Birthday bug cake

• Easy vanilla cake

  and syrup mix (see recipe below)

• white chocolate↗100g g

  (I used Milkybar)

• Basic vanilla↗

  buttercream mix (see Easy vanilla cake recipe below)

• giant chocolate buttons↗12

  6 cut in half

• treat-size pack chocolate buttons
• 2 chocolate↗

  sticks (I used Matchmakers)

• hundreds and thousands↗
• multicoloured candles
• red (or whatever colour you like) writing icing

  tubes (I used Asda)

• multicoloured candles

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Bake the Easy vanilla cake in a greased, lined deep 20cm cake tin as in the basic recipe; drench with syrup and leave to cool. Leave the oven on.

2. 2

   Break the white chocolate into cubes into a microwaveable bowl, and heat on High for 1 min (or melt over a pan of simmering water). Stir, then leave any remaining lumps to melt in the warm liquid chocolate. Once just-warm, beat the chocolate into the buttercream.

3. 3

   Start the butterflies. Put the whole giant buttons on a flat baking tray on non-stick baking paper, then put into the oven for 20-30 secs or until the chocolate looks shiny. Take out, scatter with hundreds and thousands, then leave to set completely before cutting in half with a large non-serrated knife. For the ladybirds, pipe dots of icing all over the already cut giant button halves, then leave aside to dry.

4. 4

   Spread the buttercream over the cake, then start to arrange the butterflies. Cut each Matchmaker into 3 – these will make the bodies. Press onto the cake, then stick four giant button halves around each body to make ‘wings’. For the ladybirds, place two spotty button halves together, then use a small button for the head. Scatter more hundreds and thousands all over the cake, then poke in the candles.