How about a chocolate cupcake for Valentine’s Day?
The key to your Valentine’s heart in more than one way. 😉
These chocolatey cupcakes are topped with royal icing hearts and royal icing keys covered in gold leaf.
Yup. Royal icing keys covered in gold leaf.
I’m not crazy… really. (Subjective I guess) 😉 The idea had been floating around in my head for quite some time… Preventing me from trying it; well, it’s an expensive experiment!
Granted, I have lots of gold leaf left over to try on new projects; I’m thinking jewellery cookies would be a fun idea. Gold leaf and disco dust; cookie bling! {On my to-do list for sure!}.
You might be wondering about the edibleness factor.
I did some research and found that it’s safe to eat. The reason why dentists can use it for fillings, caps etc. is because metallic gold is biologically inert. That’s also the reason why gold flecks have been approved for use in Goldschlager schnapps.
According to eHow:
Gold leaf does not contain harmful byproducts and, according to Edible Gold, has been certified safe at any level of consumption. While the Food and Drug Administration in the United States has not tested edible gold leaf, European equivalents of the FDA have certified it food-grade, and U.S. FDA representatives noted in 2005 that no one had asked them to make a recommendation on edible gold leaf.
Edible Gold states that gold leaf “will pass out of the body after about 24 hours unchanged without causing any harm or reaction on the body.” Most edible gold leaf products are 22- to 23-karat gold and contain no metal additives that the human body cannot process.
Important to note; if you’d like to use gold-leaf on your edible decorations etc., you need to make sure that the product you’re buying has at least 22-24 gold carats. The product is usually labelled; you just need to check.
For example, these gold flecks from McCall’s (an awesome source of baking supplies in Toronto), are labelled as non-toxic and only used for decoration due to the quality of the gold. I managed to find 24 carat gold leaf at a local art supply store, Curry’s, where they were aware that it could be used for ‘edible art’.
The design for the hearts and keys came from Martha Stewart Crafts Key And Heart Paper. {Thank you Martha for your always beautiful & inspiring things!} I used my KopyKake projector to help me make them, but they’re a fairly easy shape to do without help. (I just can’t draw!)
Although it’s expensive, it might be fun to use gold leaf on cakes, cupcakes, cookies etc. for speical occassions and in small quantities.
If you’d like to try making these or other edible gold leaf decorations, here’s how to make them as well as a breakdown of cost and more info. at the end of the tutorial:
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How to Put Gold Leaf on Royal Icing Decorations
Before I begin, I have to say that this was the first time I’ve ever used gold leaf, so I’d appreciate tips from those of you who’ve handled it before. It’s extremely fragile… even breathing on it can easily move it the wrong way! Beautiful stuff, but finicky.
To Cover Sugar Decorations in Gold Leaf, you will need:
- Gold leaf (I bought mine at a local art store; Curry’s)
- Piping Gel (Mine is from the Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts)
- Tweezers
- 2 Paintbrushes; medium and small (See image)
- Latex gloves (optional)
If you need a how-to on making the royal icing decorations, click here.
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How to Cover Royal Icing Decorations in Gold Leaf
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1. Once your royal icing decorations are dry, use the smaller paintbrush to gently brush on a very thin layer of piping jelly.
2. Use tweezers to carefully lift up a small corner of the gold leaf sheet. Once you’ve caught it, use your other hand to pick up the second corner and slide a small piece of the gold leaf onto your decoration.
You can cut the gold-leaf with the tip of a paring knife but you’ll find that it tears easily, so you’ll have small pieces in no time. Lol. Also note that you can wear latex gloves to help prevent it from sticking to your fingers.
3. Use the larger paintbrush to gently pat the gold leaf onto the decoration.
4. Repeat to fill in remaining ‘gaps’ and use the paintbrush to pat down the edges.
5. Carefully place on cupcakes (or cakes etc.).
A few other notes:
- I tried adhering the gold leaf just as is, but found it needed a little something to help it to ‘stick’ to the dry royal icing. By experimenting on the back of a larger R.I. ‘key’ (see image below), I found that water damaged the royal icing on contact, but piping jelly did the trick!
- Instead of using gold leaf, you could use edible gold lustre spray on your royal icing decoration. I tried it to show you what it looks like:
Here’s a comparison on a cupcake:
- Another option would be to add gold lustre powder on your decoration. -Just dip a dry paintbrush into the gold lustre dust and pat it onto the decoration. (I do this when I add pink lustre dust on cookies to create a rosy hue on cheeks).
- Make extras of each royal icing decoration by the way. They break easily and this design was particularily fragile!
- The ones I made varied from about 1 – 2.5 inches long
- Cost of Gold Leaf: 24 sheets cost exactly $66.66 (Canadian), which means each sheet cost $2.78. I ended up using 3 gold leaf sheets in total (experimentation included), so the gold leaf keys cost $8.33 in total. Considering I only made 8 keys, that was about $1.00 per key. Expensive if you’re trying to run a business, but great for special occasions (and if your customer pays for the cost!). I’ve got lots of gold leaf left over now though! Lol
- You can find the Cupcake Liners here
It’s thanks to the lovley Melissa of MyCakeSchool.com that I’ve been on this cupcake kick! Ever since I’ve been a member of her fantastic site I’ve been inspired by her videos. She’s got decorating tips, assistance and over 100 videos to learn from. Well worth only $30.00 per year!
You can find the chocolate cupcake & chocolate buttercream recipes I used {Two easy and seriously chocolatey-amazing recipes}, and learn how to swirl your icing onto a cupcake, at MyCakeSchool.com.
Piamarianne says
Totally cute! Great idea too, i feel the inspiration! 🙂
Pink Martini and Pearls says
Your post is terrific and I appreciate how much time it took you to take all those pictures! I work with gold leaf on some of my cookies and desserts too and you did everything as I do. I also use a light coating of light corn syrup when I’m out of piping gel. The gold leaf can also be cut by simply pulling it apart with another small craft brush. I was making Philadelphia Love letters out of royal icing last night for cookies I’m working on but I don’t think I have the patience for all the picture how-tos. lol! You did a great job showing everything! Have a wonderful Sunday. 🙂
ColleenwithMurals&More says
Marian, I spent some time with an Indian family in London years ago. For special celebrations we always had gold leaf on our food. It was said to ‘purify’ the body. Just fyi 😉
If you ever want some clip art for any of your goodies, I’d be more than happy to draw it for you!!!
(Hey, I just made my 1st buttercream from scratch last week – I’m much better in the art dept!)
Melissa says
wow, these are gorgeous! I have always wondered about using gold leaf, thanks for all of the info.
marian says
@ Piamarianne,@ Melissa: Thank you!
@ Pink Martini and Pearls:
I’d love to see your Philadelphia love letters now if you’d care do show a pic on my fb page. 😉
Thanks so much for the tips!!!
@ ColleenwithMurals&More:
Oh would love that! You ARE talented in the art dept. Thanks for the f.y.i as well – interesting.
Jenny says
Oh, that last pic in the teacup is just gorgeous.
Diane {createdbydiane.blogspot.com} says
really fun, great tutorial!
Linda V @ Bubble and Sweet says
So adorable, I made some key to your heart cookies for valentines but they were nowhere near this cute.
Mari's Cakes says
Great Idea! I am glad you shared the price and broke it down per key. It give us an idea about the cost for our future creations.
Thanks for sharing the info.
Susan says
Marian! I love these and your tutorial is excellent. So easy to follow and detailed. 🙂
marian says
@ Jenny, @ Mari’s Cakes, @ Susan: TY ladies!
@ Linda V @ Bubble and Sweet: I’m loving all the Valentine-themed cookies you made (liked you on facebook); so sweet and pretty!
Cat says
I love these! I also love your blog, and tutorials 🙂 I’ve been following your work for a long time! Keep up the great work! 🙂
marian says
Thanks for the support and encouragement Cat! I appreciate it! =)
GrannySmith says
Hearts and their key, what a nice symbol! Thank you for this lovely idea.
Diane says
Wonderful tutorial…
These are beautiful and so creative thanks so much for sharing!
marian says
@ GrannySmith, @ Diane: Thank you for coming by and leaving me a lovely comment!
Eloïse says
I love it, i want the same! I’m not enough confortable with royal icing to try it yet.
faigy says
Another absolutely beautiful post!! I just use the 24k gold powder mixed with some alcohol and I think it gets the same effect but seems a lot less messy.
marian says
Thanks Faigy for dropping by and for the tip!
Melissa says
These are gorgeous!! Love the keys!!
CakeStory says
Marian, you continue to be such an inspiration. I just love all your ideas. I hope my royal icing work’s as good as yours someday!
marian says
@ Melissa: Thank you for helping inspire me!
@ CakeStory: You too! I’m loving your Captain’s cake!
Elli D. says
Looks amazing! And what a tutorial, thank you! Placed on a nice plate, these would really make a great Valentine’s day decor. What’s even better, home-made and tasty decor.
Andrea Saunders says
Marian,
I am a member of the mycakeschool and I can’t find the recipe for your chocolate cupcakes. Can you email it to me. I am trying to find a nice fluffy chocolate cupcake.
LOVE YOUR WORK. Truly amazing!
marian says
@ Elli D.: Thank you! <3
@ Andrea Saunders: In the post I mentioned that you could find the recipes I used at http://www.mycakeschool.com
They aren’t my personal recipes; I used the ones in the recipe section. The names of the recipes are:
Chocolate Buttercream & Mom’s Chocolate Cake (You just scoop the batter into the cupcake tin instead of a cake pan).
Have fun baking!! =)
Sparklewolfie says
Those are beautiful! The gold leaf definitely looks the best 🙂
Next time maybe you should try using wooden tweezers and cutting with a wooden blade to avoid sticking and tearing. That is how sushi is wrapped in gold leaf 🙂
Marian says
Thank you @ Sparklewolfie!
I never knew that – appreciate the tip!
Rowaida Flayhan says
WOW!!! as always gorgeous and very creative. These are beautiful Marian love love love
Debbie says
What a fun idea!
Andrea Mussman says
I used to gold leaf furniture, crown moulding and small accessories. Maybe someday a cupcake. LOL
marian says
@ Rowaida Flayhan, @ Debbie, Thanks!
@ Andrea Mussman: Email me when you do please! lol =)
nikki says
Thanks a mill Marian, this is a great tutorial. I looked into some gold leaf around 6 months ago but chickened out as I thought it looked too hard. But you make it look so good and easy! I’ll most def be looking into it in the near future. Have a great week!
Paula says
Beautifully frosted and decorated Marian. The gold leaf covering is stunning and I love the tiny little heart locks!
Christi says
Those are amazing! As a silversmith I’ve never thought to mix my metals with baking, but you did an awesome job of it!
bubble&squeak says
Wow, that’s totally luxe, Marian! Real Gold Keys for Valentine’s.
I work with precious metals everyday in my day job but have never tried it on food. Thank you for going into detail about the ‘edibility’ of these cake accents.
Again, another fabulous tutorial from a very talented and beautiful baker.
Thank you so much for all your guidance and your willingness to be such a beautiful Test Kitchen for your fans worldwide.
I love your RI runouts. I could look at them all day
P.S. I just got Zoe Clark’s new book “Cupcake Love” from the Bake Me I’m Yours series. It’s a great book of extravagantly luxe cupcakes. Her work reminds me of yours. Have you had a look at this book yet?
marian says
@ Christi, @ nikki, @ Paula: Thank you!!
@ bubble&squeak: Thank you so much!
I haven’t seen her book yet but I’ll definitely check it out!
Ines Gomez says
Thanks Marian! This is an amazing tutorial. I love your work. Could you tell me where can I buy a cupcake stand like yours? It’s so cute! Thanks again.
bridget {bake at 350} says
Oh, Marian! So sweet! ♥
marian says
@ Ines Gomez I bought it at Holly’s Sweets & Eats in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.
@ bridget {bake at 350}: Thanks! =)
meaghan (the decorated cookie) says
WOOOW!!! These are incredible. Dumbstruck, I am! I posted a link on ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com of course 🙂
Laura says
So cute! They remind me of the ‘Tiffany Keys’!
Sue says
You must have been THRILLED when you saw the results! The gold leaf keys look AMAZING! Love the cupcakes, Marian! Happy Valentine’s Day!
a frog in the cottage says
what a lovely idea !! this so cute & romantic !!
Sweet Charity says
Having an old Victorian, I have a thing for skeleton keys! We are about to start a restoration project next month. I think I’ll make these to kick off construction!
marian says
What a great idea!
Darla @ Bakingdom says
Oh my! These are absolutely beautiful!! I love that the hearts have that little bit of puff to them! So wonderful!
Laura Vree/Sweet Handmade says
Hello Marian – I just saw this picture on epicute.com credited to cupcakestakethecake.com
Check it out, so super cute, it deserves to to be featured on epicute!
Laura
Jill says
Hi Marian –
lovely work, as usual. I have a question for you about run-outs, if you don’t mind. I did some run-outs yesterday which were grey and white. I let them dry for about 18 hrs and then applied them to wet light blue RI. Within a few minutes the blue RI had seeped through and colored the white part of my run-out blue. I didn’t “color” the white with titanium dioxide like I usually do, but I’m not sure how to prevent this in the future. My only idea is to make sure that when I’m flooding the cookie I flood the part that’s going to be under the white part white, since the rest of it will be covered by the run-out.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
thank you!
jill
Marian says
@ Jill:
I’m so sorry I didn’t see your comment until now!
That’s a good suggestion, and other than what you also said (coloring the white icing white), I don’t have any more ideas.
LOL sorry! If I stumble across a new discovery I’ll let you know!