Ingredients

1x 8-inch cake

600g white sugar paste icing

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500g pink sugar paste icing (or blue for a boy)

A small amount of flesh-coloured sugar paste icing

Tools

1x 12-inch cake board

A garret frill cutter or a large scone cutter

Frilling tool or paint brush

Flower-shaped cookie cutter

Piping bag with a writing nozzle

An empty pill bottle

  • Knead the icing well before rolling. Cover the board with pink icing and then coat the cake with the white icing, making sure that all the surfaces are smooth.
  • Take approximately 100g of white and pink icing and roll each piece out into two long strings. Place side by side then overlap to create a rope. Place around the end of the cake and attach with water.
  • For the cradle you will need either a garret frill cutter or a large scone cutter, a round empty pill box, and a 60g oval block of icing for the base. Using either cutter, make three white and three pink circles and cut circular holes from the middle. Keep the bits cut from the centre. Finally, make one solid white circle.
  • Frill around the edge of each circle using a frilling tool or the back of a paint brush.

  • Alternating the colours, place the circles with the holes on the oval block, stretching to fit on top of each other.
  • Place the leftover centre pieces on top of each other and pinch around the edges to make a pillow. Place on cradle.
  • Make a baby shape and mark in eyes, nose and mouth on head. Place head on pillow. Make a blanket using white icing on one side and pink on the other. Cover the baby with the blanket and place on cake.
  • Make flowers using flower-shaped cookie cutter. Place on top of cake.
  • If you want to write a message on the cake, soften a small amount of pink sugar paste with water to make a piping consistency and fill a piping bag with the mixture. Use a writing nozzle on the bag to write the message.
  • Lesley is available for sugarcraft classes and also teaches cookery transition year students in schools. Contact her on (086) 6635093 for details.