Fun and Original Children's Cakes. Maisie Parrish

head.

      1 Start by rolling a basic ball shape (see page 15). Place the ball into the palm of your hand, and with the side of your little finger on the opposite hand, lightly indent the eye area by rocking it backwards and forwards (A).

      2 Roll a tiny oval shape for the nose and attach to the centre of the face with edible glue (A).

      3 Push the end of your paintbrush into the mouth area, pulling it down to make a simple but effective mouth (A).

      4 Roll two small balls for the ears and attach to the side of the face. Push the end of your paintbrush into the balls to indent them. The ears should look rounded and low set (B).

      5 Make two flattened white oval shapes for the eyes, which will look much cuter if they are large, and glue to the face above and on either side of the nose (C).

      6 Add two smaller flattened oval shapes in a lighter shade of blue on top, leaving some whites of the eyes showing. On top of these, add two smaller flattened ovals in a darker shade for pupils (D).

      7 Attach a tiny piece of white inside the mouth opening for some bottom teeth (D).

      8 Emphasize the eyes by painting a fine line of liquid food colour in a darker shade of blue around the edge of the pale blue shape (E).

      9 Dip the end of a cocktail stick into some white paste food colour or edible paint and use this to add a highlight to each eye (E).

      10 Dust the cheeks with pale pink dust food colour and a dry brush. Using a No.0000 paintbrush make a fine arched eyebrow using a light brown liquid food colour, and then add some fine eyelashes (E).

      11 Roll three or four thin tapered cone shapes and glue to the top of the head for the hair (E).

       Tip

      Use a flower former to hold the head in shape while you are working on it.

      Faces

      To construct any face, such as the ones shown here, use the same order as for the baby in the step-by-step example. First, form the basic shape, then add the nose, the ears, the mouth and the eyes. Finish off with the hair.

       Hairstyles

      Hair is a great way of adding personality to your characters. For this example I will show you how to make a simple girl’s hairstyle.

      1 Fill the cup of a sugar press (or garlic press) with the desired colour of sugarpaste mixed with some white vegetable fat (shortening) and extrude the hair. Do not chop the hair off in a clump, but slide tool no.4 through a few strands, taking off a single layer at a time.

      2 Apply edible glue around the head, and then starting at the back of the head, work around the sides adding thin layers of hair. If there is a parting at the back of the head, work from the parting to the side of the head, keeping in mind the direction in which you would comb the hair.

      3 To make bunches, extrude the hair and cut off several strands together, forming a bunch. Attach to the side of the head and shape as desired.

      4 If you want ringlets, take three strands of hair and twist them together, make three for each side of the head and arrange them together. Add a ribbon to finish by rolling a small white sausage shape.

       Head and Body Shapes

      As you can see from the image shown below, if a body has no neck, then the neck will be modelled with the head, and likewise, if the head has a neck, then the body will be modelled without one.

       Hands and Feet

      When making an arm, first roll a sausage with rounded ends. Narrow the wrist area by rolling it gently, and then narrow just above the elbow. Make a diagonal cut at the top of the arm to fit the body shape. Flatten the hand end to look like a wooden spoon.

       Making Clothes

      How you dress your characters is the final statement of their personality. Here I will show you how to make a pair of dungarees and a dress, both of which are very simple. With any clothing, you have to tailor it to the size of the body you are dressing, making sure the garments fit from side to side and from top to bottom.

       Shoes and Hats

      Accessories such as hats and shoes are great fun to make. It is these little finishing touches that add to the charm of your finished character. Now you have lots of inspiration to create your own characters with bags of personality!

      Girl’s red shoe with separate sole, strap, button detail and socks – use dry spaghetti to attach directly to end of leg

      Pink slipper with pretty white bow – inside hollowed out with tool no.1 for the leg to be slipped inside

      Blue boot with red heart tie – the top is hollowed out just wide enough to fit the leg

      Black and white sports shoe with tongue and laces – again, inside hollowed out so the leg can sit inside

      Bobble hat – formed from a cone of sugarpaste hollowed out with fingers to fit the head. Decorated with bands, stripes and furry bobbles extruded through a sugar press (or garlic press)

      Cap – formed from a ball of sugarpaste, slightly flattened with a finger with a peak attached. Finished with a ball on the top and a contrasting trim around the peak

      Sun hat – made by mixing three or four different shades together