Hedgehog Cupcake Topper Tutorial

Following on from the previous post about working with modeling paste and tylose (here), I though I should go through a photo tutorial of how to make a cute cupcake topper.

I chose to do a hedgehog with you because a) they are just so very cute! and b) when I was looking on-line a while ago for ideas on how to model a hedgehog, I couldn't find any.
So, this is the way I came up with - I'm sure there are others ; )

What you will need:

-a ball of dark brown modeling paste or chocolate marshmallow fondant (approx large marble size)
-a ball of lighter brown modeling paste, with a small marble sized portion put aside
-tylose glue and brush for applying
-modeling tools: bone tool, and the one that makes a smiley face* or a small piping nozzle
-a knife or palette knife
-small fondant roller
-a pair of sharp pointed scissors

  *I have no idea what this is called!! And if you don't have one, the edge of a small icing nozzle does the job just as well.

Begin with the light brown paste. Roll it into a fat sausage with a point, and with the one finger flatten out the pointed end. 

Mark off where you will put the eyes

From the small ball of light paste that you put aside, roll out 4 balls for feet (NB leave some paste for ears).  

Make them into tear-drop shapes

Tuck them under the body of the hedegehog - use a little glue; and indent the paws with a palette knife

Take a small piece of the dark brown paste / choc MMF and make your hedgehog a nose - attach with a dab of tylose glue. 

Give him/her a smile ("smiley" tool, or edge of icing nozzle) 

Now it's time to work with the dark brown fondant ...start with a ball

Roll it into an oval 

Measure it on your hedgehog, and cut off the excess (doesn't he look all naked and a little pathetic in the background there? Shame - lets dress him, quick!) 

Lay  this over the back of the hedgehog (attach with tylose glue)

Then, take the scissors, and with the flat of the blades parallel to the table, use just the tips to cut small V's into the hedgehog's coat.

Continue doing this until the whole coat is done

Now take the rest of the light brown paste, and roll it into two small balls

Indent with the bone tool

pinch them out on the one side

Leave them to dry for a few minutes, so that they don't distort when attaching them.  Then glue them in place.  

Optional extras:

You can either paint the eyes in with gel colour, or just use black sprinkles if you have them  

 Add a bit of blush to the cheeks and nose  

and a small tylose flower next to an ear...

All done. Sweet and simple  : )

Happy creating!

xxM

Tylose: Powder, Paste, Glue

Whenever a "crafty" project comes up, my first though is...Can I do it with sugarpaste??

The most recent task was an Olympic Torch for my son's Olympics Day at school. I had to go with paper for that one... lots of glue, staples, and sticky-tape... really not my natural element!

But give me a task to make something out of fondant or modeling paste, and I can't wait to get my hands dirty, literally: most days my hands and nails are tinted various shades of gel-colour.

Tylose (or CMC) comes in the form of a powder, which you can then make up into a paste, or mix into fondant (fondant is commonly referred to as "plastic" icing in South Africa).
You can even make an edible glue out of it.

Because you can roll tylose / CMC paste out really thin, it is great for making flowers, butterflies and all sorts of other delicate edible decorations. You can colour the paste with gel-colours or powdered colours, or paint it once it has dried.

You can also model figures out of it. I prefer to model things out of a mix of tylose and fondant **, though - it doesn't dry out as quickly, so it is easier to mould and shape. And it also doesn't dry rock hard the way pure tylose paste does. So if a child does try to take a bite out of the fairy or teddy bear (which 90% of the time they do!) they're not going to be cracking any teeth : )

**Editors note: Update - My favourite modelling medium now is a modelling chocolate / fondant blend, which I also add tylose paste too, depending on the project. 


Tylose paste:

Ingredients:
1 egg white (large egg)
Approx 2 cups sifted icing sugar
2 level tsp tylose powder (from baking supply stores)
Holsum (white veg fat - find it by the butter and margarine in the supermarket)

In a small bowl, break up the egg white with a fork.
Add 1 cup sifted icing sugar.
Mix well. The consistency will be runny.
Sprinkle the tylose on top of this, add 1/2 cup icing sugar. Mix well with a fork. Slowly add more icing sugar until the paste is too stiff to mix with the fork
Turn onto a surface sprinkled with icing sugar.
Rub some Holsum onto your hands, and knead the paste until non-sticky, adding icing sugar as you knead to...I mean need to ; )
Knead it until smooth.
Divide it into 2 balls and store in small plastic bags, or cling-wrap. Then store these bags in an air-tight container.

Tylose paste dries quickly when exposed to air, so make sure to keep it wrapped. If it does develop a crusty edge, just cut that away - you can still work with the un-crusted paste.

When you roll the paste out, first smear a little Holsum on your work surface.

You can roll it out very thinly - especially if you're doing petals or butterflies. (You should be able to see printed writing through it.)
Use egg boxes, folded card, foil - whatever- to dry your cut-out pieces into the shape you desire. I use plastic containers that the mini-eggs come in at Easter to dry my flowers in little cup-shapes.

Store your decorations in cardboard boxes, not airtight plastic containers.

To model figures, simply add a small amount of tylose powder to your fondant; add more if the fondant isn't firm enough to maintain it's shape. Don't overdo it - it will become unworkable. About 1/2tsp for a tennis-ball sized volume of Fondant should do it, or 5mls tylose powder to 250g fondant if you like to be more exact ; )
Or you can make modeling paste by mixing the fondant with tylose paste in equal proportions.

 I do both, but adding powder directly to the fondant is what I use most.

To make tylose glue, simply add just less than 1/ 2 tsp tylose powder to 250ml (1 cup) boiling water.

The powder looks like it's clumping. It is! - but leave it overnight, and it will all dissolve.

Store it in a lidded container. Discard when it is no longer clear. 

Happy creating!


xxM