Easter Cupcakes & Homemade Fondant!

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