set the buttercream.

Whilst your cake is chilling, colour the remaining buttercream with the pink and violet colour gel. Pop the pink, purple and remaining green and yellow buttercream into separate piping bags fitted with a variety of star nozzle. 

Remove your cake from the fridge and pipe buttercream swirls on the top of your cake using the different coloured buttercream. Finish your cake with Wafer Daisies, chocolate eggs and mini bunnies. 

Ta-dah you are now ready to serve your showstopping Easter cake!