Miffi Cake - this is totally beyond me, isn't it?

[LaTrucha]

I'd like to make a Miffi cake for DD's birthday on Jan 1st.

I'm not a bad cook but cakes are not really our thing (we are dieting. Well, I'm was and now I'm pregnant and I just can't eat much), so I hardly ever make them. Hence, I'm not sure about temperature in my new fan-assisted oven.

I am not at all practised at icing.

I do not have any special equipment (mixers etc) only very basic round tins.

It's going to be a disaster, isn't it?

Or is it?

Or is there something stunningly simple but totally attractive to a two-year old I could try?

Message withdrawn

I'd say make 2 round cakes, one for the face and the other to cut out the ears. (The crumbs may make it more difficult to put the icing on.)

You can get the ready roll stuff in white and then get some black color paste (the liquid stuff isnt that great).

I've been thinking a lot about it as I plan to make DD a Hello Kitty for her 2nd birthday.

First question - how old is dd going to be?

if 1 or 2 the she will be wowed by any cake at all so just make a round one and stick a candle or two in it, or buy one.

if she is 3 or 4 and you are certain that a Miffy cake is the only thing that will do, then read on:

have you large flat oblong tins with a small edge, like you'd use for oven chips?

if so make two large flat cakes in these - you need a 6-egg Victoria sponge mix for 2 A4-ish size cakes
(cream 300g butter and 300g sugar with a wooden spoon till your arm drops off, beat in 6 eggs one at a time, fold in 6 tablespoons flour, smear into the tins and give them 25min at 160ºC before testing - a knife stuck in the middle should come out clean)
cool on a rack

spread one cake with jam and stack the other on top.

Now find a good pic of Miffy online somewhere and print out so she is as close to A4 as you can manage (this is the easiest pose). Cut out.
Place cutout on cake, secure with cocktail sticks or a dab of jam and cut round with a sharp knife. Stab through paper with cocktail stick /knife / skewer to mark dotted lines where where dress meets head and paws.

Make white glace icing using 500g icing sugar and just enough hot water to make it spreadable. Smear over head and paws.
Colour remaining icing red (or pink, it's easier) and smear over remaining exposed cake for dress

Use bits of liquorice (unwind a pinwheel) for eyes and nose

done

no no no fold in 300g flour a tablespoon at a time, sorry

ready to roll is a bastard to work with IME unless you just cut out a flat miffy-head shape and stick it on top of the cake with jam.

Is there no end to your talents MrsB!

I think that I'll be doing your method for DD's birthday.

Wow, thanks Mrs Badger. She will be 2. LAst year I did a plain vistoria sponge and did some stars and things on the top. Really, I think she most likes the candles so I may follow your advice and just do miffy next year. But I WILL use your method, be it this year or next year. Many, many thanks.