Tip: if you only have two pans, pre-measure the batter, splitting it into three. That way you know the third layer will bake up the same as the others. Both the cake layers and biscuits can be made a day or two in advance, as can the vegan lemon curd. The frosting needs to be used straight away however so don't make that until you are ready to assemble the cake - it only takes five minutes to make. It consists of three layers of soft, moist vegan ginger cake which is filled with cream cheese frosting and a generous dollop of lemon curd for good measure. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, then pour in the egg mixture and beat until just smooth. I made this woodland birthday cake a while ago for my daughter’s 7th birthday. She absolutely adores animals and nature so the forest theme suited her perfectly.

It is topped with cute vegan gingerbread animals and trees, with a scattering of sugared cranberries, nuts, seeds and rosemary sprigs to complete the woodland scene. It looks especially effective if you serve it on a wooden board! (Mine is from TK Maxx.) I think this theme would suit kids of many ages, so I figured I’d share a bit of a tutorial on how I made it in case you’re interested. I posted the process on my insta stories, and thought I would share those photos with a bit more in-depth explanation here. Trim the tops of the cake layers to level them then place one layer on a serving platter or board. Spread over a thin layer of the buttercream then pipe a wide ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake - make it twice as wide as pictured as my cake wasn't very sturdy! Add sifted icing sugar, fresh lemon juice and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Transfer a third of the buttercream to a disposable piping bag and snip off the tip, or place it in a regular piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Dip fresh cranberries in the sugar syrup, shake off the excess then roll them in granulated sugar and transfer to a baking parchment lined tray to set.It was a really fun cake to make and if you used toy animals instead of making them yourself, I’d say it’s got to be one of the easiest birthday cakes you could make! Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the TOP of the final cake layer and place it on the cake upside down to give you a flat surface. I made only this one small batch of buttercream which was just enough for the whole cake, as I only used it as a dam for the filling and to thinly frost the outside. That is the bonus of naked cakes – less frosting! I know I’m not the only one who scrapes the frosting off when eating cake. This way you just scrape it off from the start. 😉

Cover each mini sponge with a thin layer of buttercream. You’ll find our buttercream recipe and top tips on our blog. Allow to cool a little then bring the mixture together into a ball (it will still be very soft), wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for about an hour until it is firm enough to roll out.On the day of, it’s time to assemble. First make a dam with frosting on each layer where you will put the cherry pie filling. Simply pipe it around the edge with a large piping tip and then fill it with half of the cherry pie filling, repeat with the next layer. Re-roll the trimmings and cut out more shapes then place them well spaced apart on a couple of baking trays. Pop the trays in the freezer for twenty minutes while you heat up the oven. For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.* Gingerbread Biscuits: Select the colour of icing for your first animal and roll out to a size large enough to cover one of your mini cakes. Drape the icing over one of the sponges and cut neatly around the edge. Repeat for each cake. Spread a layer of buttercream over the top and sides of the cake then top with the gingerbread animals and trees, some chopped nuts, sprigs of rosemary, pumpkin seeds and sugared cranberries. You will need to use some wooden skewers to prop the trees on top of the cake up.

Lakeland Woodland Animal Mould – with a 6-cup hemisphere mould silicone tray to create your sponges and a silicone feature mould to help you create various eyes, ears and noses, etc. out of fondant icing. As well as our cute woodland animals, you can create lots of other animals with this kit too. The birthday girl wanted to help with the frosting so I piled some on top for her to spread, then I made sure to take it down the sides once she was done. Remember, since this is a rustic cake you want to make sure that the chocolate cake peeks through the sides. Break the eggs into another bowl, beat in the vanilla and yoghurt, then stir in the melted butter until well mixed. Once they are set they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days. Divide the mixture evenly into 6 moulds and smooth the top of each. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until well risen, lightly golden and a skewer comes out cleanly.First up: I chose to make a three layer cake rather than a two layer cake as this adds height, giving the cake a more dramatic and impressive look. This is the cake recipe I used.

To make sugared cranberries if you want to use them, place 50g granulated sugar and 50ml water in a small pan. heat gently, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves and it comes up to the boil. Next, I made a batch of cherry pie filling to put in the centre. Next time I think I would add a layer of ganache as well to give it that extra oomph of flavour (you can never have too much chocolate in my book!). You can also add a dollop of buttercream in the middle to help make the cake sturdier - I totally forgot to do it. I made these animals the night before as well. I used marzipan but you can use fondant or gumpaste as well. I followed these tutorials from Cake Dutchess on Youtube: I managed to make time to bake this vegan woodland animal ginger cake however and it is a real showstopper! It also won the Christmas bake off at my bouldering gym!

More Cakes

Divide the batter between three greased and lined 20cm/8in round cake tins and bake for about 25 minutes. Spread a couple of spoonfuls of lemon curd inside the ring of buttercream, making sure not to overfill it. Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the bottom of one of the remaining cake layers and place it on top. Repeat the same steps as before.