Culinary Conundrums? Ask Our Chef

Raisingkids' chef Heather Robinson has been cooking up a storm since she was just 11 years old and became a chef in her parents' hotel when she was 17. She has also worked for Graham White (brother of Marco Pierre White). To ask her a question click the link at the bottom of the page.

An impressive birthday cake?
It's my 7-yr-old's birthday in two weeks and I want to push the boat out a bit when it comes to her birthday cake. The only problem is that I'm not very good at baking. Can you help?

Our chef's answer:
This impressive Battenburg birthday cake concoction can be made from scratch, but it's just as easy to assemble using store-bought cakes. They only cost around 60p each and this recipe went down a storm at our hotel for a 10th birthday party.

2 Battenburg cakes
1 packet Liquorice Allsorts
1 packet Smarties
apricot jam
dessicated coconut
green food colouring or lime juice
handful marshmallows

On a plate or cake tray, lay one Battenburg cake. Slice the other lengthways, diagonally through the centre. and arrange the slices on the top, so it resembles a house. Use the square allsorts to make the windows, stuck onto the marzipan with the jam. For the chimney, do the same on the 'roof', but with a black tube of liquorice. Use the smarties in the same way to make the 'tiles' of the roof.

Around the rest of the tray, spread the coconut mixed with either the colouring (diluted with 1 tbsp water) or the lime juice, depending on your preferred level of e-numbers, for the grass. Use the tubes of liquorice as tree trunks, with a marshmallow for the tree top.

Try and remember that it is the kids that are meant to have the fun making this. When we made it in the kitchen, all the chefs wanted to get involved, and it was like seeing older men playing with a train set as we used candy sticks for fencing and jelly babies for people. We all got a bit carried away!

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