Sunny umbrella

1.Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced). Grease cake pan, line base and side with baking paper, extending paper 5cm above sides.

2.Make cakes according to directions on packets. Spread mixture into pan, bake about 45 minutes. Stand cake in pan 5 minutes before turning, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.

3.Level cake top, turn cake cut-side down. Using pattern from pattern sheet, cut top of umbrella from cake. Secure cake, cut-side down, on cake board with a little butter cream. Reserve remaining cake.

4.Using 3cm round cutter, cut eight rounds from reserved cake to make the umbrella’s handle.

5.To make the butter cream. Beat the butter (and any flavouring if using) in a small bowl with an electric beater until the butter is as white as possible. (This will result in a whiter buttercream which will give you better results if colouring it). Gradually beat in half of the sifted icing sugar, then the milk, then the remaining sifted icing sugar. Beat until the butter cream is smooth and spreadable. Keep scraping down the side of the bowl during beating.

6.Tint butter cream yellow, spread all over top, sides and scallops of the umbrella.

7.Working with one round of cake at a time, spread butter cream over the side of each round, roll the side in hundreds and thousands. Spread butter cream over tops of each round. Secure rounds on the cake board with a little butter cream, top with a freckle.

8.Decorate top of umbrella with remaining freckles and a bow.