showstopper bakes

This Swedish layer cake is great fun - bright green and full of custard, jam, marzipan, and a mound of whipped cream! 

Equipment and preparation: for this recipe you will need a piping bag with a 1cm/½in plain nozzle, a medium star nozzle, a 23cm/9in springform tin and a sugar thermometer. 

Prinsesstårta

600 milliliters/20fl oz milk

vanilla

grams/3½oz caster sugar

grams/1¾oz cornflour

unsalted butter

raspberries

jam sugar

eggs

150 grams/5½oz caster sugar

grams/2½oz cornflour

75 grams/2½oz plain flour

tsp baking powder

grams/1¾oz butter, melted

pink ready-to-roll icing

icing sugar,

750 milliliters/1⅓ pints double cream

dark chocolate (36% cocoa solids), melted

almonds

250 grams/9 ounces icing sugar,

medium free-range eggs, beaten

almond extract

green food colouring paste (do not use liquid food colouring)

Jaffa cakes are no where near as tricky to make at home as you might think. The only fiddly bit is making the chocolate look perfect – but they're still great if you just spoon it over.

For this recipe you will need a 5cm/2in round biscuit cutter, a 30x20cm/12x8in baking tray and a 12-hole shallow bun tin.


Mary Berry’s jaffa cakes

orange jelly

milliliters/5fl water

orange,

unsalted butter,

caster sugar

grams/1 ounces self-raising flour, sifted

180 grams/6¼oz plain chocolate (about 36% cocoa solids)

An incredibly pretty French cake filled with delicious strawberries and crème pâtissière. Tricky to achieve but certain to impress.

Fraisier cake

grams/4½oz caster sugar

free-range eggs

lemons, zest only, finely grated

grams/4½oz self-raising flour,

unsalted

vanilla pod

free-range eggs, plus 2 free-range egg yolks

sugar

kirsch

grams/3½oz cornflour

150 grams/5½oz butter,

75 grams/2¾oz caster sugar

lemons, juice only

marzipan

dark chocolate,

strawberries

Surprise your friends (and indeed yourself) with a batch of these homemade fondant fancies. Plus there’s plenty of fun to be had choosing your own colours and flavours.

Equipment and Preparation: You will need a piping bag, free-standing mixer and a 20cm/8in square tin.

Mary Berry's fondant fancies

flour

225 grams/8 ounces baking spread butter

lemon, grated rind only

250 grams/9 ounces unsalted butter,

icing sugar

apricot jam

white fondant icing

150 milliliters/5fl oz water

food colouring (any colour)

flavouring (any flavouring)

grams/3½oz chocolate

This salted caramel sponge is layered with salted caramel frosting for complete decadence. 

Equipment and preparation: You will need 3 x 18cm/7in cake tins.


Salted caramel cake 

250 grams/9 ounces unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

100 grams/3½oz golden caster sugar

100 grams/3½oz soft light brown sugar

golden syrup

eggs,

vanilla bean paste

½ tsp sea salt flakes,

100 milliliters/3½fl oz milk

grams/4½oz soured cream

sea salt flakes

425–450 grams/15 ounces–1lb icing sugar, sifted

milk

salt

Funfetti cake is a birthday cake that’s sure to impress. This recipe is fairly straight-forward to make too – you could even whip it up with the help of your kids. 

For this recipe you will need 4 x 20cm/8in sandwich cake tins (approximately 4cm/1.5in deep), a 20cm/8in and a 30cm/12in cake board, two non-slip cake mats trimmed to about 18cm/7in and 25cm/10in diameter, a turntable, a cake side scraper and a medium piping bag with a large star-shaped nozzle. 

Funfetti cake

400 grams/140z caster sugar

tbsp vanilla extract

400 grams/14 ounces self-raising flour,

90 grams/3¼oz multi-coloured sprinkles

salted butter,

milk,

120 grams/4½oz of pastel sprinkles

pink food colouring

You can't beat a classic cake - and Mary's crowd pleasing chocolate gâteau makes a wonderful make-ahead dessert for special occasions.

Mary's Black Forest gâteau

grams/3½oz self-raising flour, sifted

grams/1¾oz cocoa powder, sifted

750 milliliters/1⅓ pint double cream, whipped

150 grams/5½oz white chocolate

250 grams/9 ounces plain chocolate (about 46% cocoa solids)

cherries

Nadiya's chocolate caramel flan (or chocoflan) magically inverts itself in the oven, when the crème caramel rises to the top. 

Chocolate caramel flan

grams/4½oz shop-bought salted caramel sauce

softened, butter

brown sugar

free-range egg

cocoa powder

tsp bicarbonate of soda

tbsp coffee granules

230 milliliters/8fl oz full-fat milk

600 milliliters/20fl oz evaporated milk

tin condensed milk

This chocolate drip cake is the ultimate birthday treat for chocolate fans.

For this recipe you will need four 20cm/8in sandwich cake tins (approximately 4cm/1.5in deep), a 20cm/8in and a 30cm/12in cake board, two non-slip cake mats trimmed to about 18cm/7in and 25cm/10in diameter, a cake side scraper and a medium piping bag with a large star-shaped nozzle. 

Chocolate drip cake

400 grams/14 ounces plain flour,

1½ tsp baking powder

1½ tsp baking soda

270 milliliters/½ pint milk

300 grams/10½oz dark soft brown sugar

300 grams/10½oz caster sugar

free-range eggs, beaten

double cream

250 grams/9 ounces salted butter,

chocolate,

grams/1½oz salted butter

sunflower oil

grams/3½oz chocolate,

Edible gold lustre dust, for dusting the dark chocolate shards

This is a great chilled dessert to feed a crowd, and impress them too. Often egg yolks are left over after making meringue, but here they’re used to make lemon curd and to give a luxurious filling.
This recipe makes more lemon curd than you need to fill the roulade. The extra can be stored in a jar, and given as a homemade Easter present.
Equipment: You will need an electric mixer.

Lemon meringue roulade with pistachio

free-range egg whites

grams/1¾ oz shelled pistachio nuts, finely chopped

100 grams/3½oz butter, softened

lemons, juice and finely grated zest

300 milliliters/10fl oz double cream,

Mary Berry bakes her Lemon and Pistachio Meringue Roulade for her Easter feast.

Lemon and Pistachio Meringue Roulade

Oh boy! Chocolate, cheesecake – what’s not to like? And everyone knows that Belgian chocolate is the best in the world. Just thinking about this makes us weak at the knees – not one for the faint hearted.

Chocolate cheesecake

full-fat cream cheese

200 milliliters/⅓ pint soured cream

sunflower oil,

300 grams/10½oz chocolate oat biscuits

butter, melted

Belgian chocolate truffles

white chocolate, for grating, or icing sugar

This is an American-style pie with a spicy chilli twist! With salted caramel and chocolate mousse in the centre, this makes a showstopper dessert. 

Chocolate and chilli mousse pie

dark chocolate biscuits,

grams/5½oz butter

sea salt

red chillies,

450 milliliters/16fl oz double

cocoa nibs

150 grams/5½oz golden caster sugar

water

75 grams/2¾oz macadamia nuts, chopped

200 milliliters/7fl oz double cream

tbsp icing sugar

lime,

chilli powder

This pretty piñata cake is fantastic for a birthday or a special occasion. It's filled with jelly beans for a burst of colour when the cake is cut into, but you can use whatever sweets you like.

You will need 4 x 20cm/8in cake tins, a large piping bag fitting with a large star nozzle (to make the swirls that sit on the top) and a 8–9cm/3¼–3½in round biscuit cutter (or a small bowl to cut around).

Piñata cake

280 grams/10 ounces unsalted butter,

icing sugar, sifted

1–2 tbsp full-fat milk

red gel or paste food colouring

raspberry jam

jelly beans (or sweets of your choice)

tbsp pink cake sprinkles,

tbsp white chocolate shapes,

This dinosaur-themed children’s birthday cake is perfect for your next celebration. A sumptuous red velvet cake hides underneath the chocolate volcano, and the coconut grass, edible rocks, chocolate lava and fondant dinosaur make this a real showstopper. Get step by step instructions and pictures for <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/birthday_party_cakes">how to make this dinosaur cake</a> and other fun party cakes.

For this recipe you will need 4 x 20cm/8in sandwich cake tins (approximately 4cm/1½in deep), a 25cm/10in and a 40cm/16in cake board or large serving platter and a couple of wooden skewers.

Top 14 showstopper bakes recipes from across the web

The most viewed showstopper bakes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Prinsesstårta

Mary Berry’s jaffa cakes

Fraisier cake

Mary Berry's fondant fancies

Salted caramel cake

Funfetti cake

Mary's Black Forest gâteau

Chocolate caramel flan

Chocolate drip cake

Lemon meringue roulade with pistach...

Chocolate cheesecake

Chocolate and chilli mousse pie

Piñata cake

Dinosaur volcano cake

Top 14 showstopper bakes recipes from across the web

The most viewed showstopper bakes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Prinsesstårta

Mary Berry’s jaffa cakes

Fraisier cake

Mary Berry's fondant fancies

Salted caramel cake

Funfetti cake

Mary's Black Forest gâteau

Chocolate caramel flan

Chocolate drip cake

Lemon meringue roulade with pistach...

Chocolate cheesecake

Chocolate and chilli mousse pie

Piñata cake

Dinosaur volcano cake

The most viewed showstopper bakes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine