Tennis court birthday cake

1.Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease deep 26cm x 36cm baking dish; line base and sides with baking paper, extending paper 5cm above sides.

2.Make cakes according to directions on packets. Spread mixture into dish; bake about 1 hour. Stand cake in dish 5 minutes before turning, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.

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

4.Level cake top; secure cake, cut-side down, on cake board with a little butter cream. Tint butter cream brown; spread all over cake.

5.Knead ready-made icing on surface dusted with a little sifted icing sugar until icing loses its stickiness; tint blue. Roll icing on surface dusted with sifted icing sugar until large enough to cut out a 15cm x 32.5cm rectangle; carefully centre rectangle on cake.

6.Cut ribbon into 4 x 32.5cm, 2 x 11.6cm, 2 x 15cm and 1 x 17.4 cm lengths to make lines on tennis court. Brush backs of ribbons lightly with egg white; press onto court, as pictured. Secure net onto cake with toothpicks.

7.Melt dark chocolate and white chocolate, separately; cool slightly. Cut 4 x 10cm pieces from licorice strap. Pipe `Happy Birthday’ on two of the straps using white chocolate. Join remaining pieces to back of signs, along top edges, with dark chocolate. Outline with red licorice strips. Position on cake.

8.Draw four tennis racquets on baking paper; pipe dark chocolate for racquet frame. Pipe racquet strings with white chocolate. When set, peel off paper and wrap narrow strips of fruit Roll-Ups around racquet handles. Position on cake with small mints for balls.

9.To make umpire’s chair, cut two 2cm pieces of black licorice strap. Push two toothpicks through back of licorice seat, and attach the other piece of licorice for chair back, as pictured. Push another two toothpicks for front legs. Position chair on cake.

10.Place Mint Slice in one corner; attach two mint leaves with a little melted dark chocolate. Skewer remaining mint leaves with toothpicks; position along the back of the cake.