Petal cakes – in all their incarnations – think rainbow petal cakes, mermaid petal cakes and ombre petal cakes – are all over Instagram. And they’re easier than they look!

What equipment do you need to ice a petal cake?

It helps to have some basic items, however, most of them can be substituted with common pantry items:

1. A scraper – this helps to create a smooth underneath layer, or crumb coat. Don’t feel the need to invest in one? A fairly large plastic lid will do the trick.

2. A piping bag. Piping bags are inexpensive, but if you’re not planning on heading to the shops before embarking on this project, a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off will work just fine.

3. A palette knife or wide butter knife

4. A turntable. This is not essential at all, but helps to keep a smooth flow.

What icing should you use for this cake?

You can use ordinary butter icing, however, we used Abigail’s condensed milk icing which has a wonderful flavour and is made just from butter and condensed milk. (Get the recipe here.)

How can I create complex icing colours like the trendy ones I’ve seen on Instagram?

Muted colours are all the rage online, and we’re loving the sophisticated look. Normal food colouring will create very bright colours, so to knock those colours back a little, Abigail recommends using a dot of brown food colouring – or even cocoa powder. Keep a little extra white icing on hand in case you make it too subdued.