This Ladybug Cake in the Garden was thought of by a friend who was preparing a ladybug themed party for her 1 year old daughter. The cake needed to be intriguing. Together we came up with this idea, and each idea lead to another, then the final product was made.
I prepared the cake board by covering it with black bulletin paper, cutting two white cardstock paper into scallops to mimic a large flower. Taped the pieces together and placed them atop the black cake board.
We prepared a 8 inch round chocolate cake and layered it, using coconut and pecan filling. It was iced with white sweet icing, then smoothed. Used a 4 in. round cake, overlaid it with white fondant and placed it on the 8 in. (positioning it at the back). With another 4 in. round cake (shaving off about an 2 inches) we overlaid it with white fondant and placed it parallel to the 4 in. cake (used for the head), stood it in the vertical position. The 4 & 2 in. cakes made the body of the ladybug.
I handmade the yellow & orange (dyed) fondant flowers by pressing rolled fondant into oval petal shapes and mending them together in the shape of a flower onto a toothpick placing stamen into the center giving them a natural realistic look . I laid them to dry.
For the eyes, we used cut out circles of white fondant (two different sizes), placed them one on top of the other, and painted the smaller circles black. Simultaneously, we painted the head with black food coloring and body with red food coloring using brushes. While letting the bug dry. She applied the grass using green icing and a grass tip. For the trim at the bottom of the cake we piped red icing.
Fondant small circles of black and red were attached to the sides of the cake and for the spots on the wings of the ladybug. To finish the look of the cake, I made lashes on the eyes. We used fuzzy craft metal (pipe cleaners) to make the antennae (curling them at one end) and legs (bending them into L shapes)sticking them into the right positions. I placed the flowers into a cluster in the grass for a bouquet appeal.
Knowing that the coconut & pecan filling would not be safe or appropriate for a one year old, we made her own ladybug cake to discover and enjoy. Because a lot of food coloring was used for the body of the bug on the fondant, she didn’t let her guests eat the bug portion (it was just for show). But, the remaining of the cake was edible and delicious.
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