Like many of the most impressive showstoppers, the various elements involved mean that this cake does take time to create. But luckily your Titanium Chef Patissier takes care of most of the hard work- and the results make the effort more than worth it. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients

For the decorative brushstrokes:
340g candy melts, white
Edible food colouring dusts (as needed)
For the cake:
340g margarine, room temperature
340g caster sugar 
5 eggs, beaten 
340g plain flour 
4 tsp baking powder
2 lemons, zested
2 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt 
For the buttercream:
300g unsalted butter, cubed and room temperature
750g icing sugar 
2 tbsp milk 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
¼ tsp salt 
1 tbsp raspberry jam 
A few drops pink food colouring 
For the cake filling and decoration:
60g lemon curd 
40g freeze dried raspberries

Tools 
Titanium Chef Patissier 
3 springform cake tins  
Cake scraper or right angled spatula
Silicone mat
Piping bag and nozzle

Using the right tools will help you master the decorating techniques used in this recipe. Including a spatula, palette knives, icing scrapers, cake leveller and a piping bag and nozzles, along with a rotating cake stand, our decorating set will help you finish off your cake like a pro. 
 

Here’s a step by step guide to making each of the separate elements of this recipe.

Before you begin, sift the plain flour and get the butter out of the fridge and cut into cubes- it will cream far better if it’s at room temperature. Fit the heat shield and creaming beater to your Titanium Chef Patissier XL, grease and line your cake tins and place your silicone mat on a baking tray. 

To make the chocolate brushstrokes:
Attach the EasyWarm bowl to your mixer. Add the candy melts to the bowl and fit the splash guard. Mix on heat setting 7, stir speed 1 for about 10 minutes, or until melted.  Remove the creaming beater, leaving the bowl fitted. 

Put two spoonfuls of your mixture in a separate bowl, along with some coloured dust. Stir to combine to achieve your preferred shade. Using the right angled spatula, spread some brushstroke shapes on the silicone mat. You’ll want to work quickly, before the mixture sets too much. 

Mix up other colours and repeat the process- you can also leave some white. Leave to set at room temperature until completely solid.

To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 180℃. Replace the EasyWarm bowl with the Mixer bowl and fit the K-Beater. Add the margarine, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla extract, flour (sifted), baking powder and salt to the bowl and fit the splash guard. Start mixing on speed Min, gradually increasing to speed Max for about 1 minute.  

Divide the mixture into the three prepared cake tins. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a cooling rack. This will help prevent the sides of the cakes from going soggy. 

To make the buttercream:
While the cake is cooling, clean and fit the EasyWarm bowl and whisk tool. Add the butter, sugar, milk, vanilla, salt, jam and food colouring to the bowl and fit the splash guard. Mix on speed Min for about 30 seconds, then on speed Max for about 30 seconds, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. 

Transfer the buttercream to your piping bag. Half fill the bag and gently squeeze the icing down to remove any air pockets. 
 

Cakes will often form a domed surface during baking. Levelling your cakes to create an even surface will make them much easier to stack and ice. Use a cake leveller (as in our decorating set) or a large serrated bread knife, but allow your cakes to cool completely before you level them, otherwise the sponge will crumble.
 

Spread a small amount of buttercream onto your cake board or turntable. Place one of the sponge cakes on top of it, baked side facing down and press down gently. This will help the sponge stay in place as you work. 
 

Snip off the top of the piping bag and pipe a layer of buttercream on top of the sponge. Smooth using a right-angled spatula. Pipe a ring of buttercream on top, about ½ cm from the edge of the sponge. Fill the area inside the ring with about ⅓ of the lemon curd and spread in an even layer. 
 

Place the next sponge layer on top, uncut side facing down. Press down gently with the palms of your hands so it sits evenly. 
 

Repeat the buttercream and curd layering process for the next sponge layer. Place the final sponge layer on top with the cut side facing down and press down gently. 
 

Using a palette knife, cover the sides and top of the cake with buttercream, being sure to fill in any gaps between layers. To get a smooth finish and remove any excess icing, run a cake scraper or right-angled spatula over the surface. Put any leftover buttercream to one side as you’ll need it for sticking on the brushstrokes later. 
 

Add 30g of freeze-dried raspberries to a bowl and crush with the end of a rolling pin, but not so they’re too small- the pieces should remain coarse. Along with the remaining whole raspberries, press them gently into the bottom third of the cake sides as well as the top of the cake. Chill the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Now to apply the chocolate brushstrokes, which should be completely dry and firm by now. Carefully peel them off the silicone mat and apply them one by one to one side of the cake, starting at the top edge and working down, overlapping as you go to create a beautifully feathered effect. You can also add some to the top.