Tag: fondant

Blimey, It’s Leprechaun Cupcakes!

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Cupcake making is always great because it’s pretty easy and yields plenty of treats to go around. This little project can be done as a fun group activity with children–adults doing some of the more tedious parts.

To get started you need:

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  • cupcakes
  • orange buttercream
  • marshmallow fondant (recipe here)
  • circle fondant cutter
  • fondant rolling pin
  • black & green food coloring gel
  • piping bag, coupler, & Wilton tip #18
  • gold luster dust, vodka, & food-safe paint brush (optional)

To get started:

  1. Tint your fondant. You’ll need more green than black & white. If you don’t have gold luster dust, tint the white fondant yellow. Wrap black & white fondant in plastic wrap until ready to use.

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2.  Grab a chunk of green fondant and roll it into a cylinder. I decided on the thickness of my cylinder based on the size circle cutter I had. You want your cylinder’s circumference to be a bit smaller than the circle cutter. Wow, this is starting to sound like geometry!

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3. Next, cut your cylinder to the desired height of your hat, making a crisp top and bottom. Set side finished pieces on a surface dusted with powdered sugar to prevent sticking.

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4. Cut out fondant circles.

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5. Attach cylinders to circles. Set finished pieces aside.

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6. Next roll out black fondant (pretty thin) and cut it into strips with a sharp, non-serrated knife.

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7. Wrap black fondant strips around the bottom of each cylinder. Cut off any excess. Note: I didn’t use water as glue to attach my fondant pieces for this project. My fondant was doing a good job sticking on its own.

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8. For the hat buckle, I used my knife and cut tiny rectangles and then even tinier rectangles inside that (Congratulations! You made it to the tedious part!).4

9. I know not everyone has this stuff in their pantry, so don’t fret! I think yellow fondant buckles are just as cute. If you do have some gold luster dust on hand it’s a fun addition to this project!

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Using a food-safe paint brush mix your luster dust with a bit of vodka (it evaporates quickly and won’t gum up your fondant) and paint it on dry-ish buckles. Attach buckles to hats and HOORAY, they are complete!

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10. Now it’s time to ice your cupcakes! Fill your piping bag with orange buttercream and pipe little rosettes around the entire cupcake. Don’t they look like little curls?

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11. Top it off with your fondant hats. You now have cute leprechaun cupcakes!

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

xo.

Pete

DIY FONDANT

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Do you hate the way fondant tastes? Do you think it’s too expensive? Do you think it’s hard to work with? Well, I have a solution for you! MARSHMALLOW FONDANT! You will laugh at how simple the ingredients are. While fondant is not my first love for covering cakes (I have a tiny obsession with buttercream!), I love it as an option for making cake decorations. I have found it unparalleled in creating smooth, crisp lines and clean finishes. Another bonus to fondant is that it’s like edible play dough. Your kids will love playing with it and this recipe will have them love eating it too!

To make my Marshmallow Fondant you only need two ingredients (three if you count water!). I recommend using C & H confectioner’s sugar and Kraft’s mini marshmallows.

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MARSHMALLOW FONDANT

  • 32 oz (2lbs) C & H Confectioners Sugar
  • 10 oz Mini Marshmallows (make sure you grab a bag that doesn’t have marshmallows all stuck together–no bueno)
  • 3 Tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon flavoring such as almond, vanilla, cotton candy, cheesecake, etc. (totally optional–I never do this because I already love the taste)

TOOLS:

  • Standing mixer with either a hook attachment (my preference) or paddle
  • rubber spatula
  • microwave-safe bowl
  • paper towels
  • shortening

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Grease all of your tools with shortening: the mixing bowl, hook/paddle attachment, and rubber spatula.

    2. Pour your marshmallows in a microwave-safe bowl and add the water.26

3. Microwave marshmallows on high for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir. Put back in the microwave for an additional 30 seconds and repeat until the marshmallows have completely melted.

4. Pour melted marshmallows in your greased mixing bowl and turn it on a low speed.

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5. Slowly start adding powdered sugar. Do not dump the entire bag in! Keep checking the consistency as you add the sugar. If the mixture gets super thick increase the speed to medium. Your goal is to have soft fondant that isn’t sticky and has a play dough-like texture.
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Often times I don’t use the entire bag of sugar, it all depends on how well everything is mixing together. It may take some practice to find your perfect consistency. This is where quality ingredients help!

6. Once your fondant is done mixing, knead it like dough. This process helps you to gauge consistency and make sure ingredients are properly blended. If the fondant is sticky, mix more powdered sugar in. If the fondant is hard, you’ve added too much sugar. It may be fixable by putting it in the microwave for 5 second increments. If that doesn’t work…you might need to start over. SO BEWARE!

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7. Either use your fondant right away or double wrap it in plastic wrap and place in a ziplock bag. Store at room temperature for up to one month. Fondant dries out quickly when exposed to air, so keep it wrapped tight. If it does harden while in storage you can soften it right up by microwaving it in 5-10 second increments (depending on how big the fondant ball is). 32TIPS:

  • When tinting fondant always use a gel food coloring (and wearing gloves is helpful during this process!)
  • When making decorations or toppers with fondant I purposely let the finished pieces dry out over night to create a sturdy decoration
  • Use shortening on your work surface while playing with fondant to prevent sticking
  • Painting a bit of water on fondant pieces will serve as a glue to attach other fondant pieces

Here are some fun projects I’ve done in the past using this recipe:

Let me know if you have any questions. I hope this opens the door to many food art possibilities for you!

xo,

Pete