How to make an Australia Day Milo cake

That spare tin of Milo in the pantry could be used to transform a cake into an Australia Day-themed masterpiece. Mum-of-five Jade Malouf shares her recipe here:

Tuck into a slice of Jade Malouf’s Australia Day-themed Milo cake with condensed milk icing.

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Milo cake:

Ingredients: 125g cool-room temperature butter, 1 1/4 cup caster sugar, 2 eggs, 1 cup Milo,

1 1/3 cups plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 cup of water.

Method: Preheat oven to 160C, grease and line 2 x 15cm round tins.

Cream butter and sugar in mixer. Add eggs. Don’t over beat.

Stir in sifted flour, baking powder and Milo. Pour in water and mix through.

Pour into lined pans and bake for 40 minutes; give or take a few minutes.

The cake is ready when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool completely before making icing.

Please note: Temperature of different ovens will vary.

The Australia Day-themed caked is topped with a waratah and gum nuts made out of fondant and sprinkled with edible glitter.

Condensed milk icing:

Ingredients: 250g butter, 500g icing sugar, 250ml condensed milk.

Method: Beat cool-room temperature butter until light and fluffy, add sifted icing sugar and condensed milk until icing is formed.

Place cake onto cake base or plate. Level cakes, ice smoothly and stack cakes on top of each other. Then smooth icing around the top and sides of cake.

To make the fondant topper, purchase some gum paste and fondant and colour them for the different decorations.

Start with a lightly (pure icing sugar) dusted surface.

Knead fondant or gum paste so it easy to work with.

Work through colour small amounts at a time.

I made yellow, red, green and brown for this recipe.

Children Taliyah, 12, and Blaine, 3, enjoy a slice of their mum’s cake.

To make the waratah, start with a small ball of red gum paste and roll some smaller balls to attach on top with some sugar glue (small amount of water with a bit of icing sugar) then work your way around the flower with some small rolled petals made out of gum paste.

Once made to the desired size, make the outer petals and curl them upwards.

To make the acacia flowers, use some wire purchased from cake decorating shops as well as floral tape with some yellow balls and some green leaves.

Bend the wire and string the balls onto the wire and wrapped the wire with floral tape. Then put some leaves on.

Make some gum nuts out of the brown gum paste and attach a red ruffle to make a couple of gum tree flowers.

Stick them on some of the wire to make it easier to position on to the cake.

Roll out some fondant and made the Union Jack and some stars representing the Australian flag. Finish the design by adding some edible glitter.

Jade Malouf was inspired by her nan Kay to develop a love of baking.

BUSY mum-of-five, Jade Malouf developed a love of baking by reading her nan Kay’s cookbooks.

“I used to love looking at her Australian Women’s Weekly cookbooks and nan used to say ‘Pick a cake and I’ll make it for you’,’’ Mrs Malouf, of Harrington Park, said.

She recalls her nan made her a three-dimensional candle cake and a tea party cake.

The home baker, who also runs the thriving business and Facebook page Homemade by Jade, loves continuing her nan’s legacy and baking for her family, friends and customers.

To mark Australia Day on Thursday, Mrs Malouf has made a Milo cake with condensed milk icing and decorated it in the colours of the Australian flag and featuring native flowers made from fondant.

She chosen Milo as an ingredient to continue the Australia Day theme as most locals would have grown up drinking the popular drink.

Mrs Malouf said Milo remained a popular family drink and a tin only lasted a few days in her pantry.

When baking the cake, Mrs Malouf’s tips include to not over-mix the batter and keep an eye on the oven temperature to ensure it is not too hot.

Take care also when working with fondant on hot summer days as the humidity can make the paste sticky.

On these days, she recommends working and moulding the fondant on a cool surface and in a cool temperature room.