Día de los Muertos Skulls 💀💀💀
Sugar Skulls for Day of the Dead
When I was looking for something new to learn during the week of Halloween, I read an article on Day of the Dead altars and was also starting to see a few friends posting photos of altars they had created for loved ones. I think this is a beautiful tradition so I decided to learn more about, and try to create, the sugar skulls that are so highly recognizable. The skulls represent those who have passed and are receiving offerings at the altar. The sugar represents the sweetness of life.
The first set of photos below shows the ingredients, the mixing, and then the sugar mixture being placed into a mold. This step was a little messy, but that might just be how I operate (I usually make a mess:).
Shortly after pushing the sugar mixture into the mold, I needed to gently get the skulls out so they could dry overnight. Once they were completely dry, the two parts (the front of the skull and the back) were glued together with royal icing and left to dry again. You will see in the photo on the right, I added a little extra royal icing to make “hair” on a few of them.
After the skulls were together and dry, I used edible ink markers to decorate them. I later found some cake decorations (little sprinkles) that I stuck on them as well.
The final skulls are shown below. I am happy with how they turned out on a first attempt. I would definitely try to make these again but would likely try to be a little fancier with decorative icing, etc. I would also like to make skulls from a larger mold. These are about 2” high, and I think it would be easier to make more ornate skulls with larger heads.
The meaning of objects on Day of the Dead altars
A variety of skull molds for sale
Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) Information and History
Create an Oríkī - Since oríkīs are often used at funerals, this post from last week is somewhat related.
Try making a skull - or read up on Día de los Muertos Skulls so you can start planning for next year!
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