Decorate a Halloween cake with a fondant grim reaper.
Fondant is a wonderfully versatile confectionery decorating material made with sugar, water and corn syrup. Rolled out into a thin sheet, fondant can give a smooth finish to a cake. You can also shape fondant in the same way you would modeling clay. Use fondant to create a grim reaper for a Halloween party or give it as a sweet, but cynical birthday present to an over-the-hill friend. You may want to place the grim reaper on top of a cake. Cover a square cake with green fondant, ring with a modeled wrought iron fence and finish with a few fondant tombstones for a truly whimsical confection.
Instructions
Fondant
1. Mix together two parts sugar to one part water in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add corn syrup. You will need as many tablespoons of corn syrup as cups of sugar. For instance, if you use 2 cups of sugar, add 2 tablespoons of corn syrup.
2. Bring the mixture to the softball stage -- 234 to 240 degrees Fahrenheit -- and remove from heat. Allow the fondant to cool for several minutes.
3. Pour the fondant into a stand mixer and beat until it becomes thick and pliable.
4. Knead food coloring into the fondant. You will need some black and some white for your grim reaper.
Grim Reaper
5. Mold a ball of white fondant into a roughly conical shape.
6. Roll out a piece of black fondant into a thin sheet and drape it over the cone. Make folds in the fondant to look like the grim reaper's cape and hood. Leave a white space for the reaper's face.
7. Make the grim reaper's eyes and mouth with small bits of black fondant.
