Saturday, April 10, 2010

Baby Booties Factory

I have been asked to make cupcakes for a baptismal reception next weekend.  Honestly, I have never prepared themed cupcakes before, so while I had accepted the challenge, I knew I had some researching to do.

While googling for baby-themed cupcakes, I came upon this super wonderful tutorial on how to make baby booties from fondant.  Exactly what I was looking for!  One problem though...I have never worked with fondant before and was pretty much clueless about a lot of things.  I was then off to do more research...

Luckily, I had this cupcake book from the library with me that had a recipe for modelling paste.  The author of the book used modelling paste to create most of her cupcake toppers like flowers, butterflies, stars, etc.  It was great since I had all the ingredients on hand.

After leaving the modelling paste overnight, I excitedly worked on the baby booties.  Oh what joy!  I felt like a child playing with clay!


I molded a total of 35 pairs of these little cuties, taking me a good two hours.  Didn't really care about the time!  I only used a third of the modelling paste and left the rest untinted for later use.  Yesterday, I also made some letters from royal icing which I will then top on 12 of the cupcakes to spell out the baby's baptismal name.  I avoided taking photos of that one cause the letters seem a bit delicate and I don't want to risk breaking them.

Here's the recipe for the modelling paste.  It is quite different from all other recipes I found on the web but it works great!

MODELLING PASTE (adapted from Divine Cupcakes by Tamara Jane)

500g icing sugar (powdered or confectioner's sugar)
130g cornflour
110ml water
1 1/2 tablespoons gelatine (unflavoured)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Sift the icing sugar and cornflour into a large mixing bowl to combine.

Place the water, gelatine and cream of tartar in a glass measuring jug and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Place the jug in the microwave and heat on low in 10 second bursts until the gelatine has dissolved.  Be careful not to overheat the mixture.  If you do not have a microwave, place the water, gelatine and cream of tartar in a bowl.  Allow to stand for 5 minutes and then heat gently over a pan of simmering water until the gelatine dissolves.

Pour the gelatine mixture into the bowl with the cornflour and icing sugar.  Mix thoroughly until well combined.  Allow to rest in the bowl, covered with a damp towel for an hour.  Place the paste into an airtight container and store in the fridge until required.  This paste is best left overnight before making decorations.  It can also be frozen for up to 1 month if desired - allow to defrost in the fridge before use.

Will show you my finished cupcakes next time.  Have a good weekend!


Posted by at
Labels: ,

17 comments:

  1. Lorraine @NotQuiteNigellaApril 10, 2010 at 4:04 PM

    You did a great job with the booties! And good on you for making your own modelling fondant too-I usually buy it but thanks for sharing the recipe! :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. ShellApril 10, 2010 at 6:31 PM

    wow!! so sweet :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. JennyApril 11, 2010 at 11:47 AM

    Those are just adorable!
    ~Jenny~

    ReplyDelete
  4. quilaryApril 15, 2010 at 6:38 PM

    What a cute picture of all those booties lined up in pairs. Thanks for the recipe and links.

    ReplyDelete
  5. jinkyMarch 11, 2011 at 5:43 PM

    Hi, thanks for sharing your recipe. I'm planning to use this modeling paste as a graduation cap topper for cupcakes on my daughter's graduation next week. I would like to ask if this paste will harden? I was really looking for gumpaste recipes but gumpaste powder is hard to fine here in our place. A disadvantage of living in a province with no big supermarkets around.
    Hope you can help me with this, thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. CorinneMarch 11, 2011 at 7:00 PM

    Hi Jinky,

    I only used this recipe once, that was when I did not know that fondant was readily available in the supermarket. Yes, it did dry hard although I remember that there was a bit of cracking in my baby booties. I do suggest that you start making your toppers now as you mentioned that the graduation is already next week. You may also want to google for some other modelling paste recipes just so you can compare which one is best.

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  7. jinkyMarch 12, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    Thanks Corinne, I do plan to make the toppers tomorrow..I have search the net for more recipes and I found one at CakeCentral using knox, lemon juice and glucose. I hope it will also work..Hope I really can get a gum paste powder soon.
    Will let you know how it turned out, thanks again!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. elayNovember 9, 2015 at 5:40 PM

    hi, miss corinne. me again, ask ko lang po if cornflour is the same as corn starch?

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousDecember 9, 2015 at 10:55 AM

    Hi miss corrine! Can i ask if i can leave out cream of tartar because i dont have one on hand and its hard to find that here.. Thanx!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CorinneDecember 9, 2015 at 11:00 AM

      I only used this recipe once. I suppose you could leave out the cream of tartar.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousDecember 9, 2015 at 2:52 PM

      Thnk u so much for the reply 😉😉

      Delete
  10. Twin MagaoDecember 16, 2015 at 12:09 PM

    hi,ask ko lang po if the gelatin is the same as gulaman?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CorinneDecember 16, 2015 at 12:12 PM

      No, the two are not the same. Gulaman is agar-agar. It comes from algae. Gelatine is an animal bi-product.

      Delete
  11. MarkJanuary 13, 2016 at 8:38 PM

    can i used this to cover a cake?

    ReplyDelete
  12. MarkJanuary 15, 2016 at 2:02 AM

    but can i mold different design for cupcake toppers

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)