Thursday, April 5, 2012

Easter Cupcakes & Homemade Fondant!

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Okay, first things first... if you are here expecting a quark based recipe based on my last recipe post, I am sorry to disappoint you! I was going to make something really yummy. I swear!!! But then my friend came over, and told me all about how they eat quark in Germany (she's half German), and that was that! The next morning, we ate quark on toast, loved every bite of it, and now it's gone! Poof! Just like that!

So, I owe you one 'quarky' recipe. 

But until then, please have a cupcake?
It has been a while since I worked with fondant. And this week, when I was asked if I would make these for church, I jumped at the chance! It's so fun and it's been ages!

I don't know about you, but fondant isn't up there with my favorite frostings, in terms of flavor. I have tasted a lot of fondant and most of them are tasteless and dry. Homemade fondant to the rescue!

I followed the rolled fondant recipe from Zoe Bakes, and I was thrilled with the results. All the fondant recipes I have used before pale in comparison to this one. It rolls out beautiful and is really easy to work with! If you are afraid of working with fondant, this is the recipe to try. And you know what the BEST part is? It tastes nice! I increased the quantity of vanilla in the recipe just a little bit, and it tasted really nice. Of course, it is still really sweet, and so I can't eat too much of it, but at least it doesn't taste like cardboard!

Homemade Fondant
Adapted from Zoe Bakes
Ingredients
900gms Icing Sugar
1 tablespoon gelatin (unflavored)
3 tablespoon cold water
1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon Liquid Glucose
1 1/2 tablespoons glycerin
1 tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla extract
(If you want pure white fondant, pure vanilla extract is too 'brown'. You will need to use clear vanilla which is usually an essence and not an extract.)

Method
1. Sift half the icing sugar into a large bowl and set aside.
2. In a medium heatproof bowl, pour the cold water and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of it. Allow the gelatin to bloom by leaving it in the water for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Place the bowl over a double boiler and heat until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Don't allow the mixture to boil. Alternately, you can zap it in the microwave for short 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until the gelatin has completely dissolved. I haven't tried it in the microwave myself, and so I cannot vouch for this method.
4. As soon as the gelatin mixture comes off the stove, stir in the liquid glucose, glycerin and vanilla extract. Stir well to combine.
5. Make a well in the center of the icing sugar, and pour in the gelatin-glucose mixture.
6. On low speed, mix them together until completely combined and sticky.
7. Transfer onto a clean counter which has been sprinkled with some powdered sugar.
8. Add the remaining powdered sugar a little at a time, and begin to incorporate with your hands. Keep kneading until all the sugar as been added and you have a smooth ball of fondant.
9. Wrap the fondant in two layers of clingfilm and set aside to rest for 12-18 hours. Do not refrigerate.
10. When you are ready to use the fondant, if you find it is too dry, you can microwave it for 15-20 seconds and you will find it has softened slightly and is more pliable.
11. Divide into portions and color as desired. Gel food coloring is recommended because liquid coloring can make your fondant too wet.

There you go! Homemade fondant :)

In case you were wondering, the cupcakes are just regular vanilla cupcakes, and the 'grass' is a Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting tinted green!

I had fun playing with the fondant, and so did my little girl! We made eggs
eggs in nests
and chicks
and a rabbit, too!
I am sorry to report that this rabbit died an untimely death due to overweight.
This is a picture of him, minutes before his sudden demise. Poor guy. He didn't know what was coming! :(
He toppled off the cupcake platter, fell a good 5 1/2 feet into the dirt and had to be buried in the trash. The rabbit in the next picture is his square-jawed brother who stepped in to take his place.
In case you didn't notice, or if you were wondering why some of the pictures look different, some of the pictures in this post were taken by Zippora (my half German, quark eating friend), who also took the pictures of my Triple Dark Chocolate Cookies post. Her pictures and mine were taken in different lighting settings, and with different brands of camera (Nikon vs. Canon.... hmmmm) and lenses (hers is a 50mm lens, and mine is not). What a difference, right? :) You can check out her photography blog here.

I've been seeing so many cute and adorable fondant Easter toppers out there! Bunnies, chicks, flowers, eggs, and SO much more. But I just wanted to share this last cupcake to remind us what Easter is all about! Let's not forget about the death and resurrection of our Lord, which is the reason we celebrate!
If you are looking for some ideas for Easter cookies, you can check out my Easter post from last year. Not very professional looking cookies, but hey - I tried! :)

Happy Easter!


Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3

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48 comments:

Zippora Madhukar said...

ha ha. I like that I am now your quark-eating, photographer friend :)

The Café Sucré Farine said...

Okay first I have to say this is the most quarki-less post I  have ever seen! :) but one of the cutest! I love your cupcakes - they're so creative, fun and cheerful looking! And I love your Scripture quote and say "Amen" - have a blessed Easter (quark or no quark)

gobakeyourself said...

You are a fondant genius! I am so glad I can be the first to comment and tell you how absurdly cute and delicious and perfect these are :D

Happy Easter :D
Choc Chip Uru 

theharriedcook said...

How weird that your comment came as an email notification first, but when I went to my Disqus dashboard, it was third! I need to look into that... 

Thank you for your kind words!!! :) I am no genius for sure, but I I had fun making these :) Thanks for stopping by! Happy Easter :)

theharriedcook said...

You forgot 'half-German' :) LOL :D Thanks for the pictures, Zip! And for stopping by :)

theharriedcook said...

Haha :) Thank you, Chris! I am so glad you liked the post... I hope you have a blessed and wonderful Easter, too! :) Thanks for stopping by... 

Kristen said...

Those are simply adorable!! What a crafty person you are.   Your little chicks and bunnies are so cute.  I would love for you to link this up on my Easter blog hop (it's under gf strawberry rhubarb pie in a jar...poor planning on my title)

theharriedcook said...

Thank you so much for your kind comment, Kristen! :) I would love to link up :) Will visit you & link up soon! Thanks for stopping by!

Faith said...

Hi Marsha, Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and leaving that sweet comment!  Your blog is lovely and these cupcakes look fantastic!  I've never worked with fondant but I've been wanting to try my hand at it!  :)

Mary Bergfeld said...

These are all so cute and your fondant recipe is a real treasure that has been bookmarked. Have a great day and don't eat too many of those little beauties. Blessings...Mary

Weavethousandflavors said...

These are absolutely drop dead gorgeous! How did I miss so many of your posts but so glad I didn't miss this one. I admit fondant does nothing for me but you make it look totally drool worthy - not to mention your creativity shines through! LOVE IT!

chow :) Devaki @ weavethousandflavors

Lizzy Do said...

Oh, gosh, these are gorgeous!!!  It takes a lot of talent to make such lovely toppings...so impressive! Have a fantastic Easter~

Rachel {mother's mementos} said...

So cute, Marsha!  I've never worked with fondant, but I want to try.  Hope you and your family have a blessed Easter!  Praise the Lord!

Amanda said...

Wow! I've tried making homemade fondant multiple times with no avail! maybe it's time to try my hand at it again, especially after seeing how successful yours turned out!

Aimee @ Chickenville said...

You are so talented! These are adorable and I love that you included a cross - beautifully done I might add. I don't have the artistic talent to create fondant sculptures, but I wish I did. So glad you came by and that you named your precious daughter Aimee. She must be super cool.

Jennifurla said...

Those could not be any more awesome

2 sisters recipes said...

these cupcakes are so adorable !  would love to order a dozen for my family dinner on Easter Sunday!  Have a blessed holiday!

ping kay said...

I don't mind waiting as long as you keep posting stuff like this. They are adorable and making homemade fondant is brilliant. I don't eat fondant anyway, just like messing with them and looking at them so maybe I'll omit the artificial vanilla altogether or not bother too much about it being not too white ... that's coz I'd just read at Mr 3Cookies that artificial vanilla is made out of something from a beaver's behind .... ew.
Have a blessed Easter, dear Marsha!

elisabeth@foodandthrift said...

Marsha, I just love your adorable Easter cupcakes...cute little chicks, and bunnies. Can't get over how talented you are with the fondant!
So festive so pretty, and so joyful to look at all the cute and yummy creations of yours!
Happy Easter, my dear friend!
Hugs

Evangeline Jehosheba said...

looks awesome akka...... i cant wait to try it!!! :)

Jill Colonna said...

Marsha, always love dropping in for your quirky (or should I say quarky) sense of humour!
Beautiful colours and decor - so sad about the rabbit's exit and that he couldn't be resurrected but true, we should be more concerned with the most important Resurrection. Happy Easter to you, my friend. xo

Carrie's Experimental Kitchen said...

They're so ADORABLE! Happy Easter to you and your family xo

Nancy/SpicieFoodie said...

Hi Marsha, 

We'll forgive you on the Quark recipe, but only because these are just precious:) I've never worked with fondant, but your cute cupcakes make me want to try it. Have a great weekend. 

Mary said...

This was your first time working with fondant?? I am impressed! I haven't even tried it yet myself. These are adorable!

Pratiksha said...

The cupcakes look adorable. I tried making fondant and its way too sweet for me. Everyone at home finished half of it as candy. My mom just asked me to make the rabbit with the leftover fondant. I love, love, love the cupcakes. Super post. :D

Kimby said...

Your cupcakes are adorable, but the last one (and what you wrote) touched my heart so much, I called my hubby into my writing nook so I could share your post with him.  We were BOTH blessed.  Thanks for that, and Happy, Joyous Easter to you and yours, too, my friend!!!

Priya Sreeram said...

seasons greetings marsha !my daughter who is standing beside me as I type this is drooling ;; love it !

Biren @ Roti n Rice said...

These cupcakes look super cute! You girls must have had fun making them. Happy Easter Marsha!

C&C Cakery said...

I love the chickie - that's my favourite out of the bunch :) And, if you want to fool around with homemade fondant again, I would suggest making marshmallow fondant. It's a little less time consuming (but, unfortunately, still as sickly sweet!) 

rose said...

Adorable cup cake Marsha! Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing the fondant recipe. What fondant colouring do you use? Could you suggest gel food colouring available in Chennai? Where can I get those pretty cup cake liners?

Baker Street said...

Wow! You're brilliant with fondant. I'd never be able to pull this off. 

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

Marsha... you are amazing.  I'm too scared to make cupcakes because of the icing on top but you made one with fondant.... You have to be my teacher! ;-)  SUPER cute!!!!

Adora said...

These are just such beautiful easter cupcakes. Your church is so lucky to have you. Love the photos!

Gourmantine said...

Oh my, these are so so cute! You're a true fondant virtuoso!

Tara said...

I can't STAND store bought fondant!  My sister makes fondant using marshmallows but I like the idea of using gelatin instead of  store bought marshmallows.  I will share this with her so she has another option.  She makes a lot of cakes for family and friends and likes to use fondant.  This recipe sounds wonderful and the pictures are gorgeous!  You guys did a fantastic job! :0)

Wok with Ray said...

Those cupcakes are cute! :)

Erin said...

These are adorable!  I love your use of fondant.  I have never actually used it before, but you have my curious.  Some how I don't think my bunnies would turn out nearly that well!

Spcookiequeen-blog said...

I think the decor on the last one was a perfect way to celebrate Easter.  I have never had quark, can't wait to see yours.  I can't stand the taste of fondant, even homemade.  But it is so much fun to work with and make cute things out of.  I made it once at home and it almost killed my mixer.  Hope you had a wonderful Easter.
-Gina-

Baking Serendipity said...

I love these cupcakes! I haven't made or worked with fondant before and am always impressed with people who do so so well!

review said...

that is really cute!:)

Lisa said...

What gorgeous Easter cupcakes, Marsha!  Love that made you made the fondant from scratch..because fondant is sometimes so plastic tasting.  People peel it off cakes lol  That said, thank you soo soo much for your sweet and kind thoughts regarding my Father..so appreciated *hugs*

Monetm1218 said...

My goodness! These are just too adorable. I'm swooning. Thank you for sharing. I hope you are having a good Wednesday, and I hope the end of the week is even better.

Kitchen Belleicious said...

The Lord has risen indeed! Love these cupcakes! So cute and creative! You are so amazing with your decorating!

Pudding Pie Lane said...

Love Love Love this! Such a cute rabbit :) Sorry to hear about the one who suffered a tragic death :p

Magic of Spice said...

Gosh, I am so far behind :( These are all amazing!
Hope you had a wonderful Easter!

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

Marsha, these cupcakes are so cute!  Does it take a long time to decorate?  I have no idea how to even start decorating... =P  Beautiful cupcakes!

A.Mirza said...

you know marsha.. baking day in day out has always been a dream for me.. i mean i bake but not that often.. and seeing your blog the yearning has gotten way too strong to ignore!!:D you are absolutely fantabulous!!:D

Sheela sharon said...

waw... they look so cute!

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