A Ladybug Themed Birthday Party using Applesauce Cake

As I have mentioned before, my boss asked me to make a cake for his daughter's 1 year birthday party.  He also asked if the cake could be apple flavored, have low/no sugar, have no egg whites, and be ladybug themed.  He was having two seperate parties (one with just family and another with just friends) and asked if I could make cupcakes for one party and a cake (plus a little smash cake) for the other party. 

I tried out a few sample cakes first, like the sugar free applesauce cake that I had posted earlier, and after weeks of testing and sampling I finally found this cake recipe to be the best.  The cake was just sweet enough and was very moist and soft considering it had no eggs in it at all.  I only had to make a few minor changes such as ommitting the nuts, cutting the sugar in half, and substituting 1 1/2 tsp of allspice for 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of allspice instead.  For the frosting on the cupcakes I was inspired by this site and used it as my template to decorate the cupcakes.  I used a cream cheese frosting that was dyed with food coloring to be red and black, then I used mini marshmallows cut in half for the eyes. 

For the cake I used whipped cream between the two layers and to cover the whole cake, then I used the same cream cheese frosting from the cupcakes to create the ladybugs on the cake.  Overall I think it was a successful Ladybug themed party and that my boss was pleasently surprised!

Low Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

250g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 Tbsp apple juice from concentrate
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Food coloring (add as much or as little as you need to reach desired color)

1) Combine all ingredients except food coloring in a bowl and mix together with a fork until well combined
2) Add food coloring and stir until desired color is reached
3) Put frosting in a piping bag and create your ladybugs and enjoy!