Hand painted leopard print cake tutorial

Learn how to paint a leopard print on a cake in this step-by-step tutorial by Dani Brazier – a real showstopper that's surprisingly simple to create!

Brought to you by Dani Brazier from Blue Door Bakery

Animal print has made a big impact in the world of fashion, so why not apply it to cake?! Dani of Blue Door Bakery shows you how to hand paint a leopard print cake in such a pretty way!

First, you'll need to cover your cake with sugarpaste (fondant). Follow Dani's instructions below or to find out how to cover cakes of different sizes check out our guide on how to cover a cake with fondant.

Top tips!

Use a small amount of Trex when kneading your paste to keep it supple and stop small cracks from forming

You can use petal dust and rejuvenator spirit instead of edible paints. Mix together until it's at double cream consistency and paint away

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You will need

Edibles

6in round cake
800g white sugarpaste
Peach gel colour
Black, pink and red edible paints (Sweet Sticks)

Equipment

Large rolling pin
5mm spacers
Pizza cutter
Paintbrushes in different sizes

Instructions

Cover the cake

Start by taking your sugarpaste and warming it up by kneading it. It should be soft and supple with no cracks. Use cornflour to stop it from sticking to the work surface. Roll this out using your spacers either side.

Spray your cake with a little water so the sugarpaste will stick to the cake. Fold your paste over the rolling pin so you can lift it easily and lay centrally over the cake.

Smooth your hands gently down the side of the cake, lifting the paste and smoothing down as you go. Once the cake is covered, trim the excess with a pizza cutter.

Now smooth the cake to get rid of any lumps, bumps and imperfections.

Paint the leopard print pattern

Prep some paint by adding each colour to your paint palette. Add a little red into the pink to make a darker shade.

Start by using your lightest colour. Don’t overload the paintbrush.

Paint small splodges over the cake. You don’t need to be neat with this.

Next, add a small amount of the darker pink over the top.

You don’t want to cover it completely. Just work with small sections.

Now add some black paint. Place a small amount on the brush then paint in random sections around the pink shape you’ve painted. I like to brush outwards from the shape so it creates a few brush strokes in the paint.