Here’s a smaller, simpler version of Nadiya’s 90th birthday cake for the Queen for you to try at home – you can choose whether to go for a simple drizzle cake, or to decorate it with the fondant and the roses.

Prep: 50 minutes to 1 hour
Cook: 1 ¼ to 1 ¾ hours

For the cake:

700g plain flour, sifted

4 teaspoons baking powder

500g unsalted softened butter, diced

500g caster sugar

8 medium eggs

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Zest of 3 oranges

For the buttercream:

400g unsalted butter, softened

800g icing sugar, sifted

Zest of 2 oranges

4 tablespoons whole milk

For the fondant drizzle:

150g white fondant, grated

25ml water

Purple food colouring

For the orange drizzle:

Juice of 3 oranges (you need about 200-300ml)

150g caster sugar

For decoration:

White sugar paste roses, varying sizes, or real roses

Edible glue or glucose syrup

Edible silver glitter

Method:

For the cake, line and grease 2 x 20cm springform tins. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C. Add all the ingredients to a bowl one by one then, using a handheld or stand mixer, mix everything together for 3 minutes till you have a smooth batter. Divide the mixture between two tins and level off the tops. Bake for 1 ½ hours to 1 ¾ hours, but check it after 1 ¼ hours as it will depend on your oven. While the cakes are cooking you can get on and make the buttercream and drizzles.

To make the buttercream, add the butter to a mixing bowl and mix on high for 2 minutes. Add the icing sugar a little at a time and mix on a medium speed. Add the milk and orange zest and mix on a high speed for 3 minutes until you have a light and fluffy buttercream.

When the cakes are golden brown, with a slight peak at the top, and a skewer inserted comes out clean, they are ready. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin. Turn out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Cut the domed tops off both sponges and level them off. Carefully slice both cakes across in two, giving you four sponges.

To make the orange drizzle, add the orange juice and sugar to a jug and mix well. The sugar will not dissolve completely. Spoon the mixture equally over the 4 sponges.

Lay the four sponges out, making sure that one of the two with crusts faces down and one faces up. Then generously cover the top and side of each with the buttercream. Put the crust-side-down slice on a cake base or plate then carefully place the other layers on top, finishing with the crust-side-up slice. Place the whole cake in the fridge or in a cool place for about 15-20 minutes until the buttercream has crusted over.

Now make the fondant drizzle. Add the grated fondant and water to a pan and heat on low to medium, stirring constantly, until it has melted and become a liquid. Add the food colouring a little at a time until you have a vibrant purple colour. Transfer into a bowl and leave to cool completely. Add a drop or two of cold water to loosen, if needed.

Pour the cold purple fondant over the top of the cake, drizzling it gently down the sides. Then finish off the decoration by brushing the tips of the sugar paste roses with edible glue and dipping them in glitter. Arrange them in a crescent shape around one edge of the top of the cake. Or simply decorate it using real white roses.