Jewelled Jelly Bean Cake

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas, divided
4 eggs, divided
360ml milk, divided
2 (500g) boxes pound cake mix (or two batches of the recipe on this site)
22cm egg-shaped cake tin

700g Vanilla Buttercream Icing
300g jelly beans (mixed flavours)

Method:

Mash the bananas in a bowl with a fork until they're smooth then add 2 eggs and 180ml milk. Beat until smooth then stir in the one batch (500g) of pound cake mix. Take the two halves of your egg cake mould and grease and flour them well. Pour the batter you have just made into one of the egg-shaped halves, filling to 12mm from the rim of the tin (set any extra batter aside). Repeat the process to form the second half of the egg.

Transfer the cakes to an oven pre-heated to 175°C and bake for about 55 minutes, or until a wooden pick or skewer inserted into the centre of the cake emerges cleanly. Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 10 minutes on a wire rack then turn out onto greaseproof (waxed) paper and set aside to cool completely.

To assemble trim the cakes to shape then use a sharp-bladed knife to trim the flat sides of both cakes level. Spread 180ml of the icing on the flat side of one of the cake halves then press the two halves together to form an egg shape. Trim the underside of the cake so it can sit flat then secure on an oval serving plate with 120ml of the icing.

Generously ice the whole of the outside of the cake with the remaining then decorate with bands or rings of the sweets (candies).

This cake makes and excellent Easter centrepiece and should be decorated with flaked coconut coloured green with food colouring to resemble grass then add easter animal shapes around the cake.

To serve, slice the cake in half lengthways, perpendicular to the central icing. Place the cut side down then divide into 2cm slices and serve.