Ingredients

Step by step

1. Grease and line the base and sides of a deep 20cm square cake tin. Heat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4.
2. Put the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat for at least 5 minutes with an electric hand mixer until the mixture is pale in colour and really light and fluffy.
3. Gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time until the mixture is smooth and creamy, adding a little flour if the mixture begins to curdle, then carefully stir in the remaining flour, the baking powder and orange zest and juice.
4. Spread the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1-11⁄4 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out cleanly.
5. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out, remove the lining paper and leave to cool on a wire rack.
6. Meanwhile, mark a 20cm square template on a piece of card or paper and draw out a simple wonky house cake shape – we made ours slightly narrower at the base with two pointed roofs.
7. Make the buttercream by beating the butter, cocoa and 325g icing sugar together with 2-3 tablespoons boiling water until smooth. Keep covered until needed, at room temperature.
8. Place the cake flat side up on a chopping board. Using your wonky house template, cut out the cake shape. Spread the top surface and all the sides with buttercream, using a small palette knife to give the texture of wooden planks. Cover a 20cm round cake board or plate with buttercream, then stand the cake upright, towards the back of the board. Place 3 tablespoons of buttercream in a small disposable piping bag and set aside for adding detail. Spread the remaining buttercream over the back of the upright house. Arrange the jaffa cakes overlapping onto the roof.
9. Roll out the orange icing on a work surface dusted with icing sugar to about the thickness of a pound coin. Cut out a coffin-shaped door and 2 windows, then place in position on the cake as desired.
10. Snip off the end of the piping bag to make a small hole, then pipe window panes and a squiggly outline around the windows, and markings on the door.
11. Mix the remaining 50g icing sugar with a drop of water – just enough to make a thick, pipeable consistency. Place in a small disposable piping bag and snip off the end to give a small hole. Pipe decorations, such as cobwebs, skeletons and ghostly faces, onto the cake.
12. Add orange and green sweets around the roof and use red and purple ones to make a path. Bend the toffee chocolate bars slightly and use as a fence around the edge of a board. You could also use one to make a tree, like we did, on the side of the house, and decorate with yellow sweets.