Designed by Marie-Louis Guy and Callie Maritz, Cakebread Studio, this was definitely a bake to remember. 

Three-tiered celebration cake of condensed milk sponge with ice cream sugar cone lining, cloud cake, whipped milk jam, Isomalt crystals, Italian meringue buttercream frosting, rice paper frills, strawberry swirls and fondant bluebird in flight.

Here is how you can replicate this masterpiece:

Condensed Milk Sponge

1 can (385 g) condensed milk 

5 Hermes sugar cones 

285 g unsalted butter, softened

150 g sugar

5 eggs, large

 5 ml vanilla essence

15 ml lemon juice

zest of 2 lemons

280 g cake flour 

10 g baking powder

5 g salt 

5 regular ice cream cones, pink

Cloud Cake

Reserved batter

Pink colourant

5 ml of bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to 180 °C

• Pour condensed milk into a bowl, set aside. Wash the can and use it as a cake tin for the top tier.
• Grease and line the condensed milk can (7.5 cm) and 2 x 12.5 cm cake tins.
• Grease the 10 cm cake tin.
• Briefly dip the sugar cones in hot water. Unfold, then line the 10 cm cake tin with the cones. Brush the inside with melted butter. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove, allow to cool.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
• Add the eggs one at a time, remembering to scrape down the sides regularly. Add in the vanilla essence, condensed milk, lemon juice and zest. Mix to combine.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold into the batter. 
• Roughly crumble the regular ice cream cones and stir into the batter.
• Spoon the batter into the 4 prepared baking tins. Remember to reserve some of the batter for the cloud cake. (Reserve the remaining batter for the cloud cake).
• Bake until golden and the centres of the cakes spring back when gently pressed.
• Make the cloud cake by adding pink colourant and 5 ml of bicarbonate of soda

to the reserved batter. Spoon the batter into a greased ramekin. Microwave on full power for two minutes or until set. Allow to cool.

• Invert the oven-baked cakes onto a wire rack and let cool. Turn out, then cool completely using the blast chiller.

Whipped Milk Jam

Note: If filling separates while whisking, rectify by adding a spoon or two of icing sugar.

1 sheet gelatine

about 25 ml water

250g butter, softened 

200 g icing sugar

1 can (360g) Caramel Treat

30 ml Cremora

5 ml vanilla essence

smoked sea salt

pink peppercorns 

• In a microwave-safe bowl, allow the gelatine to bloom in the water. Microwave until melted. 
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, cream together the butter and icing sugar until light in colour.
• Add the Caramel Treat. Beat until light and airy.
• Add the Cremora and vanilla essence. Mix to combine.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the melted gelatine in a steady stream.
• Whisk until fluffy and well combined. 
• Refrigerate until used.

Isomalt crystals

250 ml Isomalt

62,5 ml water

Colour gel

In a clean pot, combine the Isomalt and water. Bring to a boil over medium to high heat. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Do not stir, to prevent crystallisation. Simmer uncovered until temperature on a candy thermometer reads 160 °C. Remove from the heat. Pour out onto a silicone baking mat. Allow to set, then shatter it into small crystals.

Assembly

Note: Cutting all the cake layers in half will speed up the cooling time.

• Cut each of the cakes in half. Allow to cool.
• Pipe a 2 cm thick layer of the whipped milk jam onto the bottom half of each of the layers.
• Sprinkle each with smoked salt and freshly ground pink peppercorns.
• Sandwich together the 2 cut layers of the condensed milk can.
• Sandwich together the 2 cut layers of the sugar cone tin.
• Sandwich together the 4 layers baked in the12.5 cm tins.
• Following your colour chart, colour the provided Italian meringue buttercream Frost in your choice of blush, taffy or lemonade.
• Cover each of the 3 cake layers with the frosting. Smooth the frosting and ensure crisp edges.
• Decorate the bottom tier with pink vertical rice paper frills.
• Fold each sheet of rice paper into a concertina shape, about 2 cms wide. Trim to size. It should come to about 2 cm above the bottom tier.
• Use the zig-zag pinking scissors to cut a pattern. Spritz with coloured water. Attach vertically on the cake, using buttercream as glue. Repeat until the cake is covered all around.
• Splat technique: Using a palette knife, add 5 random smears of buttercream to the 2 top tiers. Dab with baking paper, then pull off to create texture. Refrigerate cake until used again.
• Pipe 5 strawberry swirl buttercream shapes onto a baking sheet. Stick each onto the cake where you created the buttercream textures. Add Isomalt crystals to the centre of each to resemble Jolly Jammers.
• Add the remaining crystals all around the top edge of the bottom tier.
• Tear off a cloud shape piece from the cloud cake. Attach the cloud on top of the upper tier using buttercream.
• Insert the skewer of the fondant bird into the cake in such a way as to show the bird in flight.

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