Plum Cake and Craft Sugar Flowers

Plum Cake and Craft Sugar Flowers Ingredients250 Gms Butter 250 Gms Sugar 5 Eggs ½ Tsp Vannila Essence 250 Gms Raisins 30 Gms Papaya 30 Gms Cherries 30 Gms Dates 30 Gms Sweet Lime 30 Gms Orange Peel ½ Tsp Caramel Colour Ingredients for Spice powder 1 Clove 1 Inch Cinnamon Stick 4 Cardamoms ½ Nutmeg Method Beat sugar and butter till creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating continuously. Then add the ground spice mixture and vanilla essence and beat again. In another bowl, sieve together half tsp of baking powder with maida. Add all the cut dry fruits, candied peels and nuts to the maida and mix thoroughly till the maida coats all the ingredients. With a light hand, fold in the maida mixture with the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Grease a baking dish and line it with butter paper. Pour this mixture into the baking dish and bake at 250-350 degrees for 10 minutes and then at 200 degrees for 2 hours. Ingredients for Gum Paste 12 Gms Gelatin 4 Tbsps Water 2 Tsps Liquid Glucose 500 Gms Icing Sugar Cornflour - Small Bowl (as required) Food Colour for Flower Painting MethodMix water and gelatin in a bowl and set aside for 10 minutes for it to bloom. Then melt the gelatin. In another pan, melt the liquid glucose till clear and add the gelatin to it, stirring continuously with the flame on. Transfer to a bowl and add icing sugar little at a time and knead to form a clay dough like consistency. To make sugar craft flowersRoll the gum paste dough out like a chappati using corn flour. Cut out a petal shape by using a cutter/ Press this petal on a vein mould to give the petal its veins. apply water to the bottom half of the petal and roll it to form a cone. Place on a  cone shaped mould to dry for 24 hrs. Cut out 3 small and 2 large petal. Pierce each of them them from the bottom with a wire and repeat the process with the vein mould. Use a blunt stick dipped in corn flower to press the edges of the round cut out in a back and forth movement to get a petal effect. Place these petals on a  rolling pin with the veins facing upward so that the petals take the curved shape of the rolling pin . Leave to dry for 24 hours. When dry place the cone shaped petal in the centre and the 3 small ones without he two large petals around it. Tie with a string till tightly bound. Paint with desired food colour using a little colour and using water to spread it on the whole petal. Leave to dry for half a day. Fondant icing and cake decoration Ingredients for fondant icing 12 Gms Gelatin 4 Tbsps Water 6 Tsps Liquid Glucose 500 Gms Icing Sugar Cornflour - Small Bowl (as required) Food Colour for Flower Painting MethodMix water and gelatin in a bowl and set aside for 10 minutes for it to bloom. Then melt the gelatin. In another pan, melt the liquid glucose till clear and add the gelatin to it, stirring continuously with the flame on. Transfer to a bowl and add citric solution and lemon juice. Then add icing sugar little at a time and knead to form a clay dough like consistency. To make fondant icing cake decoration Cover the top and the sides of the plum cake by rolling out 500 gms of marzipan. Use the rolling pin on the cake to get a smooth surface. Roll out the fondant icing and place it over the marzipan covered cake and smoother it on all sides. Roll out another fondant round. Use a scallop cutter to make the edges frilled like lace. Use a lace cutter to give the edges a hakoba lace effect. Place this on the fondant covered cake using a rolling pin to transfer the round fondant sheet from your working table to the cake. Decorate with flowers and present.