Children's Party Food: Pig Face Cupcakes

As we recently celebrated Bridget's second birthday and she is somewhat obsessed with Peppa Pig, I decided to make her some Piggy based cakes - with some inspiration stolen from Pinterest - where there are some pretty elaborate and impressive versions!

I have to say, whilst I'd say I'm a competent cook and baker - I'm lacking somewhat in the artistic presentation stakes - not through want of trying, I just express my creativity differently. So I went for something simple that still looked piggy and relied on cookie cutters and a tiny bit of shaping of fondant - if I can do it, so too can most children! And whilst this is great party food it could also work as a fun baking activity with your children - perfect for a rainy day activity or cold and wintery afternoon distractions.

I used the classic cupcake or fairy cake recipe that I've used time and time again, from Mary Berry but doubled up and used half the mixture for making the Peppa Pig Rice Paper Cupcakes.

For the whites of the eyes, if you have a steady hand you could pipe on some buttercream, but I found using fondant icing slightly easier for my not-so-steady hands.

Once the cupcakes were cooled enough to take on the fondant here is how I made them into little piggies.

Pig Face Cupcakes

Here's how:

1 batch Mary Berry basic cupcakes slightly cooled (Use the all-in-one method to combine: 175g each; slightly softened butter, self-raising flour, caster sugar, 3 large eggs, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp baking powder)
1 pack pink fondant icing (I used Renshaw's)
1 pack white fondant icing (Renshaw's)
1 black icing pen (could also use those sugar balls instead)
1 tablespoon icing sugar
Drop cold water

Firstly find a round cookie cutter that will be almost big enough to cover the entire top of each cake and set aside. Now find a smaller round cookie cutter for the nose and set this aside also.

Now make sure you use a completely clean and dry worktop space to very lightly flour, then flour a rolling pin and roll out the pink fondant icing until it is about 1/2cm thick.
Cut out the number of toppings you require for your cupcakes (I did 18).Combine the icing sugar and water in a small cup and mix well. Use a pastry brush to top each cake with a little icing then secure a topping on each cake.

Pig face cupcakes

Now make the noses using the smaller cutter. Using a sharp skewer make two nose holes in each, you can go all the way through.

Pig face cupcakes

Now place a little icing onto the back of each nose then gently tap it down into the centre of each pig's face.

Now using a tiny ball of pink icing for each pig, roll out a little pair of ears for each and set aside for the minute.

Now get the white fondant icing and cut off a quarter of it - that will be sufficient. Roll this out and then create 18 pairs of small, white balls for eyes, then flatten them onto each pig's face, securing with a tiny bit of icing and hold down. You won’t require all of the icing – secure the rest in a sealable bag and this will keep for a while in the cupboard.

Now use the same method to secure the ears on top of each pig's face.

Finally, use the black icing pen to drop a tiny dot or 'pupil' onto each eye.

If kept in a sealed container these can keep for a couple of days - perfect if you've got a lot of party preparation to get on with. Enjoy!

The piggy corner

Children's Party Food: Peppa Pig Rice Paper Cupcakes

Bridget was two a couple of weeks ago and so we threw a little party to celebrate. Her current phase is Peppa Pig and has been since Christmas time so naturally we tried to incorporate this into the party food and these cupcakes worked well and went down well with both the children and the adults. Who doesn't love a cupcake?

These are an incredibly simple recipe that is great for parties or just baking with your children. The basis for the cupcakes is the 'all in' method from baking legend Mary Berry and the topping is a simple buttercream, some 100's and 1000's and in our case, some Peppa Pig rice paper cake toppers - but if for a party and your little one has a preference you can source all number of rice paper toppers online - Amazon and Ebay have an amazing selection!

You could omit from the 100's and 100's and just use rice paper toppers but I liked the way it made them all the more colourful and fun for a party - and as an occasional treat at birthdays, I don't think there's anything wrong with allowing your child a sugary treat.

Peppa Pig Rice Paper Cupcakes

Here's how:

• 1-2 batch Mary Berry's basic cupcake recipe (Use the all-in-one method to combine: 175g each: slightly softened butter, self-raising flour, caster sugar, 3 large eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp baking powder)
• For the icing:
• 150g slightly softened butter
• 280g Icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tub sugar strands
• 1 pack rice paper cake toppers – Peppa Pig if you so wish

Once you've prepared the cupcakes and allowed to cool sufficiently, place the butter and icing sugar with the vanilla in a small bowl. Use a wooden spoon to mix well until thoroughly combined.

If the mixture is a little stiff, add a tiny drop of milk to loosen a little then mix again.

Now using a knife or the back of a spoon scoop up a little buttercream for each cupcake and spread over the top to cover well.

Once all are coated, scatter over the sugar strands and use the back of a clean spoon or a clean finger to just very gently pat them in, to ensure they don't roll off in transit. This doesn't sound it, but can be a tricky step - you may have to scoop up bits that fall onto the plate with your hands and re-scatter until you're happy they are evenly distributed and nice and colourful.

Finally - remove each cake topper from the outside shell and simply place into the centre of each cake and gently tap down with your finger.

Voila - the Peppa Pig Rice Paper Cakes are done - these will keep well in a sealed container for a couple of days, so are great to make in advance and save time on the day of any parties when you are likely to be rushing around like a maniac trying to get everything done. Enjoy!

Peppa Pig Cupcakes