Thursday, June 16, 2011

How to Make a Super Simple Ladybug Cake


Start by baking the cake in a 2.5 liter, oven safe, Pyrex bowl. It should say "oven safe" on the bottom. One boxed cake mix, fits easily in this size bowl.

Make sure to grease, and flour the bowl well (or use Pam's Baking Spray, that already has flour in it).


Bake the cake at a temperature 25 degrees Fahrenheit lower, than recommended for the recipe, or mix. So, if the recipe recommends baking at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, bake it at 325 degrees, and start checking it, with a wooden skewer, at 30 minutes.

If the top begins to look very well done, but the inside is still not done (meaning the skewer is coming out covered in batter), turn the oven down another 15 degrees, and keep checking the cake, every 5 to 10 minutes. My cake took an extra 25 minutes.


Turn the cake out onto a plate to cool. And, prepare your frosting.

I made one batch of butter cream frosting (3/4 stick of butter softened, 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 teaspoons of milk, or so), reserving a small bit of the white frosting, adding unsweetened baker's cocoa (about two tablespoons), a little more milk, and black food coloring to about a fourth of what was left, and red food coloring to the rest.


Spread a little of the chocolate frosting onto the front of the cake, with a butter knife, to make a semi-circular face.


Frost the rest of the cake with the red frosting.



Place the remaining chocolate frosting, the vanilla frosting, and a small bit of the red into Ziploc-type baggies, and snip a very small hole in one of the bottom corners of each bag.


Use the black frosting to pipe on a line down the back...


...and a few spots. Start with a circle, then fill it in with more frosting, and smooth it down with the tip of the bag, as you go.


Use the white frosting, followed by the black, for eyes.



And, if you like, pipe on a red, smiley, mouth. Ladybugs don't really grin, but I thought the cake looked a little mean without a smile.



It's great to be a homeschooler.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you SO MUCH for posting how you baked the cake! My friend made one at my house once for a party, and we had the HARDEST time getting the thick shape baked. Now we will know how to do it for future baking...

Annette W. said...

Awesome!

Debbie said...

What a cute cake!

Christy Killoran said...

That is a great cake! It's funny what a difference the smile makes!

Chestnut Grove Academy said...

you've been awarded the versatile blogger award
http://chestnutgroveacademy.blogspot.com/2011/06/versatile-blogger-award.html

Brimful Curiosities said...

That is one cute ladybug cake! Hope your red frosting tastes better than the kind on store-made cakes.

An Almost Unschooling Mom said...

Brimful Curiosities - I can't usually taste food coloring, but I know some people find it bitter. The chocolate frosing, though - was delicious - I mean really, really, good :)

Ticia said...

I've seen a similar idea for the barbie cake. It turned out so cute

Theresa said...

SO cute!! We got the ladybug farm to hatch lady bugs...maybe we will make this as our celebration cake when they emerge!

Kristin said...

So cute!! My youngest is turing 1 on Monday and we're doing a ladybug theme for her party. I think I might try this for her cake instead of a store bought one!

Sparklee said...

It must always smell wonderful at your house--you are always baking up such yummy things!

The ladybug cake is adorable and the party looks like a lot of fun! Lucky birthday girl!