Mario Brothers Cupcakes

Mario Brothers Cupcakes

• • 24 cupcakes, cooled and frosted

  • fondant

  • food coloring - red, sky blue, ivory, brown, green and yellow

  • black edible marker

  • various cutters, such as round biscuit cutters (various sizes), cookie cutters (such as a flower and star), and round piping tips (all sizes, to be used for cutting the small dots)

  • small paintbrush and a glass of water

Notes:

You'll need to make the fondant cutouts several days in advance, so they have time to dry and harden before you put them on the cupcakes.

The water is your fondant "glue", since it melts the sugar in the fondant and makes it sticky. To attach pieces together, dip the paintbrush in the water and very lightly brush the pieces that you want to stick together. Press the top pieces gently onto the bottom pieces to adhere them together. The water will evaporate as they dry and harden, and the pieces will be firmly stuck together. Don't use too much water - a drop or two is enough.

From easiest to hardest...

1. First, color some fondant with sky blue food coloring. Roll it out thin (1/8 inch thick). Cut 24 circles using a 2 1/2 inch round biscuit cutter. Set circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep them from drying too much.

2. For the STAR, use a star cookie cutter to cut yellow fondant stars. Place the yellow stars on the blue base, using a little water to adhere them. When the yellow star has dried a little, draw on the eyes with the black edible marker.

3. For the CLOUD, use a flower cookie cutter to cut white fondant clouds. Place the white clouds on the blue base, using a little water to adhere them. When the white cloud has dried a little, draw on the eyes with the black edible marker.

4. For the BRICK, use a square cookie cutter (or just a sharp knife) and cut squares of brown fondant. Place the brown squares on the blue base, using a little water to adhere them. When the brown square has dried a little, draw on the lines of the brick with the black edible marker.

5. For the QUESTION MARK, use a square cookie cutter (or just a sharp knife) and cut squares of yellow fondant. Place the yellow squares on the blue base, using a little water to adhere them. Use a small round piping tip to gently press circle indentations in each corner of the square. If you have a question mark cookie cutter that you like - great! If not, or if you want it to look similar to the pixelated question mark in the game, you'll have to use a knife. I used a small knife and cut the question marks free-hand out of white fondant. Use a little water to adhere the question marks to the yellow square.

6. For the RED MUSHROOM, use a round cookie cutter to cut a circle of red fondant. Roll it out slightly to give it an oval shape. Adhere the red oval to the blue base with a little water. Use the wide end of a round piping tip to cut circles of white fondant for the dots and ivory fondant for the face. Cut some of the white circles in half to place at the edge of the mushroom, with a whole circle for the middle. Adhere the circles with a little water. Once it has dried slightly, draw the eyes onto the face with the black edible marker.

7. For the EVIL MUSHROOM, use a round cookie cutter to cut a circle of brown fondant for the body, and the wide end of a round piping tip to cut smaller circles for the feet. Use some scraps of white fondant to cut the teeth and the half-circles for the eyes. Take the round body, and use a round cutter to cut out some of the circle around the edges to give him his shape. Adhere the feet to the blue base with a little water, then the body, and lastly the eyes and teeth. When it has dried slightly, draw the mouth, eyebrows and pupils with the black edible marker.

8. For the FLOWER, use a round cookie cutter to cut a circle of red fondant. Use a knife to cut a V shape out of the top. Adhere the red piece to the blue base with a little water. Use some scraps of white fondant to cut the white strip along the V and the dots. Press the white pieces gently into the red. Cut a green stem and adhere to the base. For the leaves, I cut small round circles, then shaped them into leaves with my fingers, using a toothpick to indent the center of the leaves.

9. For MARIO, cut round circles out of ivory fondant for his face and ears. Adhere to the base with a little water. Cut small white circles for his eyes and roll a little ivory fondant into balls for his nose. I used a tiny flower cutter for the shape of his brown mustache, and then just used a knife to cut his eyebrows and sideburns. For the hat, cut a circle of red fondant (the same size as his face), and bend one side of it up to form the brim. Adhere to the top of his head with a little water. Add a white circle on the hat, and draw the M with the black edible marker.

The design ideas for Mario and the Evil Mushroom are from The Charmed Cupcake, and everything else I designed by studying pictures of the characters.