Ladybird Cake

These ladybird cakes are especially cute with their big eyes and smiling faces.

Ingredients

To decorate:

• two cakes, baked in Lakeland Individual and Large Hemisphere Cake Pans
• buttercream
• 3 tbsp jam
• 500g (1lb 1oz) ready-to-roll red icing
• 250g (9oz) ready-to-roll black icing
• 50g (1¾oz) ready-to-roll white icing
• a few drops of pink icing colouring
• 50g (1¾oz) desiccated coconut
• 1 tbsp royal icing sugar, mixed with a few drops of water
• 1 tsp green food colouring

Equipment

• 30cm (12in) dia. cake board
• florist wire
• knife
• rolling pin
• cake smoother
• palette knife
• paintbrush
• circle cutters
• piping bag and nozzle

Method

1. Cut the cakes in half widthways, spread with the jam and a little of the buttercream, set the rest aside. Put the cake halves back together and place the cakes onto the cake board.
2. Cover the cakes with the buttercream. Cut off 100g (3½oz) of the red icing and roll out to about 15cm (6in) diameter. Place onto the individual cake, gently smooth from the top downwards and trim away any excess. Roll out the remaining red icing to about 35cm (13½in) diameter. Place onto the large cake, gently smooth from the top downwards and trim away any excess.
3. Roll out the black icing and use small round cutters to create the dots, then brush the backs with a little water and stick onto the cake. Use your hands to mould 1 large and 1 small oval shape for the faces, brush the back with a little water, then press into place.
4. Cut some eyes from a little white icing, brush the backs with a little water, place onto the face and finish with small black dots for pupils. Colour a little of the white icing pink to create the cheeks. Pipe the mouth on with a little white royal icing.
5. Mix together the desiccated coconut and green colouring, leave to dry slightly, then spread onto the cake board.
6. Roll up the remaining black icing, shape some sausages for the legs and put into position. Roll some little balls, push onto short pieces of florist wire and tuck behind the faces to make antennae.

Top Tip

When placing icing shapes onto the iced cake, moisten the back with a paintbrush dipped in a little cool water first. This will help hold them in place.