How To Make A Sweetie Cake Using All Of Your Favourite Sweets And Chocolates

Image © Polina Tankilevitch, under a Creative Commons license.

Got a special birthday coming up and looking for a cake that will wow the kids?

Nothing looks more spectacular than seeing all of your favourite sweets and chocolates piled up high on a delicious birthday cake. This will be the one cake that children certainly won't forget in a hurry.

There's no such thing as too much with this candy cake recipe. We'll tell you how to make a sweet cake and then it's up to you to have fun making this show-stopping birthday cake, letting your creative side run wild whilst decorating. Both kids and adults alike will enjoy this For more kids' cakes inspiration take a look at these sweet cake ideas: This magical mermaid cake will be a sure-fire hit and this hedgehog cake is too cute!

Image © Tetiana Bykovets, under a Creative Commons license.

For the sponge cake: 225g self-raising flour (sifted) 225g softened unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing), 225g caster sugar, 4 large eggs (beaten), 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp milk.

For the buttercream: 200g unsalted butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 400g icing sugar (sifted).

For the filling and decoration: 5 tbsp strawberry conserve and a selection of sweets and chocolates. Anything goes so go wild and pick all your favourites. Our suggestions include chocolate fingers, fizzy laces, Haribo, flying saucers, smarties, love hearts, kinder eggs and milk chocolate buttons.

2 x 20cm round sandwich tins, electric whisk, mixing bowl, baking paper, palette knife, cake stand, wire rack.

Image © cottonbro, under a Creative Commons license.

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC, fan 160ºC, gas 4.
2. Grease 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins and then line them with baking paper.
3. To make the sponge, place the flour, eggs, butter, milk, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Beat together with an electric whisk for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Although an electric whisk is best, you can also use a wooden spoon to hand beat the mixture.
4. Next divide the cake mixture evenly between the two prepared cake tins and gently level the surfaces using a spatula or the back of a spoon.
5. Bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes. They should be risen, golden and springy to the touch. Take out of the oven and leave in the tins for 5 minutes before turning out the sponges onto a wire rack and leaving to cool down completely.
6. Whilst the sponges are cooling you can make the buttercream. Put the butter and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until soft. Gradually sift in the icing sugar and beat until creamy and smooth.
7. Once the sponge is completely cooled, choose the cake with the best top and put to one side. Spread 1/4 of the buttercream onto the other sponge followed by the jam. Place the sponge you set aside on top and press together gently.
8. Put the cake on a cake stand and spread the rest of the buttercream in a thick layer around the sides and on top of the cake using a palette knife to create a smooth finish.
9. Now for the fun bit... decorating! You could use either chocolate fingers or KitKats placed vertically around the edge of the cake. This not only looks great but will help keep your sweet cake toppings in place. Next pile your chocolate finger cake high with sweets and chocolate. You can spend some time arranging and rearranging the sweets so don't worry if you're not quite happy with it at first.

Image © Joanna Kosinska, under a Creative Commons license.

-For extra height you could add colourful lolly pops or whole chocolate bars to the top of your candy cake. You could also place sweets on kebab sticks to stick on top.

-For more sweetie cake ideas, how about swapping the chocolate fingers around the edge of your cake and replacing with more sweets such as Haribo, smarties and dolly mixtures.

-You could use different themes such as a retro candy cake or using all chocolate. Or you could use only one type of sweet to create, for example, a Haribo cake, an m&m cake, a smarties cake or a skittle cake.

-To turn this sweet cake recipe into a chocolate sponge, simply add 50g of cocoa powder and another 1 tsp of baking powder.

-If you'd like to make this sweet cake vegetarian friendly, use sweets without gelatine such as jelly tots, skittles, love hearts and millions.

-Children love baking, so why not get your kids involved to help you make this cake? From a very early age they can help with pouring and mixing.

Image © Lindsay Cotter, under a Creative Commons license.

-This cake can be stored at room temperature for 3 days. To refrigerate, place the cake (completely uncovered) in the fridge until the buttercream hardens. Then wrap with cling film and put back in the fridge.

-If you need to freeze your cake, the best way to do it is by placing in the freezer after decorating with buttercream (completely uncovered) and leaving for 4-6 hours until solid. Remove the cake and wrap with cling film and then tin foil and place back in the freezer for up to 3 months.