Axolotl Out Of Rice Krispie Treats
Decorating By Anneliese671 Updated 15 Nov 2021 , 4:26am by SandraSmiley
Hi there! I need to make an Axolotl to sit on top of a 6" cake, with its tail curled around the 10" below. I'm confident sculpting it, but not confident with RKT ingredients/process. I've done a bit of reading of previous forums, and from what I gather, omitting the butter when making the RKT for modelling is a good idea - and so is adding some chocolate. Should that be real chocolate or can I use candy melts? (Tropical island here). I'm scared that the fondant will slip off the Axolotl sculpture if the chocolate melts.
Also, once the RKT is made, I've read that once cool is the right time to model, and then the sculpture can be covered with royal icing and then modelling chocolate or fondant. I appreciate advice: I usually do fondant-only toppers that are smaller, and the one time I made a huge topper (Megamort, Mickey Mouse's enemy), I put fondant straight onto the RKT. It looked great although a tiny bit bumpy. If I cover the sculpture with royal icing first, to smooth out the "skin" of the Axolotl, will the fondant stick? Thank you! - Anneliese.
I made my own — some peeps use store bought — and I molded them while warm — I used real butter and added vanilla — yes some peeps omit the butter and add candy melts but I never did — although I used extra marshmallows, probably double or more — so good!!!
these salamanders seem to have tiny details that might do better without a Rice Krispie treat interior — just use fondant or even pipe the royal icing for fingers maybe —
I didn’t know what an axolotl is so idk what picture you’re using but the ones I saw seemed to have tiny little fingers —
I think I covered my rkt molded figures with candy clay then fondant — but you can also run the cereal through a food processor before making the rkt and it comes out very smoothy smooth when you do make it —
or if you use the cereal as is you can use a zester to shave off the lumps too —
oh yeah and I held them in the pot that I mixed them in placed over a pot of hot water so they didn’t set up while I molded them
just some rkt thoughts for you —
idk how much it needs to wrap around the ten inch — idk how much weight it will be and idk all your logistics but rkt need about as much internal structure as cake does — it’s not going to necessarily hold itself up — although it will sit well on the cake but you wanna be aware of possible issues there kwim?
Thanks for the reminder about crushing the rice krispies. I did read that - with hands or rolling pin. I also have a batch of royal icing and some white candy melts. I think my first step is to make some play doh and sculpt that. Then do the actual Axolotl. Noted about the "fingers" - I'm more worried about the things that stick out from its head lol. I've attached a picture. Looking at it, I'm also pretty sure I can't make its tail curl around a 10". I'd have to make it 10x bigger to keep the tail proportionate! Oh boy, I can't upload my photo.
yeah pictures aren't working on the site unfortunately -- but there's lots of different ways obviously to mix up the treats -- and if you did make it big enough you could mold it over the upturned 6" and 10" pans to get the right fit --
you could make an extra head and put it as if it was sticking out of the bottom of the 6" cake, resting on the ledge of the 10" tier -- as if it's just popping out of the cake --
I mean idk what kind of decor is involved but I just envisioned them sitting on big green floppy leaves or something
I make, sculpt with, and carve RKT's a lot. My preference is to eliminate the butter, just use melted marshmallows and crushed Rice Krispies. I crush them in the food processor. The finer the crumb, the smoother your model. I've never seen a need to use chocolate in the RKT's mixture. It is quite strong when cold and set. While it is still warm, I give it the general shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Once thoroughly chilled and set, I finish shaping by carving and cover with a thin layer of melted chocolate or candy melts (it makes no difference which).
If you are concerned about weight, consider making the internal structure out of styrofoam instead of RKT's, much lighter. I like to use florist oasis for ease of carving. For the head, styrofoam balls come in all sizes at Walmart. I use them for my model's heads all the time. Because the oasis is messy, I like to cover it with a thin layer of melted chocolate or fondant, then a second layer to finish.
Hi K8memphis and SandraSmiley! Thank you for your helpful posts. I ended up mixing RKT (crushed) and marshmallows. I nearly burned the marshmallows (I omitted the butter...I'm guessing this is helpful when melting the marshmallows so that they don't stick to the pan), but other than that, the RKT making and sculpting went really well. In the end I'm glad I didn't make the Axolotls out of fondant completely, as they would have been too heavy. I found the sculpted RKTs hard to shave after they were solid. Next time I will spend more time pressing down little bumps etc. Covering with candy melts took a really long time - but provided a very strong model under the fondant. I put toothpicks into the soft RKT before it was solid to form "sticks" out of the Axolotl's head for the gills to be shaped onto. That was a good idea. Then it was easy to sculpt the fondant onto the toothpicks. The Axolotls ended up looking great, although the toes were very delicate (fondant-only, stuck onto RKT legs) and I lost some when transporting the Axolotls. I wished I had spent more time under the Axolotl's chins. When sculpting them, they are right in front of you and on the bench, but when on the cake, they are raised up more and I really notice the poor fondant work under the chin! A problem I had is that I used the cake pans to sculpt the RKTS, and then when I put the finished Axolotls on the cake, the Axolotl climbing up the 10" side's tail was too long (hitting the bench). That is because the cake height is less than the height of the pan. I won't make that mistake again! A cake stand solved the problem, but transporting that Axolotl separately to the birthday party location was a mission. I had to put the climbing Axolotl on the side of a 6" x 4" round pan, then inside a 10" x 4" round pan, and surround it with small towels and paper towels, so that it didn't move. Thanks again for all your help. Next time along with the lessons above, I'm doing to add a shadow to the name on the cake (slightly darker same color, or black letters just a bit bigger than the actual letters), to make the name stand out more. You can see the cake on my Instagram account, Anneliese.Wenden
YAY -- sounds like a great success --
re rkt making: butter probably helps but it's just a sticky mess, no matter what -- good save on the cake pan challenge -- so you had more than one of them -- ver cool! shadow on the lettering next time ver ver cool!
Sounds like a roaring success, Anneliese!
I always melt my marshmallows in the microwave, one minute at a time, stirring after each minute until melted. No burning. The way I transport fragile sugar flowers and models for the cake is to GENTLY lie them on a mound of folded up, plastic grocery bags, placed in a box. I mound up a lot of bags, making a non-stick, non-lint cushy place for the delicate pieces to ride. If need be, you can support the piece(s) on the sides with additional bags. I've never lost a single leaf or finger using this method.
I just went to your Instagram page and saw the cake and it is ADORABLE! I am in love with your Axolotl, so cute! You did a wonderful job.
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