Fondant fun: Hot chocolate cupcakes

Now that's a cupcake.. get it? get it?! Cup!Cake! Bahahaha... Ok, ok, I'm sorry.. that was lame :P

Recently I entered a made these little hot chocolate look-a-like cupcakes.. it was one of those Sunday afternoons when I got the creative itch, but it had to be something different. I really enjoyed making my Little Macs (Cheeseburger Macarons) last month, and I thought another look-a-like baking activity would be fun.

To give you an idea of the actual size, here is the cupcake pictured next to a regular size teacup.

Unfortunately I don't have step-by-step photos for these.. Sticky hands, much valued camera.. you get the picture. So hopefully these instruction will give you an idea of how I created these cupakes.

1, To make these cupcakes I first made a batch of vanilla cupcakes. Then, once cooled, I peeled off the cupcake papers.

2. I then smoothed white chocolate ganache over the sides, leaving the base and top uncovered.

3. Once the ganache had set (about 30 minutes), I attached a measured strip of white RTR fondant. The strip was wide enough to match the height of the cupcake and to give room to hold the cupcake icing to follow.

4. To attach the cup handle I lay the cupcake on their sides and attached a small strip of fondant with a little water.

5. Next I made the italian meringue icing (see below), which I coloured brown with brown food colouring.

6. I then carefully spooned the icing into the 'cups' and smoothed gently then topped with miniature marshmallows.

Italian Meringue Icing (AWW recipe)

A beautiful and versatile icing, italian meringue is creamy, soft and volumous.

1 c (200g) caster sugar

1/3 c water (80 ml) water

2 egg whites

1. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan, and stir over heat without boiling until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Boil uncovered without stirring until the syrup reaches 116 degrees on a candy thermometer. The syrup should be thick but not coloured. Remove from heat and allow the bubbles to subside.

3. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer to soft peaks. With the motor running, add the hot syrup in a thin, stead stream.

4. Beat on high speed for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and glossy.

In this picture, you can see how lovely and shiny this icing is...

So there you have it, a little bit of fondant fun. I don't think I'll ever get bored of playing with ready to roll (RTR) fondant - it makes me feel like a kid again!

Happy baking, dear readers :)

Ladybird x