Sachiko Windbiel grew up in Japan and relocated to New York in 2008 to attend culinary school. While originally specializing in vegetarian and healthful food trends, the charm and whimsy of sugarcraft eventually won her over.

Sachiko now runs Mimicafe Union in New York City and has made a name for herself as a master of edible art. With a style that is cute, light-hearted, and fun, Sachiko is most recognized for her fondant figures and cake toppers.

Today she is going to teach us how to make convincingly realistic human hands using fondant and Sugar Shapers!

Life Like Fondant Hand Step By Step Tutorial

 My work is all about Fondant Figures… my main tools are my fingers, but thanks to Sugar Shapers, I was able to realize some fun new techniques!

Let's get started!

First, we need to color the fondant. It's best to start with white fondant and add color so that you can get exactly the tone you want. Color a handful of fondant to the skin tone that you would like by adding AmeriColor Gel Color. I use AmeriColor Flat Gold Gel Color.

Once you have a color you like, shape the Fondant into a form resembling a wooden spoon as shown.



Using your own hand as a model, cut the fingers in the fondant wooden spoon with an X-Acto Knife. Then, smooth out the squareness of the fondant fingers by smoothing and shaping them with your own fingers.



Now let's start using our Sugar Shapers to add shape and contour to our hand. Use the Orange/ Bone Chisel Sugar Shaper to create web area between each finger by pressing inward toward the wrist with the edge of the shaper. Then, use the same Bone Chisel tool to push up small mounds of fondant to create knuckles.  Smooth the knuckles with your fingers to keep them looking organic.



Next, use the Light Blue / Pointed Chisel to create the wrinkle lines of the middle joint on the back of the fingers. Then use the Green/ Round Tip Chisel tool to gently press down on the fondant at the end of each finger to create the nail beds.



Now, add a little bit of Red AmeriColor Gel to some excess skin toned fondant to create a pinker tone for the nails.  Pinch a ball of this pinker fondant, place it on the nail bed and smooth it into place with your fingers. Use the Green/ Round Tip Chis to add definition to the shape of the nail.



Use your fingers to add body / muscle tone and roundness to the fondant fingers. Then use the edge of your Pointed Chisel to lightly indent lines on the back of the hand to indicate the hand’s bone structure.



To create shadows and depth on the hand, use Petal Color Dust. I combined Light Brown Dust with a little bit of Pink Dust- you can test the dust tone on some spare fondant to make sure you are getting the color you want. Once you have your desired color, just touch the brush to the main knuckles and to the mid finger joints.  Also touch the brush along the back of the hand structure lines and on the side of the fingers to add tone. 



If you would like to create interesting positioning of the fingers, place the fingers on your shapers in whatever positions you would like them to have. Then, allow to dry.  You can also use just a touch of confectioner’s glaze to add a sheen to the fingernails.  



The fondant dries quickly.  If you would like to add more life-like wrinkles to the fingers, you can very gently bend the fingers a little bit after they have dried out some.

And there you have it! A life-like human hand made of fondant!



Sugar Shapers are wonderful tools for creating many exciting details, textures, and forms. Adding realism to  your creations is a pinch with these tools in your kit.

We hope you've enjoyed this tutorial by Sachiko Windbiel of Mimicafe Union in New York City. If you want to see more of Sachiko's work, you can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also watch Sachiko in action at the Innovative Sugarworks booth at That Takes the Cake in Austin. Video of her live demonstration is posted on our Facebook page here.