Wimbledon strawberry cake recipe

1. Heat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Line a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking tin with nonstick baking paper.
2. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat well with an electric whisk for 4-5 minutes, until very light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Whisk in the vanilla. On a slow speed, add the flour in three batches, alternating with the milk. Pour the mixture into the tin, then spread with a knife so the mix is pushed well into the corners. Bake for 35 minutes or until the centre is firm to the touch. Leave in the tin until cold.
3. When the cake is completely cold, turn out onto a board and slice in half horizontally. Whisk the cream until thick but not stiff. Fold in the chopped strawberries. Spread the mixture over the base sponge and put the other sponge on top. Chill.
4. To make the tennis balls, roll out the yellow icing to 5mm (1/4 in) thick. Using a 4cm (1 1/2 in) round cutter, stamp out 6 rounds. Using the cutter, gently mark 2 semicircles on each to represent the lines on a tennis ball. Use the Tesco Designer white icing fitted with the plain nozzle to pipe over the markings.
5. To make the strawberries, roll out the red icing to 5mm (1/4 in) thick. Using a small heart-shaped cutter, stamp out 6 hearts. Gently soften the edge of each, and push into a strawberry shape. Using a plain piping nozzle or cocktail stick, dot to represent the seeds.
6. To make the hulls, take 25g (1oz) of the green icing and roll out. Using a small flower cutter, stamp out 3 flower shapes. Cut each flower in half, placing 1 on each strawberry. To make the stalks, roll a piece of green icing into a thin sausage, cut into 6 equal pieces and place 1 at the top of each hull.
7. For the tennis court, combine the remaining green icing with the white icing and knead together to get an even green colour. Remove the cake from the fridge. Warm the jam in a small pan, then brush over the cake. Roll out the green icing to a rectangle large enough to cover the cake. Lay the icing on top of the cake, pressing gently onto the sides. Trim any excess.
8. Using a little of the Designer white icing, attach the tennis balls and strawberries in alternate rows on top of the cake.
9. Make up the royal icing according to pack instructions. Add green gel food colouring. Put the icing into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Pipe ‘clumps’ of straight lines to represent grass in various places around the sides of the cake. Cut into squares to serve.

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