Friday, August 6, 2010

How to make Coral out of sugar


For my son's birthday this year he wanted an Aquarium cake. I had remembered watching CakeBoss and loved the coral he made. They made it out of Isomalt, so I went and bought a bag of it. I found directions online on how to cook it and make coral. The Isomalt didn't work so great and it is expensive for one little bag, that doesn't make very much. Also Isomalt melts if it is real humid out, even though I had the air on. If you watched the show it melted on them also because someone put it in the fridge. I was real bummed that it didn't turn out.

My best freind had a great idea to try making it out of plain sugar! So we went on line and found a hard candy recipe using good old cheap sugar. I was so happy and pleased with the results as you can see.

First you will need ALOT of ice. I went and bought 2 of the big bags of ice from the party store. You will also need a tall stock pot to put the ice in. It works better if you can clean your freezer out to make enough room to be able to put the stock pot in it.

In a stainless steel pot you will add 2 cups of sugar and 2/3 cup of water. I double this so I got a thicker and less fragile coral. Stir this with a stainless steel spoon or whisk, but only until it starts to boil then stop. You want to boil this until it reaches 300 degrees. Just befor it reaches that you want to pull out of the freezer your tall pot, filled to the top with ice and have that ready to pour you sugar over it. When you pull your sugar of the stove sit the bottom of the pot in to cold water just for a few seconds until all of the hissing sounds stop. Then you want to really quickly stir in your coloring and then pour it over the ice in a circular motion. Let it sit for about a minute then very very carefully tip the pot on the side and pull out your sugar coral. You might have ice that is stuck on it or in it, so what I did was run cold water over it until it the ice melted. I then took my air brushing machine and blew air on it just to get as much of the water dryed off of it that I could. It will still be very sticky so let it dry until it is no longer sticky to the touch. Make sure you dry it on wax or parchment paper. I did notice that it won't stay totally clear, it will become cloudy and crystalize. I think it just makes it look more realistic because coral is not see through.

40 comments:

  1. Wow that sounds so easy and It looks so real! How did you make the sea creatures?

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  2. The cake looks amazing!. I have never done sugar before. I think you got me into it. I should try it!. Thanks for sharing your tips!
    -Sara

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  3. I made the sea creatures out of fondant/gumpaste then I airbrushed them.

    Thanks Sara! This was my 1st time with sugar and I can't wait to start working with it more!

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  4. Thank You So MUCH!!! I have been looking for a good recipe for sugar coral for a while now and Im totally ready to try this one! It looks soooo easy and cheap!!! Lol!!!

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  5. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!!! My coral turned out wonderful! I made a couple different flavors and colors and they were all unbelievable! OMG and sooooo cheap! I was able to use what I already had at home and that always makes me happy! Lol! Thanks Again!

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  6. Thank you!! I tried your sugar coral recipe yesterday and it turned out absolutely amazing! I colored it a teal blue and it didn't go foggy at all. It was crystal clear and a huge hit at the party. Lots of people were eating it and loved it - it tastes like cotton candy :)
    Fantastic, thanks again!!

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  7. We tried this for our daughter's 4th birthday and it was perfect. Thank you for the tips and help. Hugs, Jen

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  8. how do you get it to keep its shape

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  9. been looking for this recipe forever thank you so much u have saved my life...

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  10. that looks to cool i think ill make some right now !!!!!!!!!
    :D

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  11. I love cake boss and was wondering how to make the coral he made, so thank you for your recipe and I'm gonna try it tomorrow, will let you know how I went

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  12. Beautiful! You made a fantastic cake!

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  13. was just wondering as is the party ice, cubed or crushed ice. and it looks amazing.

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  14. I tried the sugar coral and mine turned to goo when I added it to the ice. What can I do to harden it??

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    Replies
    1. It may not have been up to the right temp 300deg as this would make this occur

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  15. how long does it last? week by any chance :)
    and very excited to try it out thank you!!

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  16. how long does it last?

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  17. Looks great! Thanks for sharing this!

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  18. hi i was so amazed when i saw this i as just about to go the expensive way but something told me to go online ,then i found this thank you very much

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  19. Thank you! I just tried this and it worked perfectly on my first try!
    Beautiful cake!
    Sheila

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  20. Just made pink corals. Omg! They could be worn as jewellery. Thank you. Lovely recipe.

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  31. The cake looks amazing!! How long does this last!!?

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  32. I tried this today and Wow! It worked so well! I am using the sugar coral to decorate Tropical Reef Coconut Cupcakes for my great niece :) She will be so pleased :) I'm so excited for her to see them.

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  33. used the ice blocks with the holes in them, turnEd out awesome and noodley looking. still sticky waiting to see if dries out

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  34. My sugar seized three times. Tried changing pots, maybe I will use a candy thermometer instead of an instant read one. i think maybe the probe from the instant read might carry a crystallized piece that causes this????

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  35. What type of ice do you use to make the coral? Crushed, Cube, Round? ect.

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  36. I am making an under the sea mermaid cake for my niece this weekend for her birthday and the coral will look beautiful on her cake.

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