The creamy layered cake creations in this chapter pay homage to the great French masters. If butter cake is the origin of the species, then these are the higher life forms of the cake world.

These cakes have been our heroes in both New York and London, adorning afternoon tea stands before being whisked table side. The best thing about this style of cake is that it is relatively easy to get diverse flavour and texture combinations.

We garnish most of our cakes on the tray they are served on, with easy crispy bits or a mere smear of mirror glaze, and leave the bits on the tray that fall there. Our excuse is if it works for Donna Hay — the woman who redefined Australian food styling — well it might just work for us!

When making creamy layered cakes, put your thinking cap on and work out which flavours you want to be pronounced, then add some crunchy and chewy bits to make the eating exciting. If you want the cake to be rich and satisfying, make the mousse element heavy and cloying so your guests will never again yearn for that sweet indulgence — or play with whimsical flavour pairings that will make their palates drift to summer tea parties under drooping willows.

All the mousses and jellies in this chapter could be used on their own, so feel free to pipe them into individual serving glasses and forgo the need for cake rings and acetate. Mix and match sponges with mousses, and soak sponges with your favourite liqueur to make a cake that screams uniquely of you.

This is another one of those occasions where a little ‘time lapse’ will make your life easier. Setting the jelly layers and making the sponge the day before assembling with the mousse will make the process a whole lot simpler, and the sponge and jelly will also be a lot easier to handle.

If you are planning a party that is still a week away, make the whole cake a week in advance and pull it from the freezer the day before you need it. Your guests will never know and will applaud your baking prowess.