Sugar Skull Video Tutorial

Learn how to make Sugar Skulls (Calavera) for the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) using a plastic skull mold then see how to decorate the skulls using colorful royal icing. Watch my Sugar Skull Video Tutorial.

Sugar Skull

Have you seen elaborately a decorated Sugar Skull and wanted to make one? I have put together a video tutorial to show you how to make sugar skulls for the Day of the Dead but before we get to that let me tell you a little bit about the tradition of making sugar skulls.

What is the Day of the Dead?

• The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is celebration of the life, not death.
• It is believed that the gates of heaven open at midnight on October 31st and the spirits of the dead can be reunited with their families. The deceased children come on November 1st and the adults on November 2nd.
• This holiday is celebrated in Mexico and parts of South America but has also become increasingly popular among Latino communities in the United States. We even hosted a Day of the Dead themed party back in 2013.
• Sugar skulls are a traditional craft that are made to be placed on beautifully decorated altars (ofrendas) by the family of a deceased relative during the Day of the Dead celebration.

What is placed on the alter for Dia de los Muertos?

• Every alter (ofrenda) should include the four elements:
  • Water – is often placed in pitchers on the alter so the spirits can quench their thirst.
  • Wind – is represented by traditional paper banners, known as Papel picados, that blow in the wind.
  • Earth –  is represented by food and flowers because the cycle of death and life is often associated with new crops growing up in fields where crops died the season before.
  • Fire – Candles help the spirits find their way.

Ideas for food to be placed on your Ofrenda:

• Cheesecake Mousse Skulls
• Burrito Skulls or Enchilada Skulls
• Pan de Muerto
• Champurrado
• Calavera Cookies

 

How to make Sugar Skulls

Supplies needed to make a sugar skull:

• meringue powder
  • Meringue powder is composed of cornstarch, dried egg whites, sugar, citric acid and some stabilizers.
  • Some sugar skull recipes call for raw egg whites, which are fine to use being sugar skulls are meant to be decorations and are not usually eaten.
• granulated sugar
• water
• plastic skull mold
  • the recipe below will make 4 sugar skulls that are approximately 4 inches long and 3 1/2 inches deep
  • I used a mold that I’ve had on hand for many years. I’ll link below to some skull molds that are available on amazon.
• royal icing and food coloring

You can find supplies needed to make these homemade sugar skulls from amazon (commission earned for sales).

Sugar Skull Video Tutorial

 

Sugar Skull Recipe

1. Stir together the sugar and meringue powder then add the water and stir until all the sugar is wet.
   • I used a food processor to make sure the sugar gets evenly mixed with the water.
2. Squeeze together some of the sugar and if it holds together, it’s ready.
   • If it’s too dry, add some more water, as teaspoon at a time, until you get the right consistency.

How to create sugar skulls using a plastic skull mold:

1. Spoon some of the wet sugar into a 3-D skull mold.
2. Press the sugar into the mold, compacting it tightly.
3. Continue to fill the mold then scrape off any excess sugar so that you have a flat surface on top.
4. Fill both the front half and back half of the mold.
5. Place a piece of parchment paper and a cardboard over top of the mold.
6. Carefully flip the mold and board upside down.
7. Set the cardboard on the counter.
8. Lift the mold off the sugar skull.
   • If the sugar skull sticks it is too wet. You will need to pour the sugar back into the bowl and add a bit more dry sugar to the mixture.
   • If the skull breaks apart, it’s too dry. Pour the sugar mixture back into the bowl and add a bit more water.
9. Allow the skull to dry for at least 6 hours. Then turn it over and allow the other side to dry for at least 6 hours.
10. Spread a thin layer of royal icing in between the two halves of the skull.
11. Press them together, remove any icing that has oozed out from in between the two pieces, then let dry for at least an hour before decorating.

NOTE: Sugar skulls need to dry hard so it is best not to make them on humid days when there is too much moisture in the air.

You can decorate your sugar skulls using paint, foils, colored glue, glitter, or royal icing.

There is no limit to the designs you can make. Be creative and have fun adding your decorations. I used brightly colored royal icing to decorate mine.

Sugar Skull (Calvera) Recipe

See more Day of the Dead recipes, here.