Children's Party Cakes Recipes - Ballerina Cake

Ingredients

• 20cm round sponge cake

• 115g butter icing

• 45ml apricot jam, warmed and sieved

• 450g  marzipan

• 450g sugar paste icing

• pink, yellow, blue and green food coloring

• 115g royal icing

• 25cm round cake board

• small flower cutter

• small circle cutter

• wooden cocktail stick

• cotton wool

• fine paintbrush

• 3 small greaseproof paper piping bags

• No 7 shell nozzle

• 1.5ml pink riboon

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Method:

1. Split and fill the cake with butter icing. Place on the board and brush with apricot jam. Cover with marzipan then sugar-paste icing. Leave to dry overnight. Divide the rest of the sugar-paste into three. Tint flesh tone, light pink and dark pink. Stamp out 15 pale pink flowers. Leave to dry.

2. Make a template of the ballerina. Mark her position on the cake. Cut out a flesh-tone body and dark pink bodice. Stick on with water, rounding off the edges.

3. Cut two dark pink underskirts, a pale pink top skirt and a dark pink bodice extension to make the tutu. Stamp out hollow, fluted circle, divide the circles into four and frill the fluted edges with a cocktail stick. Stick the tutu in place, supported with cotton wool. Cut out and stick on pale pink shoes. Leave to dry overnight.

4. Paint the ballerina's face and hair. Position 12 hoop and three headdress flowers. Tint some royal icing green and dark pink to complete the flowers and ballet shoes. Pipe a border around the base with the shell nozzle. Tie round the ribbon.