My daughters and I made these Zoo Crew Baby Shower Cupcakes for my niece’s baby shower. We made our own marshmallow fondant by melting marshmallows with a small amount of water and adding powdered sugar. It takes about 10 minutes or more to knead in all of the powdered sugar. When it’s done you will have a smooth, elastic molding fondant that tastes much better than the traditional fondant.
We used Wilton gel colors to get the shades we wanted. We tried to match the colors on the Zoo Crew shower decorations we had chosen. We found animal templates on line. They weren’t exactly what we were looking for, but they gave us a place to start. We made a few modifications and got them as close as we could. None of us are gifted artists, but I think we came close. We rolled the fondant to about 1/16″ and used a paring knife to trace around the stencil. After cutting out all of the pieces, we let them dry overnight. This made them easier to work with. We then assembled the animals by using a small amount of water to attach the pieces.
After allowing them to dry again we created paint by thinning our gel food color with a bit of vodka. Using thin paint brushes, we added the eyes, mouths and other details to our animal faces. Each of the animals were sitting in a different colored square on our decorations, so we tinted our butter-cream icing to match the colors of the squares. We placed the animal faces on the appropriate colored cupcakes and arranged them on the cupcake stand.
We created an arrangement in the front to mirror the decor. Each animal also had it’s own cupcake flavor: Elephants were Peanut Butter cupcakes; Monkeys were banana flavored cupcakes; Giraffes were chocolate chip cupcakes (yellow with brown spots); Zebras were white and violet swirls and the Lions were Red Velvet (we were out of ideas and Lions like red meat!)
My daughters and I had a great time working on these together and my niece loved them. There were enough flavors for all of the guests to find something they liked and everyone raved about them.
I loved what you did with these! I just wish you had included a recipe for your marshmallow fondant. Please? I love working with fondant but nobody likes to eat it! lol. Thanks for sharing!
Here is the recipe we used for our marshmallow fondant. We took it from Wilton.com. It was only our second time ever trying to use fondant, and it seemed easier to work with than the traditional pre-made type. It also tasted a lot better.
Ingredients:
?1 package (16 ounces) white mini marshmallows (use a good quality brand)
?2-5 tablespoons water
?2 pounds (about 8 cups) sifted confectioners’ sugar
?1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
Makes: About 2 pounds marshmallow fondant.
instructions
To make marshmallow fondant, place marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds on high; stir until mixed well. Continue microwaving 30 seconds more; stir again. Continue until melted (about 2 1/2 minutes).
Place 3/4 of the confectioners’ sugar on top of the melted marshmallow mixture. Fold sugar into marshmallow mixture. Flavoring can be added at this point if desired. Place solid vegetable shortening in easily accessed bowl so you can reach into it with fingers as you are working. Grease hands and counter GENEROUSLY; turn marshmallow mixture onto counter. Start kneading like you would dough. Continue kneading, adding additional confectioners’ sugar and re-greasing hands and counter so the fondant doesn’t stick. If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is too dry; add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time) kneading until fondant forms a firm, smooth elastic ball that will stretch without tearing, about 8 minutes.
It’s best to allow Marshmallow Fondant to sit, double-wrapped, overnight. Prepare the fondant for storing by coating with a thin layer of solid vegetable shortening, wrap in plastic wrap and then place in resealable bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Marshmallow Fondant will keep well in refrigerator for several weeks.
When not working with fondant, make sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap or in a bag to prevent it from drying out. When ready to use, knead fondant until smooth. Roll out fondant 1/8 in. thick.
To color fondant: If you need to tint the entire batch of fondant, add a little icing color to the melted marshmallow mixture before adding confectioners’ sugar. For smaller amounts of tinted fondant, add icing color to portions of fondant as needed