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Ok, so I’m going to make these instructions fairly vague so you can do things your own way and be creative

So you’ll need 2 round cake tins, one larger than the other (ideally 9” and 5”), some generic frosting, black and red food colouring, around a pound of fondant, a shot glass, rolling pin, sharp knife and either some black pipe cleaners or some long thin pieces of chocolate or biscuit.

Start off by trimming a straight edge off each cake so that they fit together at the ladybug’s neck. Use the frosting to fill in any imperfections in the cakes to make them smooth and sticky so the fondant can adhere. Set aside a handful of white fondant for they eyes and divide the remainder into two sections. Dye one red and the other black. Use large amounts of colour to make sure you get vivid colours.

Roll the red fondant flat into a circle around 13” across. Smooth this over the centre of the larger cake and press it down the sides. Trim off the excess with a knife and smooth the edges underneath. Use a blunt knife or a spatula to create a groove down the centre of the cake to create the ladybug’s wings. Divide the black fondant in two and use half to cover the smaller cake. Bring the two pieces together. Wipe the surfaces with a little water to make them more adhesive. Roll out the rest of the black fondant and use the shot glass to outline about 10 circles and cut them out. Dab the back of each spot with a little water and stick it to the ladybug’s back. It always looks better if you try and do this symmetrically.

Make a pair of eyes out of the whit fondant – they can be whatever shape you like, round, oval or semicircular. Use 2 small pieces of black fondant to make the pupils and a long strip of red fondant for the mouth. It generally looks good to put the eyes on the top of the head and the smile on the front aspect of the cake. Then use pipe cleaners/chocolate/biscuits/candles/sparklers for antennae and you’re done! Happy birthday!