Monkey Business in the Lab

My First Monkeys

It's no secret that apart from creating tasty cupcakes and frosting I love, love, love decorating them! (Stay tuned for the launch of the Results tab) So, when a friend told me that she needed some monkey themed cupcakes for a baby shower, I was thrilled! I enjoy working with fondant, but had never made any type of face. This was an opportunity to expand my decorating skills and I welcomed it with open arms! That weekend I got to practicing and made my first monkeys (pictured above) and everyone loved them!

We eventually settled on the type of monkey she wanted and all this week I've been "monkeying around." lol

Step 1: Coloring fondant

*Interesting fact* - The gel coloring that I used to turn the white fondant "bone" color was - get this- HUNTER GREEN!!! That's some science for you! Check out colour therapy healing to find out more about the reaction of light with certain compounds.

Step 2: Cutting out the pieces. One monkey required 10 cut outs... yup!
1 eyebrow + 1 mouth + 1 head +2 ears + 2 eyeballs + 2 blushing cheeks +1 nose = 10 piece monkey.

Step 3:  Putting the pieces together begining with the head and ears.
* Parchment paper, vegetable shortening and confections sugar are awesome in preventing fondant from sticking!

Step 4: Adding eyebrows and mouth. * I cut off the top of the hearts to make the eyebrows.

Step 5: Adding eyeballs, cheeks, nose and drawing on a smile and pupils. * I used gourmet markers to draw the smile and pupils. (Finished monkey in the bottom left)

And after all that monkey business, who wouldn't "go bananas"?!

*I cut out some moon shaped fondant and stretched it... used gourmet marker for the ends.

ooh, ohh, ahh, ahh = The end (in Monkey speak)lol