Sugar mice

Method

• step 1

  Put the egg white in a large bowl and whisk until foamy. Stir in the lemon juice.

• step 2

  Gradually stir in the icing sugar with a wooden spoon until really stiff, like dough. Or, dust the work surface with some icing sugar and knead the sugar into the mixture until you get the right consistency.

• step 3

  Divide the mixture in half. Add a dot of pink food colouring to one half, then knead in to evenly distribute the colour. Add a tiny bit more colouring if you want a stronger colour. Leave the second half plain.

• step 4

  Break off a walnut-sized piece of the mixture and roll into a rounded cone shape, then flatten one side so that the mouse can sit on a flat surface without toppling over. Pinch out little ears on top of the narrow end, then squeeze the same end into a nose. Press chocolate sprinkles into the face below the ears to make eyes. Cut a length of kitchen string about 4cm long, and push it into the round end of the mouse to make a tail.

• step 5

  Use a cocktail stick to dab a tiny amount of pink food colouring onto the nose, then put the mouse on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.

• step 6

  Repeat the process with the remaining pink and white mixtures, then leave the mice to dry out for at least 12 hrs.