DO YOU REMEMBER THESE GUYS? A few years ago, the "MARZIPAN BABIES" had their 15-minutes of fame on the email circuit when someone concocted a story that these incredibly real-looking miniature babies were sculpted out of marzipan. I was forwarded this incredible story a few times, but never ceased to be amazed and dazzled by the realism and detail of these miniature miracles! The story was later revealed to be a hoax. The truth of the matter is that the babies were made of polymer clay (no less impressive) by artist Camille Allen (who was NOT responsible for the erroneous claims).
I've always thought that the "marzipan babies", regardless of their original material, would be a fantastic challenge to try to recreate as baby shower cupcake toppers. The problem rests in the fact that the level of detail required for these marvelous creations would simply take too much time to reproduce sufficient quantity for a special event. I recently had the opportunity to put together a small batch of cupcakes for a baby shower my daughter's classmates threw for her 3rd grade teacher. It was the perfect occasion to develop a SUGAR BABY DIY that anyone can do with a minimum of marzipan, clay, or fondant experience, yielding excellent results in a short amount of time.
The materials required to bring your sugar babies to life are:
Rolled Fondant or Marzipan
Gel food coloring
Corn starch (for dusting)
A small paint brush
A small bowl of water
A small rolling pin
craft knife
Square cookie cutter (optional)
A textured cutting board or mat (optional)
Step 1: Tint one portion of your fondant or marzipan to look like skin-tone. Be very conservative with color. An infinitesimal amount goes a long way. I use a combination of Wilton "Pink" paste icing color and Spectrum "Peach" gel food color. Use a toothpick to put a small dot of color on your marzipan or fondant. Knead, fold, and taffy-pull until the color is completely integrated. Tint a second portion of fondant for the "blanket".
Step 2: Pinch off a small ball of skin-toned fondant/marzipan and lightly roll between palms to smooth out surface. Press into face mold. Remove. Using a craft knife, cut off excess.
Step 3: Define features. Press down lightly in the "eyelids" to give the eyes a closed appearance. You can use your fingers, a toothpick or fondant tools to further develop the features.
Step 4: Pinch off a small ball of blanket colored fondant/marzipan. Using rolling pin, roll out to 1/8". Using square cookie cutter or craft knife, cut square. If you find that fondant/marzipan is sticking to the surface or rolling pin, dust the surface very lightly with a bit of corn starch.
Step 5: Using small paint brush, put a dab of moisture on each of the four corners of the square. Place "head' piece in the upper corner, leaving the tip of the corner exposed so that it may be folded over the forehead. Fold the bottom corner up about 1/4". Fold the left side of the blanket over to where the baby's left shoulder would be. Now, fold the right side of the blanket over to complete the "burrito wrap". Pinch the bottom corners of the blanket together to finish.
These edible decorations can be stored in an air-tight container for several weeks. Do not refrigerate.