Big Cakes: Gala Cake

Flags and bunting decorate this 4-tiered candy-striped cake. I have used fresh raspberry and blueberry fruit purées, lemon curd and lime to flavour the buttercream, but you could try strawberry, mango, passion fruit or blackcurrant purées, or even use good-quality jams to create each flavour instead. The bunting and flags can be made well ahead of time. I find it easiest to choose their colours first, then coordinate the buttercream colours to match.