Athletics Cake

Athletics has made me the person I am today :) Representing Ireland in my 1st International race at the age of 12 I had caught the athletics bug!It wasn't always easy. In those days the smoking ban hadn't even been thought of so unless I wanted to cough up a lung the following day at training the pub scene was a no go. However this didn't stop me! When others drank and smoked I racewalked. I loved it! Travelling from country to country meeting athletes from all over the world I was living the dream. Due to a severe hip injury I had to take a step back in recent years but i've never lost my passion for it. So making this cake I had a blast.

As it was for an annual function it needed to feed quite a few athletes. From the beginning I had imagined a 2 tier cake surrounded by a tartan athletics track with perhaps a club singlet and a medal draped over it. This would be my first 2 tier cake which was rather exciting. But what colour would I make it? It needs to be unisex and sharp to the eye so a lemon yellow seemed just right given the club colours are green and white. The bottom tier would be a 9 inch round and the top tier a 7 inch round. Everyone loves madeira so why reinvent the wheel. 

Using the madeira recipe from my previous blogs I baked both cakes in the oven and allowed them to cool. After the cakes cooled I cut each cake into 3 layers which were then filled with buttercream.Once filled I covered the sides also with buttercream. The buttercream provides the perfect glue for the fondant to stick. Then I rolled out 6 packs of ready to roll icing and covered each cake. Smoothing the sides with my handy smoother gadget. I popped the 9 inch cake onto the centre of the cake board then placed the 7 inch on top. From white fondant I cut out the shape of the club singlet and covered the borders with green. I was pleasantly surprised with how good it looked. Using edible ink I printed the club logo and placed it in the centre of the singlet which was then draped off the cake. Out of fondant I then made a medal which was draped off the other side. In Between the fondant accessories I cut and stuck on green bubbles which really brought out the club colours. 

Finally I made a fondant asiscs running shoe for the top of the cake and the tartan track to surround the cake. The finished product looked great .... such a relief :)