Big Cakes: 23-Carat Gold Cake

Real opulence on a plate: a dark, rich, luxurious chocolate cake encased in pure gold. Gold has been used to decorate food for centuries and has no taste or smell. This is a showstopper - a real centrepiece for an important occasion - and it may not cost quite as much as you think. If you choose to gild the top of the cake but not the sides, you will only have to buy 1 × 25-leaf book of gold; you’ll need 2 to encase the whole cake.