Just to let you know, this post was written before I started the paleo diet to help ease my psoriasis. Nowadays I eat a more allergy-friendly diet, but leave these older, non-paleo posts up in case they are useful to readers, as I know not everyone eats the same as I do. Thanks for your understanding.
When I was browsing on the Jelly Belly website I came across the amazing Union Jack cake created for Jelly Belly by Helen at the Fuss Free Flavours blog. It looked stunning and I knew that I wanted to have a go and make one myself. And while Helen's cake is square, I wondered if it would work just as well in a smaller, circular shape. And it did!

I made a classic Victoria Sponge cake and when it was cool, sandwiched it together with raspberry jam. Then I made up a batch of basic buttercream icing and spread it, fairly thinly, over the top and around the sides of the cake. Then, before the buttercream was dry, I used red, white and blue Jelly Belly jellybeans to create the Union Jack effect on the top, using a Union Jack printed napkin as my guide. It wasn't as fiddly as I thought it was going to be and the result was totally brilliant. You might need a little more buttercream in some places as you stick the jelly beans on so that they stick in place and don't tumble off when you move it.

It's already been suggested that I could make one of these for the school's summer fayre and I think it's a great idea. You can buy packs of the red (cherry), white (coconut) and blue (blueberry) jellybeans at the Jelly Belly website. My cake was 23cm wide and I needed just over one pack of the jellybeans to decorate it, so bank on buying two packs to be safe and to allow for any naughty nibbling (sorry, quality control procedures) while you work.
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Me, adding the Jelly Belly beans to the cake... check out that concentration! |
Looks beautiful, so simple yet effective. A must for all jelly bean fans!
ReplyDeleteIt is great Jo! My cake had 350 beans on it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea!! You must have some stamina.... there's no way I could not resist just eating the cake whilst putting on the jelly beans!
ReplyDeleteThat looks fabulous, not sure the jelly beans would last long enough to go on a cake in our household, but nevertheless a marveleous creation.
ReplyDeleteJubileejellytastic (get that, autocorrect!)
ReplyDeleteI would love to try Very Berry flavour. Love the cake
ReplyDeleteI'd like to try Wild Blackberry. And all the others, actually. Love Jelly Belly but not had them for a long long time and they have a lot of new flavours!
ReplyDeleteGreat cake, looks brill!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try island punch
DeleteWOW, that looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteI love JB especially the Buttered Popcorn :) Yum.
That's amazing! What a fab idea! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the watermelon flavour
would like to try Strawberry Cheesecake, yummy!
ReplyDeletelove your cake, almost a shame to eat it :)
thanks for the great giveaway, Duncan
I love Watermelon but would love to try out Toasted Marshmallow :)
ReplyDeleteWOW cake looks lush well done flavour I would love to try would be the new rookie flavours coming up especially the chilli mango! x
ReplyDeleteI would like to try passion fruit from the rookie flavours. The cake looks fab! x
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ReplyDeleteAmazing - there's something quite magical about jelly beans and your cake definitely casts a spell.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try coconut jelly beans :)
Would love to try the natural cherry ones.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that that cake is amazing. Will have to try it. I love all the flavours but I didn't know they did birthday cake, will have to try that
ReplyDeleteI'd like to try them all...but the cherry ones, watermelon ones and the popcorn ones are definitely favourites!
ReplyDeleteWatermelon flavour for me. Tastes just like the real thing!
ReplyDeleteid love to try the berry blue flavour, it sounds scrummy :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to try licorice sounds a bit different
ReplyDeleteLooks great xx
ReplyDeletewould love to try the cherry flavour!
ReplyDeleteblueberry
ReplyDeleteWould love to try the Buttered Popcorn flavour, but my favourite is watermelon
ReplyDeleteAmazing looking cake! I'd like to try the cherry flavour
ReplyDeletemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm would absolutely love to try the buttered popcorn flavour! :)
ReplyDeletewould love to try the cappuchino
ReplyDeleteLOVELY JUBBLY!!! I am bouncy like a bean! Thank you x
ReplyDeletegreat cake l like the watermelon flavour
ReplyDeleteI love the red cherry ones!
ReplyDeleteLooks fantastic thanks for the giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway. Would give these to mam if I won as they are her favourite sweets of all time. Like lemon flavour myself.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try Toasted Marshmallow om nom nom
ReplyDeletepopcorn flavour is amazing!!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite Jelly Belly flavour is Cream Soda
ReplyDeleteIsland Punch! Doesn't quite go with this English weather but hey ho!
ReplyDeletei love the popcorn flavour (jen jackson)
ReplyDeleteGreat cake, my fave flavour is Cotton Candy.
ReplyDeleteBlueberry
ReplyDeleteI would love to try Strawberry Daiquiri
ReplyDeleteGreat cake! would love to try the Cotton candy one.
ReplyDeleteI would love to eat that cake ;) my fave has to be very cherry :)
ReplyDeleteYour cake just looks amazing! Such a clever, yet simple, idea.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite flavour is cinnamon :)
I love the Cherry flavour.
ReplyDeleteTutti frutti!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite flavour is Bubblegum
ReplyDeleteMy fave jelly bean flavour is cinnanmon :D
ReplyDeleteThat cake is a awesome idea id love to try it!!! :D looks yummy please send me some HEHE :D
GOODLUCK I love Jelly BEANS!
Well done on your lovely cake, I like the orange jellybean best.
ReplyDeleteLove the cake and love jelly belly's
ReplyDeletei would love to try out Toasted Marshmallow
ReplyDeleteJuicy Pear and Tutti Fruity are my favourites but would love to try them all :)
ReplyDeleteI love to try the Canned Dog Food flavour!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try the Canned Dog Food flavour! Woof!
ReplyDeleteTutti Frutti flavour :)
ReplyDeletecoconut yum yum in my tum (taste of summer in the storm)
ReplyDeleteVery Cherry. I can't get enough of cherry flavour
ReplyDeletel like the watermelon
ReplyDeleteTop Banana I love banana flavoured things!
ReplyDeleteVery Berry flavour is my favourite but i'd love to try the cotton candy flavour! x
ReplyDeleteI love the cinamon flavour jelly beans
ReplyDeleteMy fav is buttered popcorn :)
ReplyDeleteWow, looks great. Think I'll need to make one for the Olympics and for my overseas guests.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite flavour is cola.
whata fab prize! i love banana!
ReplyDeleteGreat giveaway, thank you
ReplyDeleteWould love to try orange juice
ReplyDeletemy favourite is the popcorn flavour - love your cake!
ReplyDeleteCake looks great, well done ^_^
ReplyDeleteMy fav flavour is mint.
Wow your cake looks amazing, you must have so much patience! I'd love to try the blueberry jellybeans. I don't think I've ever had jelly beans, I feel like I must be missing out on something!
ReplyDeleteI would like to try the new pomegranate flavour sounds nice, love the cake too xx
ReplyDeletecake looks fantastic well done x
ReplyDeleteLove Jelly beans - never thought to use them to decorate a cake.. looks fab!!! My fav flavours are the marshmallow ones and the peanut butter flavour :0)
ReplyDeleteMy favourite flavour is cinnamon & apple
ReplyDeleteMy fave are strawberry and apple
ReplyDeleteLove your cake, it looks fab.
ReplyDeleteThe Toasted Marshmallow sounds interesting, would like to try those.
Looks soooo yummy,
ReplyDeleteyummy! love lemon and apple
ReplyDeleteWow you have done a fantastic job!Its such a great idea to use them i have my daughters birthday coming and dueto allergies and coeliacs disease i make all of our cakes from scratch so im loving the idea of incorperating them into it so thanks for the fab idea :) i think extra packets are a must to ;)
ReplyDeletegreat idea but there's no way the cherry ones would ever make it onto a cake if I was making it. Quality control would require extra testing of these.
ReplyDeletevery cherry and kiwi
ReplyDeleteAwesome cake. I'm definitely gonna try and recreate it. Thanks for a great givewaway.
ReplyDeleteI love the Popcorn flavour
ReplyDeletei would feel like a queen if i won this and that cakes looks fab : )
ReplyDeletesorry my fave has to be Top Banana i just love anything banana
DeleteLemon & Lime would be nice
ReplyDeleteI would love to try Chocolate pudding it sounds indulgent
ReplyDeletewould love to win :)
ReplyDeletethat cake is amazing :)
ReplyDeleteWow looks amazing, i love jelly bellys, juicy pear are my fave mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
ReplyDeletethe cake looks fabulous, i would love to try the strawberry jam
ReplyDeleteThe new Chilli Mango flavour sounds really interesting
ReplyDeleteLove jelly beans and love Jelly Belly even more
ReplyDeleteLove the cherry flavour, wish they would do an espresso / chocolate one though
ReplyDeleteWould love to win - love all the colours and flavours
ReplyDeleteI love the cinnamon flavour but really I love them all
ReplyDeleteWow looks fab! I love the cherry flavour :-)
ReplyDeleteYou have the patience of a saint!! I love the aniseed flavour ;)
ReplyDeleteAmazing cake, very clever idea
ReplyDeleteGreat cake - very impressive!! I would love chilli flavoured jelly beans! :)
ReplyDeleteMy sisters get jelly beans all the time and eats them all, straight away without sharing them as she loves them so much lmao
ReplyDeleteMy favourite is Cherry Cola
ReplyDeleteVery patriotic, great looking cake.
ReplyDeleteYour cake looks amazing!! The flavour I would like to try is the Strawberry Jam (hopefully no one would swap it for the similar looking centipede flavour in the Beanboozled selection!!)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try the new Pomegranate flavour. Bet it would be really yum.
ReplyDeleteGot to be watermelon!!
ReplyDeletecoconut would be the first i would try - very summery and tropical
ReplyDeleteIt looks yummy! I love the cola flavour
ReplyDeleteMy favourite is raspberry, but there are loads I haven't tried yet!
ReplyDeleteI love lemon and lime flavour
ReplyDeleteCoconut flavour
ReplyDeletePlain old Strawberry for me. :D
ReplyDeleteLooks fab! I love the popcorn flavour - yum!
ReplyDeleteI love your cake it looks amazing! I like the buttered popcorn jelly belly.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge Jellybelly fan! My all time favourite is Buttered Popcorn. When I was pregnant last year my friends bought me a ginormous bag of them to cheer me up!!!!
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