I loved Peter Rabbit when I was little, so I was thrilled when CBeebies made their own animated version for little ones. My kids are now both big Peter Rabbit fans and so I thought I’d have a bash at recreating them in bun form (as you do!)

It’s worth saying that they didn’t turn out quite as well as I’d hoped, but I’m totally blaming the fondant icing. I used the proper Dr. Oetker stuff this time, rather than Tesco‘s own, and it was much trickier to work with – it kept sticking to my fingers.

So top tip number 1 – buy the cheap stuff!

Okay on with the buns…

Getting started

You can make your own buns if you like, but I bought a 12 pack of plain buns from Morrison’s for £1.15. You’ll also need to make some buttercream and colour your fondant icing. If you’ve never coloured fondant before, just squash it flat a bit, dip a cocktail stick into the colouring, and wipe it onto the icing. Then fold the icing in on itself until the colour has worked all the way through.

The plan I made for what the buns should look like

For these buns, you will need these 9 colours:

I recommend wrapping your fondant in cling film and storing in the fridge. This stops it getting too sticky.

Bun preparation

Before you start decorating, you need to prepare the buns.

• Blob some buttercream onto each bun and use a knife or spatula to spread it across the surface. Try and get the icing to form a flat top
• Roll out the green fondant (about 3mm thick) and cut out some circles (use a cutter slightly bigger than your bun)
• Place the circles on the buns and tuck the edges in

Making the Peter Rabbit Characters

Bodies

The bodies are really easy to make. Roll out the fondant and use the same cutter you used for the green base. Then section off a small amount using the cutter to make a pointed oval shape.

Remember that when you attach large pieces (like the body), you need to spread some buttercream on the back to act like glue and stick the piece in place.

Rabbit Ears

To make the rabbit ears, cut a rectangle about 1 inch deep and then slice it up into smaller rectangles. Pinch these rectangles at one end to taper them. Then pull off a tiny piece of the inner ear colour and roll it in you palms before squashing into place.

Unfortunately, Benjamin’s ears went a bit wrong (sorry – I’m just a regular mummy, not a pro!) but you get the idea 

Face

To make the faces, I just used a round cutter. Well actually, I used an icing bag end because I didn’t have a circle cutter small enough. Improvising is the name of the game!

Just roll out the icing as before and then cut out the faces. I’d recommend putting all the bits and pieces on and then transferring the whole lot as one to the bun. Remember you’ll need to put buttercream on the back of the face once it’s ready to be attached.

Eyes, nose & mouth

The eyes were really easy. Again, just pull off a small amount of the colour you need. Roll it into a ball and stick on the face. If I’d thought about it in advance, I’d have bought some little balls to go on as pupils, but I didn’t… so I had to make do with these chocolate sprinkle things.

I also used the same method for the mouth, and used a chocolate sprinkle for the nose.

Added Extras

Benjamin’s Hat

To make Benjamin’s hat, use the face-sized cutter again. Then cut a straight line to make a semi-circle (ignore my photo – this is a much easier method than how I tried to do it, and I’ll definitely do it this way next time). Stick on with buttercream.

To make the bobble for his hat, I used a small flower cutter, but you could just as easily roll up a little ball of fondant and leave it at that.

Nutkin’s Hat

Nutkin’s hat is slightly different because it comes down over the side of his face. Use the face-sized cutter again, but once you’ve cut the circle, cut it again about 5mm lower so you end up with a narrow bridge shape. Use your fingers to tease the walls of the bridge down and make them longer.

Stick on with buttercream.

Then roll small balls of fondant for the goggles on his hat and press on (no buttercream necessary for little pieces like this).

Nutkin’s Ears

Squirrel Nutkin’s ears are super easy to do. Pull off a tiny piece of fondant, pinch one end between your thumb and first finger and use your other thumb to flatten the other end = instant triangle shape!

Lily’s Headband

Lily is one of the new characters in the CBeebies Peter Rabbit remake and she’s one of my favourites – a girl who knows her mind and keeps those boys in check!

For her headband, use the same method we used for Nutkin’s hat – a bridge shape. Then either use a small flower cutter for the decoration, or make a ball and flatten it.

Eat Your Peter Rabbit Bun!

Yes the best thing about making buns is eating them afterwards. Ours might not have been perfect, but they tasted delicious! And the girls were thrilled to have their favourite characters in fondant form!

I know I’m never going to compete with Pinterest, but I love decorating buns so I shall continue doing so (but with cheaper fondant in future! Haha)

And if you liked these buns, you might also want to check out the other cupcake tutorials on my blog:

Over to you – have you ever attempted cake decorating? What shows did you watch as a child that your kids enjoy too? Do you prefer to have perfect creations or is the making the fun bit? Please leave comments below (I need cheering up after poor Benjamin turned out more dog than rabbit! Hehe).

Psst! If you enjoy Lucy At Home, a nomination in the Brilliance in Blogging awards would be super wonderful!

**Mwah!**

.