My best friend’s house was infested with ladybugs this summer, so she became known as the ladybug queen. So this year for her birthday I made a ladybug birthday cake. Sinus nicked into her house and left a trail of small wooden ladybugs from her front door to her living room where the surprise cake was. At first wass concerned she had been infested again, but once she saw the cake and me hiding around the corner she saw the funny side and laughed out loud!
I made two lemon sponges (my friend’s favorite), then filled it with homemade lemon curd. I then carved the cake to have the smaller part for the ladybug’s face and a dip to show its wings. I made an Italian meringue icing which I spread over the cake to make it smooth, then covered it with fondant icing. The smile and eyes were piped on.
This is the first time I used the meringue. It worked because it’s the smoothest I have ever iced a cake.
