Magical Three-Tier Christmas Showstopper Cake

Prepare the chocolate ganache by placing chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the double cream to a boil in a small saucepan, then pour it over the chocolate. Whisk continuously until the mixture is glossy and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Make the base buttercream by beating butter, icing sugar, and vanilla for 10-12 minutes until very light. Take 850g of this mixture and beat in the cooled ganache. To assemble the brownie tier, place a sponge on a 26cm cake drum, spread with chocolate buttercream, and repeat for the three layers. Coat the top and sides in a thick layer of chocolate buttercream and chill for 1 hour.

Mix the remaining lemon zest and juice into the plain buttercream. For the middle tier, place a lemon sponge on an 18cm drum, layer with lemon buttercream and raspberry jam, then top with the second sponge. Cover the tier with 400g of lemon buttercream and chill for 1 hour.

For the top tier, place a blueberry sponge on a 10cm drum, layer with lemon curd and buttercream, and top with the second sponge. Coat with 200g of lemon buttercream and chill. Dye 250g of the remaining buttercream deep blue/grey and apply a final coat to this tier. Chill again for 1 hour.

Dye any remaining buttercream deep red using pink and red food coloring. Apply this as a final coat to the middle lemon tier and chill for 1 hour.

Brush the chilled brownie tier with warmed apricot jam. Roll out the sky blue sugar paste to a 5mm thickness and carefully drape it over the cake, smoothing the sides. Allow this tier to set overnight in the fridge.

Create the snowman decoration by shaping crispy rice squares into three balls (large, medium, small). Cover each with white sugar paste and smooth with your hands. Use colored sugar pastes to craft a hat, carrot nose, and twig arms (using cocktail sticks for support). Use an edible pen for the eyes, mouth, and buttons. Assemble with edible glue and let set for 1 hour.

To stack the cake, measure and cut dowels to the height of the bottom and middle tiers. Insert five dowels into the bottom tier and four into the middle tier in a circular pattern. Carefully stack the tiers from largest to smallest.

Finalize the decorations by cutting out stars and clouds from colored sugar paste. Affix them to the tiers using edible glue. Add the sugar paste tree and flags with personalized messages. Place the snowman on top, securing it with a cocktail stick. Serve within 24 hours of decorating for the best quality.