How to Make Sugared Lime Cupcake Toppers out of Fondant

Today I made sugared lime slices for some cupcakes I'll be doing later this week.  Of course, this being a baking blog, they are not made of lime.  They're fondant.  Here's a sneak peek at the finished product:

They're a little wonky in the middle, but I think they're kind of cute.  I needed to make about four dozen, so I decided to use a technique I learned when I dabbled in polymer clay many years ago.  But then I had a baby.  And polymer clay fell by the wayside.  But then I discovered fondant.  Yay fondant!

So here's how I did them:

(Please excuse the awful photos.  I am a baker, not a photographer.)

First, I colored fondant lime green (dark and light) and left some white.   If you try this you're going to need way more white and dark green than I have pictured.  Just sayin'.   I used Cake Craft Lime Green, but you can use whatever.  Americolor Electric Green is also lovely.

Put the dark green and white under cellophane so they don't dry out.  Form the light green into a nice cylinder. 

Now, using a very sharp knife (or tolerably sharp if you're like me and haven't had a really sharp knife in years), slice it into 8 wedges.  Now roll out the white fondant (about 1/8" thick...you don't want it to be too thin) and wrap each of the wedges, lengthwise:

I use an exacto knife to cut my fondant.  Don't worry, it's only used for food.  Try to keep the pointy edge of your wedge pointy.  It will make reassembly easier.  After you've wrapped all 8 wedges, they should look like this:

Now, smoosh them back into a cylinder.  This may take some doing.  I ended up making a small rope and putting it in the midle of the cylinder to fill the void that formed in the center.  I forgot to get a picture of that part.  Sorry.  But anyway, just squish, smoosh and manipulate until you've got a cylinder again.  It need not be perfect.

Now roll a large strip of white fondant, about 1/8" thick, and wrap it around your lime wedges.

Repeat using a thicker piece of dark green.

It looks a little lime-like, doesn't it?  Anyway, lay it on it's side and stretch, roll and manipulate the cylinder into a rope.  You may feel the wedges trying to shift around, but just give them a good squeeze and they'll settle down.  Once your rope is the desired width, cut it in half using your sharp knife.  FYI:  If your knife isn't sharp enough the inside of your lime will distort and lose definition.  I countered this by using a slight sawing motion when cutting. 

Now, just cut slices off of your rope.  After you cut the slices, you will have to manipulate them a little to get them round again.  Plus you'll want to rub out any rough edges.  You can also push any cracks that may be there back together.  Next time, I think I'll add some water when I put the wedges back together so they stick better. 

And there are some of the almost-finished limes.  FYI:  The ends of your logs o' limes are going to be ugly and wonky.  Don't worry about it.  Just don't use that part.  Smoosh it all up and save the fondant to make leaves or something later.

To give the limes a little sparkle, I sugared the edges.  I started with a very wet paper towel (actually, about three folded in half) and a plate of sanding sugar.  I used a mix of light green and dark green sugars to give it some dimension.

Then I rolled the lime edges on the paper towel, rolled them in the sugar, and set them on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet to dry. 

And there you have it!  Sugared Lime Cupcake Toppers!  I'll post the cupcakes later this week. 
Enjoy!