Firstly I use the hummingbird bakery recipe for buttermilk pound loaf. It's a little heavier than a regular sponge but its not quite as sweet and the addition of the buttermilk makes it really nice and moist.
To make the peppa shape I used three different cake tins. A large square, a large round and a small round.
I also added red food colouring to the sponge to also make it a soft pink hue.
Once baked I carved the corners off the sq to make peppa's dress and a little curve off the top to settle the large round cake into it to make the head.
Then I cut the small round into a tapered snout and used the bits that I cut off for the ears as well as for shaping the snout. At this stage it looks a bit weird.
But once I whizzed up a batch of pink icing it starts to take shape. I start with the lightest pink because then with each area I just add more food colouring in order to pipe around the face, then more for the dress, then even more for piping round the dress and the lips.
Finally I use pre bought ready to roll pink and black icing to roll into her arms, tail, legs and shoes. It's not expensive to buy or you can make your own (i did for the eye balls - simply use royal icing with very very little water to make a thick playdough style ball and roll out and cut using a cookie cutter). But my fave pre rolled icing is from Jane Asher's baking shop. This is also where I get the food colouring gel pots. They just have a denser colour than the supermarket liquid ones. And there is a greater range of hues to choose from too. I also bought edible glitter which just gives the icing another depth.
I also always do a cream cheese frosting. It's tougher to make but I think it's just less cloying than the regular stuff. I also use a icing palette knife. It's a long flat flexible spatula that is worth investing in. It makes icing a cake a doddle.
Finally I piped a birthday message onto the board, added some heart sweets to her dress, rolled some more icing in glitter to make a fairy wand and the no.3 and voila! Peppa in all her glory.
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