Mermaid Sugar Paste Cake Top Tutorial

Mermaid tutorial
Perfect for an underwater or princess themed birthday party.

You will need:

Tools- 2x Number 1.5-2 piping nozzle, 2x piping bag (or grease proof paper piping bag), straight edged modelling tool, small dry paint brush (for sticking).

Optional- Edible shimmer dust (snowflake, silver or green)

Materials- green, purple, grey, orange, white and tiny amounts of blue and pink sugar paste, skin coloured marzipan (I add ‘paprika’ paste colour to white marzipan) and black and white royal icing.

I don’t usually make free-standing figures, I would normally secure them onto the cake. but since I was asked to make this I thought I’d make a tutorial of it. The same method could be used to make her straight on to the cake.

You could also make this in polymer clay for a permanent decoration.

Rock- Take some white and black/dark grey
paste. Knead together a little. Cut in 2, knead together again. Repeat until there is a good mottled effect running through it.

Roll into a ball, then flatten one end.

Roll 2 small balls of mottled grey, flatten slightly. Stick on to the larger rock.

Tail- Roll one large and 2 small balls of green paste.

Roll the large ball into an elongated tear-drop shape. Split one of the smaller balls in to 2 and make 2 small tear-drops.

Mark curved lines top to bottom on the small tear-drops with your modelling tool.

Attach the 2 small tear-drops to the point of the tail, lean the tail on the bottom of the rock.

Using the tip of your modelling tool, mark small groups of ‘scales’ all over the tail (you could also use a curved, smile shaped tool if you have one).

Body- Using the skin coloured marzipan, make a rounded rectangular block. Roll gently around the middle to make a ‘waist’.

Roll a sausage of coloured marzipan.

Flatten at both ends.

Cut in half. Mark fingers, thumb and elbow with your modelling tool.

Position the arms around the rock. Smooth the arms on to the body with the modelling tool.

Roll the small ball of green into a sausage, taper at both ends. Stick around the waist where it meets the tail.

Roll a ball of marzipan for the head. Flatten slightly, taper at the bottom to a chin.

Mark eyes and mouth with your modelling tool.

Roll a tiny ball of marzipan for the nose.

Stick on the nose and smooth on with the modelling tool.

Stick the head on to the body. Use a small ball of marzipan for the neck if the head is not sitting straight.

Hair- roll sausages of orange, taper at either end. Fold in half.

Lie layers of ‘hair’ into the desired style.

Add the fringe at the front.

Pipe on eyebrows and eyelashes (or paint with paste colour, water and a brush).

Pipe in the eyes and mouth with white royal icing.

Flatten 2 tiny balls of blue icing, add as eyes, paint or pipe on pupils.

Roll a tiny sausage of pink, cut in 2, add as lips.

Paint the tail with 'snowflake' or green shimmer mixed with a small amount of water (optional)

(added octopus and starfish, I will make some basic ‘scenery’ later).

Have fun!

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