How To Make Sugar Skulls Step By Step Recipes

HOW TO MAKE SUGAR SKULLS (CALAVERA DE AZúCAR)

Steps:

• Mix the sugar, meringue powder and water together until all the granules of sugar are wet. Pick up a handful of the mixture and squeeze in your hand. If it holds together, its ready. If it falls apart, it will need a tiny bit more water.
• Fill your skull mold with the wet sugar, pressing down on the sugar, compacting it as you go. Fill both the front and back skull cavities with the sugar. Scrape off the excess sugar.
• Cut a piece of parchment paper and a piece of cardboard just a bit bigger than your mold. Set the parchment paper down on top of the mold. Set the cardboard on top of the paper. Grab onto the mold and cardboard, and carefully flip the whole thing upside down. Set it on the counter, then carefully lift the mold up off the sugar skulls. The mold should pop right off. If the sugar sticks, it's too wet. Scrape it out of the mold, clean the mold, and add some more dry sugar to the mixture and try molding it again. If your sugar skulls do not hold together, the mixtures needs more water.
• Your sugar skulls now need to dry. Midway through the drying cycle you need to carefully flip them over so the back sides can dry out at well. They should be ready to decorate in 12-24 hours.
• Make royal icing. Beat together powdered sugar, meringue powder, and water until its shiny and will hold stiff peaks.
• Once your skulls are dried, spread a thin layer of royal icing on the flat part of the back side of each skull. Press the front and back sides together. Use your finger to wipe off the icing that oozes out from in between the two pieces. Allow the skulls to dry for at least an hour.
• After your skulls are dry, they are ready to decorate. Color small bowls full of royal icing using food coloring. If you wont be using the icing right away, be sure to cover each bowl with plastic wrap.
• Pipe royal icing onto the skulls. Any simple or elaborate designs. Get as creative as youd like and use lots of bright colors on each skull for a dramatic appearance.
• Allow your sugar skulls to dry for several hours before using them as decorations for your Day of the Dead event.

SUGAR SKULL

Steps:

• For the skull: Combine the granulated sugar and meringue powder in a bowl, then add 2 teaspoons water and mix by hand until it feels like moist sand. Check if there is enough moisture by squeezing some sugar paste in your hand; if it maintains its shape, it's ready to mold. If it falls apart, add more water until you reach the desired consistency.
• Continue to stir the sugar mixture as you mold the skull, to keep the moisture evenly distributed. Press the sugar paste into the front skull mold. Scrape off and clean the back of the mold with a bench scraper, then unmold the skull onto a piece of cardboard. Repeat with the back skull mold. Let the skull halves dry 8 hours or overnight.
• For the icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl. Mix slowly with an electric mixer until it forms stiff peaks; the icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. Apply a thin layer of icing to the flat side of one of the skull halves, then use it to "glue" the two halves together. Let sit until dry, about 1 hour.
• Add food coloring to the icing (divide into several colors, if desired) and mix with a rubber spatula until the color is uniform. Transfer icings to small piping bags fitted with decorating tips and decorate the skulls as desired. Let sit until dry, 3 to 4 hours.

HOW TO MAKE SUGAR SKULLS: FUN RECIPES AND DECORATING TIPS

Steps:

• Combine the granulated sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Stir 1 c (200 g) of sugar and 2 tbsp (30 g) of meringue powder together with a spoon or your fingers until it is thoroughly combined. Although it's a food-grade product, meringue powder may be easier to find at craft stores rather than grocery stores (depending on where you live). It's also widely available online. While you're shopping for meringue powder, also pick up a set of plastic or silicone sugar skull molds at the craft store or online. Choose a set that has molds for both the fronts and backs of the skulls. Note: If you don't have meringue powder, or if there is extremely high humidity on the day you're making the skulls, check out the last step of this section for a recipe variation that substitutes egg whites and utilizes your oven.
• Add most of the water and combine the mixture with your hand. Pour in 1 1/2 tbsp (22.5 ml) of water, then use your fingers to thoroughly blend the mixture together. You can use a spoon instead if you prefer. This is a fun way to get kids involved in the process. Just make sure they wash their hands first!
• Add more water as needed until the mix feels like wet sand. Once you've stirred in the first batch of water, squeeze together a small handful of the mixture and see if it holds its shape like wet sand. If it crumbles apart, mix in the remaining 1/2 tbsp (7.5 ml) of water and test it again. In rare instances you may need more than 2 tbsp (30 ml) of water to reach the wet sand consistency. Add more water about 1 tsp (5 ml) at a time and keep testing the mixture until it holds together when squeezed.
• Pack the mixture tightly into the skull molds. Use a spoon or your fingers to scoop a healthy amount of the mixture into a mold, then press it firmly so it fills the mold completely. Use the back of a butter knife or similar flat kitchen tool to flatten the back side of the mixture so it's even with the flat side of the mold. Repeat until you've filled all the molds (or run out of the mixture). Make sure you fill the same number of front and back sides of the skull molds so you can make complete skulls. Optional: Use a spoon to scoop out some of the mixture from the flat back side of each mold. (They'll look a bit like a half of an avocado after you've removed the pit!) This may help the sugar skulls dry more quickly and evenly.
• Flip the skull pieces out of their molds and onto cardboard scraps. Begin this step right after packing all the molds. Start by holding a flat scrap of cardboard that's slightly larger than the mold firmly against the flat back of a filled mold. In one motion, flip both the mold and the cardboard over, then lightly tap both the mold and cardboard against the countertop. Gently lift away the mold to reveal either the front or back half of a sugar skull. Repeat with the other skull molds. If the skull half doesn't come out cleanly or crumbles, repack the mold and try again. Try adding a few spoonfuls of water if the skull halves are crumbling, or a few pinches of sugar if they're sticking to the molds.
• Leave the skull halves to dry for at least 8 hours. Set the skull halves out in a cool, dry location, in which case they should be firm and dry to the touch in about 8 hours. If, however, it's warmer and a bit more humid, give them more like 12 hours before touching them to confirm they're firm and dry.
• Glue the skull halves together with royal icing. Use the royal icing recipe provided in this article, choose an alternate recipe, or buy a pre-made container. Use a knife to spread some of the icing on the flat edge of one of the front-side skull halves, or put the icing in a piping bag and squeeze it onto the skull half. Press one of the back-side skull halves firmly into the icing to glue the halves together. Repeat with the other skull halves and let the icing dry for 15 minutes. While you wait for the icing "glue" to dry, mix up another batch of royal icing to use for decorating the skulls. Although these sugar skulls are made from edible ingredients, they're not intended for eating-you'll break a tooth trying to bite into one!
• Alternate recipe with egg whites instead of meringue powder: Use the same amount of granulated sugar-4 c (800 g)-but substitute 2 egg whites for both the meringue powder and the water. Here's the process: Mix one egg white into the sugar by hand. Add more egg white as needed until you get a wet sand consistency that holds its shape when you squeeze it in your hand. Pack the mixture firmly into the sugar skull molds, then scrape away any excess so the back of each filled mold is flat. Flip each mold out onto a scrap of cardboard, then carefully slide each half-skull onto a baking sheet. Bake the skulls in a 200 °F (93 °C) oven for 20-30 minutes, until they are dry and firm to the touch. Let the skulls cool, then stick the front and back halves of the skulls together with royal icing. Wait about 15-30 minutes, then decorate the skulls with colored royal icing.

SUGAR SKULLS

Steps:

• Note: you will also need to purchase: metal sequins for decorating eyes [the zaar computer about had a stroke with that in the ingredients].
• Whisk powdered egg whites and water together until foamy. Add vanilla extract and corn syrup. Whisk until blended. Add powdered sugar. With a spoon, and then by hand, mix until a firm paste forms.
• Dust a jelly-roll pan with 1 cup of the cornstarch. Knead sugar paste in cornstarch for a few minutes until it becomes smooth and pliable. Roll the dough into a ball. Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate it until chilled.
• Begin by forming dough into round balls, each about the size of a small fist. Use more cornstarch to prevent sticking, if needed.
• Use your hands to sculpt the ball into a skull shape. Sculpt eye and nose hollows with your thumbs or a blunt knife.
• To prepare the icing, whisk powdered egg white and water together until foamy. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Divide mixture into two small bowls. Add red food coloring and cinnamon extract to one and blue food coloring and peppermint extract to the other. Mix to blend the colors in each bowl.
• Fill two pastry bags with icing mixtures. Decorate skulls with icing. Allow objects to dry. Weather conditions affect drying times. Skulls may take anywhere from several hours to 48 hours to fully dry.
• If you have bought your alfeniques [candy skulls] and would like to add chocolate candy, the directions are simple.
• Melt your favorite chocolate in a double boiler. White chocolate looks best with the skulls.
• Use a funnel with a rounded stopper to pour your chocolate (or use a spoon, messier but less expensive) into shaped molds. Wipe any drips off the edges of your molds and place in the freezer until the mold appears frosted and the candies hard. More time is better than less. Flip the mold over and tap lightly over a towel. Any candies that do not drop out easily should be placed in the freezer a little longer.