Fondant Owl Figurine tutorial

This lovely owl tutorial was created for Kiwicakes by Lisa from The Whole Cake & Caboodle. Lisa never ceases to amaze me how she can create anything, using tools she already has on hand.

You need two colours of fondant a light and darker version of one and a contrast colour. I have used a lime/apple green in light and dark and a bright pink. All icing has been stiffened with CMC/Tylose.

Using the lighter green roll a ball about the size of a large marble and then lengthen and thin the top to make it look like this 

Trim a small portion off the top to make a flat surface for the head to sit on.

 Using either a round piping tube or a cutter with a wavy edge make feather shapes on its breast. I have staggered the marks made with a piping tube and you can see the difference between those and the fern cutter I also used. You can also leave it plain if you wish

With the darker green fondant make a ball about 2.5-3 times the size of the body and flatten a bit. If it seems too large make it slightly smaller by pinching off some and re-rolling. Set aside for the moment

Roll out a portion of the pink and a portion of the darker green fondant. Using a leaf cutter cut two wings from the green. I have used a small ivy plunger cutter that is about 2cm wide but didn’t make the imprint on it. You can vary the size that you use making them really small if you wish. A rose leaf plunger cutter works well also.

I also cut out two of the flower shape as shown out of the pink. This is a marguerite daisy plunger about 2cm in size.

Trim the daisy like so. This makes a fabulous birds foot. They are fine as they are as any untidy cuts will hide under the owl but if you want a tidy foot for a different bird then smooth the cuts. Keep one of the trimmed petals for the owls beak - put aside somewhere really safe so you don’t forget and tidy it up!

Glue the feet to the base of the body with a bit poking out the back. Poke a toothpick or other support through the body with part out the top for the head to rest on. I like to anchor figures into a cake dummy or piece of polystyrene while they are drying.

With a touch of glue stick the head onto the body. Your body needs to be firm or the head being so much bigger will collapse and squash it. If it isn't firm leave it to dry for a bit but it should be ready by the time you are at this step.(see notes at end of blog post on CMC/stiffener)

Glue wings on at the sides pulling the bottom out so it has a little movement/action.

Roll ears starting with a ball the size of a large pea. This is then elongated at each end as shown and then trimmed in half. I have included a ruler as a size guide. 

Glue ears on in a pleasing position.

Cut some circles out of white fondant to this approximate size. If you haven't got a circle cutter this size check out the base of your piping tubes as they make great cutters. The petal that you set aside for the beak is shown here and is a diamond shape 

Using some black fondant and a #10 tip or similar in size cut out some black circles for pupils. You can also roll balls if you wish

Glue eyes and beak in place like so and what a hoot!

This size of owl will fit nicely on a small 6 or 8 inch cake. They will need to be made smaller for cupcakes or larger for a larger cake. Colours can vary of course and they look very cute in browns with egg yellow beaks and feet

CMC/TYLOSE NOTE. Your body should be feeling firm after about 30 minutes. If your body is soft to the touch or has a wrinkly elephant skin look to it when touched then you are not using enough CMC.

Most issues with any modelling can be solved with more hardener. Your icing should have the feel of chewed gum (eww I know but you know how it toughens/hardens upon chewing don’t you!). It should be quite elastic when pulled but not at all soft. I use around 1 tsp per 250 grams of fondant and have been known to stiffen gumpaste when it doesn’t behave in certain weather conditions. You can use your stiffened fondant immediately as it will start to react pretty quickly. If using gum trag I find it needs some time (overnight) to react.

If you do premix the CMC/TYLOSE and leave it overnight it will be quite hard but should loosen upon kneading. If you over stiffen your paste so when you roll balls you are constantly getting wrinkles/cracks you can't roll out, then mix in a touch of normal fondant to loosen. The best way of doing this is to get a little stiff fondant and mix a bit of normal fondant in with it. If you try and mix in really soft fondant with a lot of stiffened fondant it can be hard to do. Do a little at a time. Have a play with different stiffened icings until you get the feel for it but most of all DON’T GIVE UP!

Mothers Day 'Borrowed' Rhubarb Treats - from Kiwicakes test kitchen

Most mums want nothing more for Mothers Day than a visit or a phone call. Or that's what they say. I reckon you'd be pretty popular if you arrived with a tray of these fruity beauties! If you don't have rhubarb planted in your own garden, whip around to a good gardener (often our mums) and steal a couple of stalks. Trust me she'll thank you for it later!

Rhubarb Cupcakes

You will need:

125g softened butter

2/3c firmly packed brown sugar

1/2t vanilla bean paste

pinch salt

2 large eggs

1/2c milk

1 & 1/2c self-raising flour

1 & 1/2c washed and diced rhubarb

Owl design cupcake cups

plum icing

20g melted butter

1/2c sifted icing sugar

1/3c nougat, cranberries or similar to top

1. To prepare your rhubarb cook it with 2T water for 5+mins until soft. Let it cool. This will reduce to approx 1c of stewed rhubarb.

2. Cream first measure of butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisk eggs and milk and add to butter mixture ever so slowly to combine. (Here is the egg mixture pictured with a sturdy mini whisk I totally recommend for prep jobs). Add the flour and continue mixing on low speed until a thick batter forms. Fold in 1c stewed rhubarb gently. 

3. Fill cupcake cups 2/3 full and arrange them in a 7x3 grid on your tray. Its important to leave space between for them to cook evenly. This recipie makes 21. Bake at 170`C for about 25 mins or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

4. Meanwhile prepare your icing according to packet instructions. This requires a little melted butter and some water. Add icing sugar to turn it into a pipeable consistency. Fill a piping bag that has been fitted with a tip to pipe through. I used wilton tip #109 for the gentle swirls.     

5. When the cupcakes have cooled, decorate with a swirl of the punchy plum icing and top with a thin slice of nougat or some whole dried cranberries. These cupcake papers are thick and robust to travel as well as simply being sweet! In the same range are eye-catching aeroplane, carousel, bluebird, babushka, patchwork paper cup designs and more.

These rhubarb cakes are also beautiful and light served simply with a fine sprinkling of icing sugar. Do it through a paper doily for maximum effect! This  really lets the classic rhubarb and vanilla flavour combination shine through. 

Remember that rhubarb leaves are poisonous so don't be 'helpful' by sticking them in the compost! Simply lay the leaves you cut off around the base of the rhubarb plant to keep moisture in the surrounding soil. They will decompose with time and the gardener will stay happy :-)