Lovely little ladybugs….

I make a lot of cakes for my friends children and at the moment we’re in a  run of third birthdays. The lovely Olivia had a little tea party in the park last week and wanted ladybug cupcakes for afternoon tea.

It’s so hot here (Singapore) that buttercream and an outdoor party are not good friends so these are fondant topped. Even that doesn’t have great longevity in this humidity but it can manage an hour or two before disaster strikes. These take a little time to make but are really simple and very effective so here’s how you can make them too.

For the cupcake and frosting you can use the recipes in my “Cakes for Teacher” post from  a couple of days ago.

Start with your perfect little cupcake and smear a very small amount of frosting on the top to act as glue. Don’t use too much or it will smoosh out the sides when you put your topper on.

Next take rolled out green fondant and use a shaped cutter to make a circle. I used a wavy one to make it a bit more interesting.

You can get the vine effect by using an embossed rolling mat. They come in many designs but if you don’t have one the cakes will look just fine without the extra detail.

Next, cut a number 3 from pink fondant using a number cutter. Number and letter cutters are worth buying, cutting them by hand is a nightmare! Use a tiny amount of vanilla extract or similar as glue.

The next addition is a smiley faced sunshine. I use a PME silicone mould to make these which you can pick up for a small amount in most baking stores. The mould is super easy to use, just shake a little corn starch in, knock the excess out and then press a small amount of fondant into the mould. Make sure the fondant is flush with the back of the mould and then gently press out.

The final addition is a cute little ladybug. Cut a red fondant circle using the large end of a piping nozzle and imprint a line down the centre using the back of a knife. Using an edible felt tip pen draw on the amount of dots that you want.

Make a small black disc for the head and glue next to the body. For the final touch draw on antennae using the edible pen.

Cupcake complete, now you just need to stack them.