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Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and grease and line two 20cm/8in sandwich tins.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl using a wooden spoon until light, fluffy and pale in colour. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract with a fork until smooth.

3. Add the beaten egg to the butter and sugar mixture, a little at a time, mixing well between each addition. If the mixture looks like it’s starting to curdle, add a little of the flour to bind the mixture back together. Sieve the flour into the bowl and fold through until just combined – be careful not to over-mix.

4. Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

5. Leave the cakes to cool in the tin for 5–10 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

6. To make the buttercream icing, whisk the butter well until smooth and very pale. Gradually add the icing sugar, a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and up to 1 tablespoon of water to loosen, if needed. Add the gel colouring a little at a time, mixing well until the desired shade is achieved. Cover the bowl and set aside (ideally overnight) until ready to use. The colours will continue to develop over time, so don’t panic if the colour isn’t right immediately.

7. Use a serrated knife to slice any doming from the tops of the sponges. Invert one of the cakes and place it upside-down on top of the other. Cut the cake into the shape of Love Monster’s body (look at the recipe image for reference). Keep all the carved pieces of cake, as you will use them for the arms and ears. Soften the square edges with a serrated knife, trimming around the top of the cake.

8. Remove the top layer and spread a small amount of the buttercream onto the base layer, ensuring you fill all the way to the edges. Place a small amount of buttercream in a piping bag and pipe a strip around the edge of the base cake to act as a dam. Fill the inside of the dam with a small amount of jam, if using, and spread it out evenly. Replace the top sponge, then cover the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream to seal in all of the crumbs.

9. Cut two arms and two ears from the reserved pieces of carved cake, then push these into place against the cake. Apply a little buttercream to these pieces to seal in any crumbs. Chill in the fridge for around 20 minutes to allow the buttercream to form a crust.

10. To decorate the cake, cover it with a generous layer of buttercream, before using the back of a spoon to lift the buttercream into rough, textured spikes.

11. Knead some of the white ready-to-roll icing until soft and pliable. Roll it out until around 5mm thick. Lay a piece of cling film over the icing before using a 5cm/2in round circle cutter and a 3cm/1¼in round circle cutter to cut out the two eyes (the cling film will ensure the edges of the eyes are curved and more cartoony-looking). Place these into position on the cake.

12. Colour some of the white icing with the claret gel colouring, before cutting out a mouth shape with a sharp knife. Place this in position under the eyes. Cut two triangle shapes from the white icing and add these to the bottom of the mouth to form the teeth. You can ‘glue’ them into place with a little water.

13. Cut a small heart shape out of the baby blue ready-to-roll icing, brushing the cut edges with your finger to soften these. Place the heart into position.

14. Roll the black icing into lots of long, thin sausage shapes, before trimming into short lengths (around 5mm long). Place these all over the body, to add to the fur-like texture.

15. With more of the black ready-to-roll icing, roll two carrot shapes to form Love Monster’s eyebrows. Place these into position above the eyes, before cutting two small circles of the black to add pupils to the eyes, gluing these into place with a little water.

16. Finally, use the peach blush icing to mould hands and feet, using your hands. Place these into position on the cake, finishing them off with some small conical claws made from the white icing, glued into place with a little water.