Teddy Bear Christening Cake

This weekend Molly and I had a busy weekend and had the thrill of doing our pre-marital course on a sunny Saturday which was pretty tricky given that we sat in a dark and toasty room when it was so lovely outside. This morning we were up bright and early to say hello to all the animals in Dublin Zoo and topped it all off with by catching some rays in Molly's back garden this evening. Amidst all that action, I managed to put together this Christening cake for a friend of a friend last night. 

This cake features a tubby blue teddy sitting on top of a cloud themed cake, decorated with varying shades of blue stripes and spots. I personalised the cake by adding the baby in question's name to some blue building blocks decorated with blue panelling and stitching. The cake itself is a buttery lemon madeira, coated in a zesty lemon buttercream. 

Lemon Madeira Cake

Ingredients (for a 9 inch square cake)

340g sugar

340g butter

520g self-raising flour

6 eggs (beaten)

3 lemons (juice and zest)

Method

1. Beat together the sugar and butter until pale and creamy.

2. Add the beaten egg a little at a time.

3. Add the lemon juice and zest of 2 lemons and mix well.

4. Finally fold in the flour and mix gently until all the ingredients are combined.

5. Spoon the mixture into a lined tin and cook in the centre of the oven for 40-50 minutes at 
    180C. To check the cake is ready, dip a sharp knife into the centre of the cake and continue 
    to cook until the knife comes out clean.

Lemon Buttercream Icing

Ingredients

140g butter

300g icing sugar

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Method

Mix all ingredients together using a handheld mixer until light and fluffy.

E-D's Notes

- For a cake this size (9 inch sqaure) you will need 1kg of roll out icing to cover the cake top 

  and sides.

- You will also need another 750g to ice the board and model the bear and blocks and 

  decorative spots and stripes.