Two-Tiered Celebration Cake

Directions

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10 inch cake pan and a 8 inch cake pan with butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. 2
   Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat until stiff using an electric hand mixer. Gradually beat in the sugar and a pinch of salt until the mixture is glossy. Stir in the vanilla extract then the egg yolks, one-by-one. Mix the flour, cornstarch, ground almonds and baking powder together in a bowl then gently fold into the egg mixture.
3. 3
   Transfer the cake batter to the pans, placing two-thirds of the batter in the larger pan. Smooth the mixture. Bake the small cake for 15-20 mins and the larger cake for 20-25 mins, then place on a wire rack to cool in the pan for 10 mins. Remove the cakes from the pans and place on the wire rack to cool completely.
4. 4
   To make the icing, beat the butter in a bowl until light and creamy using an electric hand mixer. Beat in the cream cheese and 1 cup powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside. Knead the marzipan and 1/2 cup powdered sugar together. Roll out the marzipan on a clean surface that has been lightly dusted with powdered sugar until it is 1/8 inch thick. Cut a circle 10 inches in diameter and 8 inches in diameter from the marzipan, re-rolling as necessary.
5. 5
   Toast the almonds in a small pan for 2-3 mins, until golden. Mix the jam and grenadine together until smooth.
6. 6
   To assemble the cake, slice each of the cooled cakes in thirds horizontally. For the larger cake, spread the jam over each layer, stack the layers, and place the 10 inch in diameter marzipan circle on top. For the smaller cake, drizzle each layer with amaretto and spread a quarter of the cream cheese icing on top. Stack the layers of the small cake on top of each other and place on top of the larger cake. Use the remaining cream cheese icing to cover the outside of the entire cake. Press the almonds onto the sides of the cake and chill for 1 hour.
7. 7
   Dye two-thirds of the marzipan pink and one-third green with food coloring. Thinly roll out the green marzipan to cut out leaves and repeat with the pink marzipan to cut out flowers.
8. 8
   To finish the cake, mix 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar with the lemon juice until smooth. Set aside 2 tbsp icing and color it pink using 1-2 drops of food coloring. Place the small marzipan disk on top of the cake and spread the white icing on top. Transfer the pink icing to a pastry bag and cut a small hole in a corner. Pipe thin, parallel lines down the white icing. Use a toothpick or end on a paintbrush to lightly drag the pink icing from the opposite side, using the picture as a guide. Decorate the cake with flowers and vines. Allow to set and serve.