'The Monkey's Paw' cupcake
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"The first man had his three wishes, yes," was the reply. "I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw." W. W. Jacobs 'The Monkey's Paw'
The Monkey's Paw: Ahhh haaaa my step son Dan and I love this tale, a supernatural/horror story by W. W. Jacobs first published in England in 1902.
In the short story, three wishes are granted to the owner of the monkey's paw, but the wishes come with an enormous price for interfering with fate
And proving yet again I've watched too many episodes of 'The Simpsons'...
'Treehouse of Horror 2' season three, episode seven. 'The Monkeys Paw' :)
The Monkey's Paw itself is described in the short story as "it's just an ordinary little paw, dried to a mummy."
Ok, lets make a little mummified paw.
I went with 50% fondant / 50% white modelling chocolate... I used "orange" just so the demo photos are clearer, that or I was thinking of Bart's shirt. You could use 100% dark modellling chocolate and do away with colours.
Started with a ball
Squished the ball on one side and roughly sliced my monkey "fingers" into the rounded opposite side.
Shaped my paw into what I thought I mummified monkeys paw would look like. I mainly used the toothpick to apply the details.
The wrist was trimmed at this stage and I added a jagged cuff cut from rolled 50/50 mixture.
After the paws were dry, I used a black food pen to mark out features then dusted with a little nutkin brown petal dust and finished with dogwood brown petal dust. If you used 100% dark modelling chocolate, a brush of cocoa and drinking chocolate will add interest without have to add colourings.
Thread a toothpick into the palms of the paws and attach to your fondant or frosted cupcakes.
Happy Baking :)
You might also be interested in making a 'Catrina' for Day of the Dead.