How to Make Sugar Skulls
It is a tradition in our family to make sugar skulls (calaveras de azucar) every year for Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead). In just a few easy steps, I will teach you how to make sugar skulls without meringue powder or egg whites. I promise you will love this tradition so much that you will make them every year!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This recipe is vegan, allergy friendly, and a fun and easy activity to do with kids. I find that it helps to get them into the spirit of celebration and teaches them about Mexican culture and traditions.
Symbolism and Meaning
Colorful sugar and chocolate skulls adorn the altars in honor of departed loved ones on The Day of the Dead. The sugar skulls represent the spirits of the departed souls, some of them even have their names written on their foreheads.
The tradition originated in prehispanic Mexico, the Mexicas would make figures out of amaranth and honey in the shapes of their gods that would then be eaten in a ritual setting. In the 17th century, European monks brought sugar art to the new world and skulls began to be made with sugar.
Where to Find the Mold?
For years I have gotten my sugar skull molds at mexicansugaskulls.com. They have plenty of sizes to choose from. There’s also another option online where you can find them, but they only offer one size.
Ingredients
Sugar: You can only use granulated sugar for this. All other sugars will not work.
Aquafaba: This is the liquid from a can of chickpeas, the protein in the cooking liquid gives it some of the properties of egg whites, it acts as a binder and can even be beaten to make meringue.
How to Make Sugar Skulls Step-by-Step
- Beat aquafaba until it starts to bubble.
- Pour it into the bowl with the granulated sugar.
- Mix with your hands until the sugar is the consistency of wet sand.
- Pack the wet sugar tightly into the mold.
5. Use a spoon to scoop out some of the sugar from the back of the skull. This will make the skull less heavy.
6. Unmold onto a small piece of cardboard.
7. Let dry for 24 hours.
8. To make your royal icing beat aquafaba until it bubbles.
9. Add it to the powdered sugar.
10. Beat vigorously until there are no lumps left.
11. Divide the royal icing into four bowls and add food coloring.
12. Pour royal icing into piping bags and decorate your skull as you wish.
Expert Tricks and Tips
The amount of aquafaba needed to make your skulls will vary depending on where you live and whether it is humid or not. Add the aquafaba gradually so you can calculate how much you need more accurately.
Storing
Store your finished sugar skulls in an airtight container and they can last for up to a year.
FAQ
No, they are decorative items. That being said, they are made with edible ingredients so you could eat them if you wanted to.
In Mexico they are known as calaveras de azucar, and they are placed on the altars (ofrendas) on the Day of the Dead (Dia de Muertos).
More Day of the Dead Recipes
How to Make Sugar Skulls
Ingredients
Skulls:
- 6 cups Sugar granulated
- 4 tablespoons Aquafaba (liquid from can of chickpeas)
Royal Icing:
- 3 floz. (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp.) Aquafaba
- 4-5 cups Powdered Sugar
- 4 Food coloring of choice
Equipment:
- 2 Sugar skull molds- front and back
- 5 Card board squares 4.5 X 4.5 inches
- 4 Disposable pastry bags
- Sequins
Instructions
Sugar Skulls
- In a large bowl, lightly beat the aquafaba until it starts to bubble.
- Pour the aquafaba into a bowl with the sugar. Use your hand to mix well and incorporate the sugar and the aquafaba. It should have the consistency of wet sand, almost like you are going to build a sand castle.
- Make sure your mold is clean and dry. Pack the sugar into the mold and press down to compact the sugar. Use a spoon to scoop out some of the sugar from the back of the skull. This will make the skull less heavy.
- Press the cardboard square against the mold and flip the mold, to have the skull facing you. Lift the mold, and carefully place the cardboard with the skull on it on a sheet tray.
- Repeat this process with the rest of the sugar. Leave to dry for at least 24 hours.
Royal Icing
- The next day, in a large bowl, lightly beat the aquafaba until it starts to bubble. Add 4 cups of the powdered sugar and mix well. Test the consistency of the icing on a plate. It should be thick enough that it doesn’t slide down the plate easily. If it seems too thin, add 1 more cup of powdered sugar. The consistency should be considerably thicker than the icing used to decorate cookies.
- Separate the icing into 4 small bowls. Add your food coloring of choice and mix well.
- Pour each bowl of icing into a disposable piping bag. Secure with a rubber band, and cut a tiny bit off of the tip of the bag. Test the amount of icing that comes out before decorating your skull.
- Decorate your skull however you desire. I like to use sequins for the eyes. Let dry 24 hours.
Making a complete skull
- If you are making complete skulls, leave some of the royal icing white, and use it to glue the front and back of the skull, after it has dried for the initial 24 hours. After you have glued it together, let dry a bit before decorating it.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Although dorastable.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates.
I sent you an email requesting reprinting a version of your recipe in a book. Are you responding to emails?
Also, I felt like there is double the amount of royal icing than needed so I would either cut it back or use the extra icing on cookies so have some ready to decorate!
Hi, I just responded to you email.
Hello Dora! I have been learning Spanish the last couple of years in a bit to aide my young children with a second language. As such I’ve become very interested in traditions of Spanish speaking countries and watched the film coco. El dia de Los muertos is such a beautiful tradition and belief, and having lost 3 family members over the last few years I now plan to celebrate el dia de Los muertos with my children. We home educate, so teaching respect of cultures and diving deep into history of traditions is important to us and I hope respectful enough to be viewed as a happy thing for Mexicans, that we are leaning to understand and enjoy their customs, and passing on a message of acceptance and appreciation of people’s differences. P. S. Thanks for the vg recipe, I figured aquaria would be the key!
Thank you for this comment, I love that our traditions are being shared and that you are giving it so much respect.