This colourful cake celebrates Chinese New Year and includes all the signs of the Chinese zodiac.

Chinese New Year falls in spring and is a time of big celebration. Setting off firecrackers, giving and receiving good luck packets (of money!) and playing the drum are special activities represented on the cake. The symbols of the Chinese zodiac circle the cake board and the fortune card shows the Ox, which could be substituted with the symbol of the year you'd like to celebrate.

What you'll learn

1. Covering the Board: Glue, cover and trim the boards to create a good base for the project.
2. Run-outs: Find out how to use royal icing to pipe the run-out decorations, then spray them gold.
3. Covering the Cake: Stack, carve and cover the cakes in marzipan and sugarpaste to create the drum.
4. Tube Embroidery and Pressure Piping: Learn how to use royal icing to pipe the flowers using lines and dots and use pressure piping to create figures on the cake.
5. Top Decoration: Use sugarpaste and flower paste to create decorative elements including the drumsticks, firecrackers and envelope.
6. Handles: Discover how to make realistic handles for the drum with a metallic effect.
7. Assembly: Find out how to attach the decorations to the cake and add finishing touches with lustre dust food colour.