Fondant is a very pliable icing that can be molded into any shape or size. It gives any cake or cookie that special touch that any little boy or girl will love! When making a theme cake that requires animals such as bears or monkeys, don't feel like it can't be accomplished, because it can. All that's needed is a little imagination to get the job done. Follow these steps to start making 3-D fondant animals in the comfort of your own home. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. To begin, divide the fondant and tint it with food coloring to get all the colors that will be needed to make the animals. If the fondant has already been prepared and divided, then proceed to the next step.
2. To make a bear, take the fondant to a clean surface and cut off a piece with a knife. Depending on how big the bear is going to be, take the fondant and roll it into a 2-inch ball. This will be the body. For the head, take another piece of fondant and roll it in your palms to make a smaller ball, around 1/2 inch. Place it on the bigger ball. When making the arms and legs, use four pieces of fondant, equal in size. Roll all the pieces of fondant into balls, and then with the palms of your hands, roll them until they are thin and straw-like. Stick two onto the upper body and two onto the lower part of the body for the legs. Fold the tip to make the foot.
3. Make two tiny balls and put them onto the head. Poke a hole in each ear with the end of the paint brush. For the snout, make another small ball and place it on the center of the face. Another small ball should be made and stuck to the back of the bear's body for the tail. All that is needed now are the facial features. Pipe the eyes, nose and mouth with the zipper bag and icing. or use a safety pin to etch them on.
4. Making any type of cat is almost the same as making the bear, except the body is not going to be a ball, it's going to be more of an oval shape. The tail is going to be long and more like a rope. The arms and legs will be made in the same manner as the bear's except they will not be L-shaped. If the cat is sitting up, put the arms in front of it to hold it up, and the legs will be placed one on each side and slightly curved in, like a C-shape. To make the cat lying down, the legs and arms will be placed next to the body, facing forward. Mold the head into an oval, and when making the ears, start them off as circles, then shape them into triangles and place them on the head. To add stripes or spots, roll out the fondant until it is 1/8 inch thick and cut out the shapes with a sharp knife. Using the paintbrush and the water as a glue, stick the shapes onto the cat, tiger or cheetah. Pipe the facial features with the zipper bag and icing or use a safety pin to etch them on.
5. To make a rhino, hippo or elephant, take a piece of fondant and roll it in your palms to make a 2-to-3-inch ball. Roll another piece of fondant into another circle to make the head. Place it on the body. To make the arms and the legs, use four pieces of fondant, all the same size. Roll them out into circles, then thin them out to resemble a long tootsie roll. Put the arms and the legs under the body. To make the rhino's ears, roll two tiny pieces of fondant into circles, then shape them into triangles. For the hippo, the ears should be two tiny circles. For the elephant, take a larger piece of fondant and roll it into a ball first, then squeeze the ball into a flat circle. Place one on each side of the head. For the rhino's horns, make two more triangles like before. For the elephant's trunk, roll a piece of fondant into a circle and then thin it out making one end fatter than the other. Stick it onto the elephant's face. Using the paintbrush end, poke two holes for the hippo's nostrils. The tails are made just like the cat's tails except shorter and pointier. Make the facial features as previously stated.
6. To make a zebra or horse, roll the body into an oval and tap the ends on a clean surface to make it look a little more like a rectangle. Take another piece of fondant and roll it into another oval, tap it again to make it like a rectangle. One side should be thinner than the other. Attach it to the body by pushing the fondant in a downward motion so the neck and the body blend together. Roll out an oval for the head and stick on the neck. Make the legs in the same manner as the other animals and stick them under the body. To make the ears, roll two tiny balls, shape them into triangles and place them on the head of the horse or zebra. The tail can be made by rolling some fondant until it is 1/8-inch thick, and cut thin strips. Hold them together at one end and stick it to the horse's body. The mane should be done by cutting a rectangle with a knife and then making slits on it but, not all the way through--just halfway. Pick up the mane and glue it on with the paintbrush and water. Poke two holes with the end of the paintbrush to make the nostrils and glue on the stripes to the body for the zebra. Make the facial features and you're done.
Tags: piece fondant, fondant roll, arms legs, facial features, fondant into, piece fondant roll, pieces fondant