Make a Peg Cake

Gather your supplies. Using the two round cake pans, bake two cake layers according to the instructions on the box. Cool completely on wire racks.

Remove one cake from its pan. Use a serrated knife to slice off the rounded top of the cake to flatten the surface. Cover the top of this layer cake with buttercream.

Remove the second cake from its pan and level the surface with a serrated knife. Carefully put the second cake, cut side down, on top of the buttercream-covered first layer. Press down lightly so the two layers stick together.

Cover the sides and top of the cake with buttercream. Smooth it out with your spatula or butter knife. Put the cake in the freezer for 10 minutes for this layer of buttercream to set. This is called a “crumb coat” which seals in the crumbs.

Add a few drops of the copper gel food coloring to one cup of the buttercream to create a peach colored buttercream.

Remove the cake from the freezer. Using the peach colored buttercream, add another layer of buttercream to the cake. Smooth the frosting carefully to create Peg's face.

Using a sharp paring knife, slice a quarter inch off both ends of a jumbo marshmallow. Put the marshmallow slices sticky side down on a piece of wax or parchment paper. Using the paring knife, cut little notches into the center of the marshmallow pieces. Then put two chocolate chips (swirl side down) into the notches to create Peg’s eyes.

Clean your paring knife, then slice a thin piece of black licorice about one and three quarter inches long. You'll use this piece to make Peg's mouth. Bend the licorice slightly to make a smile.

Color the remaining buttercream using a quarter teaspoon of the orange food coloring. Cut the corner of your piping bag with scissors and insert the piping tip into the bag. Then fill the piping bag with orange buttercream.

Pipe “hair” onto the sides of the cake by starting at the base of the cake and pulling up to create vertical lines. Cover half of the side of the cake.

Pipe some strands of hair for the bangs on the “face” of the cake, starting at the middle of the hair. Add hair down both sides of the face, using the photographs as a guide.

Gently press the marshmallow eyes and licorice mouth into place on the buttercream.

Print out the template of Peg’s hat and cut along the dashed lines. Using the template, trace the 3 parts of Peg’s hat onto red paper, and cut out the red paper shapes. Arrange the shapes to form the hat, and tape them together. Draw two black lines on the hat.

Attach the hat to a wooden skewer with a piece of tape. Carefully slide the skewer in to the side of Peg’s head - and problem solved - your Peg cake is done.