Ingredients
- 1 Can white frosting
- 1 Box Red Velvet Cake Mix
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 3 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Edible Blood:
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water, or more as needed
- 15 drops red food coloring
- 3 drops blue food coloring
Directions
Prepare Red Velvet Cake Mix According to box, line
cupcake tins with paper cupcake liners.
Divide cake batter between lined cupcake tins.
Bake according to box instructions. Let cool and frost
cupcakes with white frosting.
Make the sugar glass
Mix 2 cups water, 1 cup corn syrup,
white sugar, and cream of tartar in a large saucepan; bring to a boil.
Use a
candy thermometer and boil sugar syrup until temperature reaches 300 degrees
(hard ball), stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken as water evaporates.
When sugar reaches 300 degrees, quickly pour onto a metal baking pan.
Cool
until completely hardened. Break into "shards" using a meat mallet.
Make the edible blood
Mix together 1/2 cup corn syrup
and cornstarch in a large bowl.
Slowly stir in the 1/4 cup of water, adding
more if necessary, until the corn syrup mixture has thickened to the
consistency of blood.
Stir in the red and blue food coloring.
Stab each frosted cupcake with a few shards of broken
sugar glass.
Drizzle on drops of "blood" to complete the effect.
14 comments:
This is the 2nd attempt I've tried with making the "glass" and it will not thicken. Any suggestions?
never made the stuff myself but maybe try the metal cookie sheet chilled? I mean if the mixture is at 300*, maybe a chilled (ice cold) metal cookie sheet might take the heat away quicker?
Use clear isomalt instead.
First, isomalt is not edible.
For those that say the "glass" won't harden, sometimes it really has to do a lot with the humidity in your house. Also, try using different utensils.
NOT TRUE.. it's generally "safe" to eat.. but, as a sugar alcohol doesnt act the same way to your gut..
Digestive Concerns and Stomach Upset
Excessive consumption of isomalt-containing foods can lead to serious stomach upset, bloating, and gas. A number of people also report these symptoms even after minimal exposure. In most cases, this is because the compound is not easily digestible. While the human body typically treats regular sugars as carbohydrates, it considers isomalt a fiber.
Consumption tends to increase bowel movements and can also cause painful bloating, diarrhea, and flatulence. To minimize these negative effects, most medical professionals recommend that people limit their daily intake to about 1.7 ounces (50g) for adults, and about 0.88 ounces (25g) for children. Some studies have also suggested that eating small amounts of isomalt over time can build up a slow tolerance.
I made the "glass" and it turned out fine. I didn't have a thermometer, so just had to go by look. I slightly overcooked it, so it was a light brown (we just said it was a broken beer bottle - and it still tasted great). It did thicken, but in the pot did not seem very much thicken. However, we poured it on to cookie sheets, and it was all fine. Set very quickly, and there was no problem (and it was so much fun to break up!).
The problem with the glass also might be that your thermometer is inaccurate. It happens, especially with candy thermometers. I see a lot of posts in forums about people paying alot of money for ones that are a waste of money. Look around for a good one in the forums where the 'pros' congregate.
In my experience 3 drops of blue food coloring is too much. I would recommend adding the red, and then adding one drop of blue. If it's not darkened enough, try adding another drop. All 3 drops made it far to purple and I had to add a ton of red just to compensate.
You can test the sugar glass while cooking by dropping some iro cold water. It should go hard if it is cooked enough. That's what hard ball stage means
The key is a good candy thermometer. Also you cook to 300 degrees also known as hard crack not hard ball. Use a good corn syrup like Karo. Avoid the cheap stuff. Use a med high heat and stir from the beginning. The process takes about 45 min and patience is also key. I use hard anondized aluminum pans which helps prevent scorching. Hope this helps. I made these and they turned out great.
That is a good method if you don't have a good candy thermometer. It's also not hard ball at 300 degrees but hard crack. Process is around 45 min depending on batch size. Been making candy for years now and I made these today with no trouble at all.
I made this tonight... I just want to make a note on the pan size. I sprayed three pans trying to guess on how much "glass" there would be and how thin... anyway, the jelly roll pan was the best size. Half sheet was way too big ans a small cookie sheet would've been too thick. The pan size was my only question when I started but I figured it out.
I just made these. Pay attention to the comments on the cookie pan size... I wish I had read these first! My glass is too thick. Also, the blood is too purply. Definitely add the red first and then one drop of blue at a time to get to the shade you prefer.
When making the sugar glass my candy thermometer never rose after stopping between 200 and 250. I continued to stir and it started turning a very light brown color before it ever began to thicken. Luckily, it wasn't very noticeable. After pouring it onto the pan I stuck it in the freezer. It hardened and broke fine but was extremely sticky leaving finger prints. Is that normal? Then after placing them on the cupcakes within the hour they'd all bent over practically melting onto the icing. Any suggestions on how to fix that for future reference?
Sincerely, Inexperienced Baker
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