(for the baby duck)

80g yellow fondant icing

little amount of orange & black fondant icing

100g brown fondant icing

(for the cupcake)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup superfine sugar

1 cup self-rising flour

2 eggs

1/2 t allspice

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 T golden raisins

[how to make]

(for the baby duck)

*Save unused portion of fondant in a resealable plastic bag until ready to use it.

Body:  Roll just less than half the yellow icing into a ball until there are no cracks and then shape it into an egg shape. Turn the narrow end of the egg slightly up and press the body gently on a hard work surface to slightly flatten the base.

Head:  Set aside two small pieces of yellow icing for the wings and the head feathers, and roll the remaining icing into a perfect ball with no cracks. Use a shortened toothpick to secure the head onto the body.

Wings:  Roll two very small balls of icing and flatten them between your fingers. Mold into wing shapes by pinching the end and smoothing with your fingers. Allow to dry slightly before adhering to the sides of the body with a dab of water.

Beak & Feathers:  Roll a small ball of orange icing for the beak into a cone shape and adhere with a dab of water. To create the head feathers, roll two very small balls of yellow icing into little sausages tapered at the ends. Use a frilling tool to poke tiny indents at the top of the head and delicately stick the thin end of each sausage into a hole with a dab of water.

Eyes:  The position of the eyes is very important;  they should be in the middle of the head, not too high up. Mark the position of the eyes with the point of a frilling tool or a toothpick before adhering them. Roll two minute black icing balls for the eyes and adhere with a dab of water.

Nest:  Roll out the brown icing in a very thin strip that is long enough to twist around the body. Use a knife to cut thin strips of icing. Gather the strips gently into a bundle and twist them together slightly. Join them delicately at the back by interweaving the ends, making sure the nest will fit snugly around the bird.

Finish:  Place the baby duck into the nest while the nest is still soft and allow them to dry together. Once they are completely dry, carefully transfer the nest and the baby duck to the cupcake.

(for the cupcake)

*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

*Place 9 baking cups in muffin pans.

*Combine the butter, sugar, flour, and eggs in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.

*Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

*Spoon the batter into the cups.

*Bake for 20 minutes.

*Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.

*Then remove the cupcakes and fool on a rack.

Note:  You might need twice as much of the baby duck recipes in order to put on every cupcake.

Labels: baby duck fondant recipe, cupcake recipe