Front Cover Red Squirrel Cake

Wow, two in a row! Yes, my red squirrel cake has made the front cover of the September 2022 edition of Cake Decoration and Sugarcraft magazine. I’m absolutely delighted and totally amazed to have two cakes consecutively on the cover, which has never happened before in all my years of writing. In case you missed the August edition take a look at my cricket celebration cake blog.

Why a red squirrel cake?`

The theme for the September 2022 issue of Cake Decoration and Sugarcraft, as you could probably guess, is back to school and Autumn. My children are all grown up now so I opted for Autumn. I love Autumn, in my opinion, it’s a beautiful time of the year.

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I’ve always been fascinated by wildlife but have never had the privilege of living in an area where red squirrels can be spotted. I’d love to see one, but in the meantime, I decided to create this squirrel project to satisfy my curiosity.

Bas Relief Technique

The cake is decorated using the bas relief method. Despite appearances, both the tree trunk and the red squirrel are attached to the surface of a covered double-height cake.

The tree trunk

The trunk is modelled by hand from sugarpaste and then textured using modelling tools. Once dry the trunk and tree hollow are painted using melted cocoa butter and edible coloured dusts.

The Red Squirrel

I really enjoyed modelling this little chap from coloured chocolate modelling paste.

As you can see below, I modelled the basic shape and once it had hardened, I added textured paste on top to create his fur. Having never actually seen a red squirrel, I used photographs to guide me when modelling. I find Pinterest is an excellent way to collect images as it stores them on a virtual board for you. When I’m working I have this board open on my tablet as a ready reference – just to make sure I am being as accurate as possible.

Full Step-by-step Instructions

Full step-by-step instructions for this red squirrel cake are available in the magazine, which is on sale during the month of September 2022 and also as a download from the publishers.

Hoping I’ve inspired you to buy a copy of the magazine and have a go…

Sweet wishes
Lindy Smith

Bringing world-class sugarcraft into your kitchen