Bake the Cake - Gather the ingredients you need and preheat your oven to 340F. Grab a bowl and add the sugar and butter. Beat until light and creamy. Now add the eggs individually. Do not add the next egg until the previous has been mixed. In another bowl, sift the baking powder, self-raising flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Once sifted, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, along with the milk. Combine one last time with the vanilla essence. Pour the batter into a rectangle cake tin and bake for around 50 minutes in the center of your preheated oven. Leave to cool.

Make the Buttercream - Before making the icing, sieve the icing sugar. In another bowl, cream your butter until it’s soft and smooth. Now you can gradually add the sifted icing sugar, being sure to whisk continually as you add. Now add the vanilla extract and mix one last time. You’re looking for a thick, stiff consistency.

Carve the Cake - The cake should be lying horizontally on it’s longer side when you start. Measure the cake with a ruler and make a line at the midway point, vertically, down the middle of the cake. On the surface of the cake, cut out a triangular wedge in the center. Ensure it is only around a quarter of the thickness of the cake. Now opposite that wedge (the bottom), slice a small triangle off. Next, cut the edges of the cake so they slant outwards; looking like an open book.

It’s worth noting that if you don’t want to carve the cake, you can simply buy a book cake pan, which does the job for you.

Frost the Cake - Using the buttercream, coat the entire top of the cake and smooth it out using a knife. For the edges, you’ll need a piping bag and star shaped nozzle. Pipe the icing onto the sides of the cake to create a stacked book design.

Decorate the Cake - This section is open to interpretation and can be designed any way you wish. It’s simply designing the open pages. Start by piping some icing around the edges of the book for the cover. Now you can use icing to write a message, add your sugar flowers, and ice some leaves. The choice is entirely up to you – let your creative side run wild. Serve and enjoy!