Show-N-Tell: Fun with Skulls

Going to have to beg your forgiveness for tonight's post...day job collided with wedding favor for a friend this week and I didn't get a chance to do what I wanted for this evening, but I didn't want to leave you hanging so figured I'd indulge in a little show-n-tell. 

Wednesday's post actually tied into the wedding favor I was doing.  My dear friends Nicole and Page got married yesterday and my contribution to their festivities was a Dia de los Muertos-inspired wedding cake.  Traditionally my friends tend to be untraditional, so this was a perfect match.

I'd never made decorated skulls before.  We decided on white chocolate, instead of sugar, and used Royal Icing to decorate them with.  A friend of Nicole's lent us her skull molds to make them.  Very fun and very edible (well, the shiny snowflakes aren't, but otherwise everything else was.

cake toppers (crafty Nicole made their hats)

open tier with silk flowers and decorated skulls

mini skulls with silk flowers

Here's a really simple recipe for Royal Icing.  Not only is it great for decorating molded chocolate It's great for decorating hard cookies, like shortdough or gingerbread, anything that will be handled a lot while eating.

Royal Icing

1 lb (16 oz) powder sugar
1/4 cup meringue powder
1/3 cup water

Beat with an electric mixer (hand or stand) until the icing peaks (like when you make meringue).

To color, use color paste (like found in a craft store), not liquid food coloring (like you get in the grocery store).

To use, put icing in a pastry bag with tips and decorate your chocolate or cookie.  Allow to air dry for about 30-45 minutes to harden and then you can handle with no problems.

To store icing, keep in a tightly covered container and DO NOT refrigerate.

NOTES

The best place to get your supplies is a craft store like Michael's or AC Moore's.  You can easily buy meringue powder, color pastes, bags, tips, melting chocolate and molds at either of those places.