Often, confectioners find interesting and original solutions- such as preparing molded decorations from mastic or caramel. With mastic it’s not so simple, but it’s a little easier to experiment, but with caramel decorations it’s not so simple. I became interested in this process and decided to engage in self-study. The first thing that interested me was finding this video on making plastic caramel.
Having studied culinary sites, I realized that in order to cook caramel and sculpt jewelry from it, special components are needed (as can be seen from the video recipe) - ingredients that give the caramel plastic properties. It's not just caramel that's boiled down to make homemade cockerel lollipops. Simple burnt caramel, even with the addition of aromatic essences, vinegar and some water, is not suitable for modeling. This burnt caramel in the professional lexicon has the name “cast”, that is, intended for casting cockerels-candy or pouring into prepared forms, preparing a decorative caramel “mesh” from it by applying thin streams to foil and cooling.
Caramel for modeling jewelry is called “satin”. And all because after cooking the caramel, it is pulled out while hot, twisted into ropes, stretched again, twisted again, and so on until the caramel is saturated with air. Small air bubbles form inside the plastic sweet mass, which refract the passing light and give the caramel a pearlescent “satin” color. In addition, usually satin caramel without the addition of dyes has a light yellow, almost transparent color. For coloring it is used food colorings at the stage of cooking caramel (for which you can add ready-made colored candies, the weight of which is subtracted from the sugar norm given in the recipes).
Plastic caramel is prepared by boiling sugar syrup with molasses to a temperature of 150-160 o C. Ordinary caramel without adding a plasticizer quickly crystallizes, soaks, absorbing atmospheric moisture. Therefore, store-bought caramels (transparent candies and opaque candies) are made with the addition of molasses. Molasses has anti-crystallization properties after hardening of caramel, and also imparts hardness, plasticity, serves to lower the freezing point of the product (for example, it gives plasticity to ice cream), and does not allow hard candy to stick, but it is not easy to find on sale. How can we solve the problem of the lack of molasses, if in general the process of preparing plastic caramel for decorating is so simple and almost accessible?
What to replace molasses with?
But not everything is so hopeless: molasses is a product of starch hydrolysis, carried out in the presence of dilute acids or enzymes. To prepare molasses, used in cooking and confectionery, use potato or corn starch. But making molasses using a homemade method is problematic due to the lack of acids and special enzymes necessary for hydrolysis. Hydrolysis converts the starch into a mixture of sugars containing mainly glucose, followed by filtering and boiling it to a syrup. Therefore, instead of molasses, you can use corn syrup (which is also difficult to find on sale) to obtain plastic caramel; any other syrup, especially maple, fresh pouring honey or artificial honey- these products are much easier to find on the shelves of food supermarkets. But if you can’t afford such plasticizers, there is another way out - at home it’s easy to make the so-called invert syrup, which replaces molasses and imparts anti-crystallization and plastic properties to caramel.
In the process of working with plastic caramel, some specific tools and materials are needed, namely:
Silicone mat, also called a “silicone mattress” (oilcloth polyethylene pads, sold as decorative coasters for plates, are suitable).
- Thick household gloves made of heat-resistant rubber (caramel is molded quickly from a mass that has not cooled below 70 o C, and this is a high enough temperature for contact work with bare hands).
- A powerful lamp that maintains the temperature of the caramel.
- An oil burner or gas burner to melt some areas of the candy decorations so they stick together.
It's no secret that sweet pastries complete the holiday meal. Decorating sweet pastries will help you show new facets of your abilities. When designing confectionery products, each woman acts as a designer:You can paint with cream, protein, fruit or flour drawing masses, and liquid chocolate. You can demonstrate your skills in making small sculptures, in the language of specialists - making figures and flowers from chocolate, marzipan, caramel.
It’s better to start with something simple and gradually move on to more complex types decorations.
How to make caramel flowers
How to make such a beautiful and tasty decoration.
Caramel is another product made from sugar with the addition of flavoring, coloring and aromatic substances.
Basic caramel recipe:
Pour sugar into a saucepan, add hot water and stir until completely dissolved. Wash off any sugar adhering to the inner edges of the pan, then place it over high heat and cook without stirring.
As soon as the syrup begins to boil, remove the foam with a spoon, again wash off any splashes of sugar syrup from the edges of the pan, cover it tightly with a lid and cook the syrup until it tastes like caramel. The caramel is ready when small quantity syrup cooled in cold water, it is not possible to roll a ball. If you cook less, you will get fudge, from which, after cooling, you can roll it into a ball.
Leaves from this caramel can be made using a stamp. You can cut a stamp out of a potato, like a leaf with veins. Place the stamp on a fork with the pattern facing down and dip it in hot caramel. Then place it on a greased plate. The caramel will stick a little to the plate and the vegetable stamp will separate. While the leaf has not cooled, stretch or bend it on a rolling pin to give it the desired shape.
Caramel flowers
2. Roll one of the halves into a flagellum. This will be the middle of the flower - a rose.
3. Wrap the other petals around the flagellum, pressing them a little.
4. Attach the remaining petals one by one, bending their upper edge slightly outward.
The resulting flowers are a decoration anywhere. Any small victory will inspire you and help you believe in yourself. Over time, you will be able to realize all your ideas; with experience, real mastery will definitely come to you.
Search interesting ideas For creative projects on the eve of the holidays? We have already told you that decorative flowers can be made from the most unexpected materials:, etc. It turns out that beautiful buds can be easily modeled from ordinary caramel candies. IN finished form original bouquet, the production of which will not take much time, will look like a glass decoration and will certainly make an impression, because you can not only admire it, but also taste it.
For the project prepare:
- bamboo skewers (one for each rose);
- kitchen scissors;
- glass bowl for microwave:
- hard caramel candies without filling;
- rubber gloves for working with food products.
Step 1.
Using scissors, carefully cut off the top pointed ends of the bamboo skewers you will use.
.jpg)
Step 2.
Pour a glass of water into a small glass bowl and place a handful of caramel candies (right with the candy wrappers) in it. Since sweets will be the material for sculpting roses, it is better to take candies of a suitable color: red, white or pink are suitable for making petals, and green for leaves. Sort the candies by color and start with the ones that will be used to form the petals.
Now place the dish in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The time depends on the power of your device. In order to achieve the desired effect, be guided by the temperature of the water: it should be warm enough, but not so hot that it burns your fingers.
.jpg)
Step 3.
Wear food-safe rubber gloves and remove one candy from the hot water. Without removing the wrapper, place the candy between your fingers and flatten it to form an oval.
.jpg)
Step 4.
Unwrap the candy and adjust the petal, giving it a neat shape with even edges.
.jpg)
Step 5.
Wrap the resulting petal around the skewer to form the center of the bud. Try to work fairly quickly as the candy hardens over time. If necessary, return the caramels to the bowl with warm water and reheat in the microwave.
.jpg)
Step 6.
Repeating the steps above, make a few more petals and add them to the composition.
.jpg)
In order for the lollipops to beautifully frame the skewer, subsequent blanks need to be bent more than the previous ones so that they form a voluminous bud.
.jpg)
For convenience, use a milk bottle or tall glass to hold the rose in while you form the additional petals.
.jpg)
Step 7
Place a new portion of water in the microwave, this time adding two green caramels. Warm the candies as described in step 2. Then flatten the wrapped candies between your fingers into a flat oval.
Step 8
Unwrap one of the candies and continue modeling, giving it the appearance of a leaf with a pointed end and slightly rounded edges. When will you achieve the desired shape, secure the lollipop on a skewer under the petals.
.jpg)
Step 9
Leave the other candy in the shape of an oval. Having unwrapped the caramel, compress it a little, and then thread it through a skewer, securing it approximately in the middle of the base. Raise the edges of the candy a little to give it a little waviness.
.jpg)
Step 10
The rose is ready. You can limit yourself to one flower or, repeating all the steps, make a few more buds to get a beautiful and unusual bouquet.
Decorations made from pouring caramel mass
From a viscous, thick caramel mass, which has a temperature of about 70°, you can prepare decorations for cakes in the form of fountains, domes, stands, cobwebs, etc. To prevent decorations from the caramel mass from quickly becoming sugary and darkening, it is best to use refined sugar when cooking caramel or thoroughly refined granulated sugar. For this you need to take light caramel molasses; The more molasses you use, the more plastic the caramel mass becomes. If molasses is replaced with other anti-crystallizers ( invert syrup, different acids) or reduce the dose of molasses, the caramel mass, after cooling below 70°, quickly hardens, which makes molding difficult. When making caramel mass, you should keep in mind that the less molasses you add, the more water you need to add. Caramel syrup is prepared in the same way as fondant syrup, only the caramel mass intended for decorations is boiled in small portions in a small bowl over high heat, since when cooked over low heat the caramel mass turns yellow. To cook the caramel mass, take sugar, dissolve it in hot water, after which the edges of the dishes are washed with water. After this, the syrup is boiled. As soon as foam appears on its surface, it is carefully removed. After the syrup boils, wash the edges of the pan again, cover the dish with a lid and boil the syrup to 118°, add molasses heated to 50° and, reducing the heat slightly, boil the mass to a caramel temperature of 158-163°. To prevent the color of the caramel mass from changing, it is cooled immediately after cooking. The bowl with caramel syrup is immersed for a few seconds in cold water or caramel syrup pour onto cold marble or a baking tray, lightly greased. Fat must be free of moisture, odor and foreign impurities. The caramel spreading over the marble is bent using a wide knife, also greased. Tint the caramel mass with dissolved food paints. When heated at high temperatures, the paints decompose and curl, so they are added after the caramel mass has cooled to 100°. The consistency of the paints should be creamy; dry paints do not dissolve well and form small dots in caramel. When tinting the caramel mass in several colors, it is poured in portions onto a table with a marble lid or into small frying pans and tinted separately. If you need to heat the caramel mass, then place it in a frying pan and place it in an oven, oven or heating device. The caramel mass should be flavored and acidified with various acids and essences after it has been cooled to 80-90°, since with more high temperature some types of acids are destroyed, and aromatics disappear. It is best to make a paste and knead it into the caramel mass. For 1 kg of caramel mass, take 8 g of ground tartaric acid, 3 g of fruit essence and 2 g of diluted paint. Products made from caramel mass have the ability to quickly absorb moisture from the air, which is why their surface becomes wet, sticky, loses its shine, and becomes covered with a candied, dirty crust, under which further destruction of the product continues. To prevent caramel products from collapsing, you need to adhere to following rules: a) add molasses and acid to the caramel mass in doses not exceeding the norm; b) produce products from caramel mass in a warm, dry room; c) can't stand it caramel products from a hot room to a cold room and vice versa; d) form caramel products with your hands, having previously washed them with alum, so that your hands do not get wet; e) dip caramel products into the syrup; e) keep the finished caramel products under steam for 1 second, sprinkle with white or colored granulated sugar and then dry. A fountain of caramel mass is made to decorate cakes. On a table with a marble top you need to draw six figures in the form of knots of the same size, which are lightly coated with melted fat. Roll four cornets of the same size from wrapping paper, place them tightly one inside the other and glue them together with eggs, cut off the thin end of the cornet to form a hole with a diameter of 5 mm. This cornet is made in order to maintain the temperature of the caramel mass and not burn your hands when working with it. After this, roll the cornet from parchment paper, which is placed in the lornetics made of brown paper so that the thin end of the parchment cornet protrudes out. Then cut the thin end of the parchment cornet to form a hole with a diameter of no more than 1 mm. Pour the caramel mass into the cornet to half its volume, close the parchment cornet first, and then the rest. Squeeze caramel out of the prepared cornet using a thin thread along the contour of the pre-drawn images. Then carefully remove the knot while it is still flexible and move it to another place to cool. After this, pour the caramel mass onto a table with a marble lid, giving it the shape of a small round cake, into which insert the prepared cooled caramel knots. Glue the ends of the knots on top with hot caramel mass. The dome is made to decorate cakes and other custom-made items. Apply a thin layer of fat to a metal or dome-shaped dish. After cooling the fat from the cornet, release the caramel mass onto the mold according to the patterns previously marked on it. Cover the base of the mold with a thicker layer of caramel mass. When the caramel mass has cooled slightly, carefully separate the caramel dome from the mold. To do this, lift it slightly with your fingers and turn it, but do not remove it from the mold until it cools completely. After complete cooling, stick caramel-glazed nuts, fruits or flowers made of caramel, marzipan onto the caramel dome and carefully remove the product from the mold. The dome can be made from caramel different colors. Make plates and stands from caramel mass boiled to 163°, cool it and quickly roll it into a flat cake on a warm board. Place the cakes in greased molds of different sizes and styles (narrow, flat, plate-shaped). The leaves are made from pouring caramel, tinted in green color. Cut small veins into half of the potatoes, reminiscent of the veins of a leaf, then dip the potatoes into the hot caramel mixture and place on the table with a marble lid, greased. The caramel sheet, freed from the potatoes, can be folded and shaped when warm. different shape. Caramel web is prepared using a wire whisk, the ends of which are dipped into the hot caramel mass, and the thin wires formed at the ends caramel threads applied to specially placed thin metal rods or wooden sticks. Caramel fines should be made using a cornet. Place all kinds of figures on greased marble or on a confectionery iron sheet, which can be used to decorate cakes, pastries and other products.
Sugar glass is nothing more than hard candy. In appearance, it is very similar to ordinary glass, except that it can be eaten.
Caramel comes from the Latin word “cannamella” (sugar cane). Caramel was first prepared by the Indians, who roasted sugar cane leaves over a fire. This, of course, was a completely different caramel, but a start was made. In our usual form, caramel appeared in France in the 16th century. Nowadays, caramel is very popular and is used in the manufacture of sweets, medicinal lollipops, and also as a sauce for desserts.
Today we will prepare sugar glass and decorate the cake with it.
Ingredients for caramel:
- 265 g sugar
- 160 ml water
- 80 ml corn syrup (light)
Preparing caramel:
Lubricate with a brush silicone mat vegetable oil. Place the greased mat in a baking pan (the pan should be smaller than the mat so that the caramel does not spread).
Place all ingredients in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil.
As the mixture boils, it will gradually become transparent. Continue stirring so that the mixture does not stick. After boiling, measure the temperature of the mixture with a thermometer. Heat until the mixture reaches 149 degrees (this is important: if you remove from heat earlier, the caramel will remain sticky). This heating stage can last from one to two hours.
When the mixture reaches 149 degrees, remove the pan from the heat. If you want colored caramel, you can add a drop of Americolor gel coloring and quickly stir until the color is uniform. I used three colors - Fuchsia, Electric Pink and Violet.
It is worth noting here that caramel darkens when heated. And if you underexpose or overexpose it, the color will be different.
Now let's prepare the cake.
Biscuit ingredients:
- 4 squirrels
- 4 yolks
- 120 g sugar
- vanillin or vanilla sugar
- 115 g flour
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.
Beat the whites with half the sugar until stiff peaks form.
If you have a second mixer, simultaneously beat the yolks with the remaining sugar and vanilla until creamy. white. If there is no second mixer, then it is better to beat the yolks first, because... while they are waiting in line for beating, they dry out, and in ready-made sponge cake grains of yolk will be visible.
Sift half the flour into the yolk mixture and stir until smooth. Then add the second half of the flour and 1/3 of the whites.
Ingredients for cream:
- cream 33%-35% 100 ml
- sugar 80-100 g
- cream cheese 500-560 g
- vanilla sugar
Lightly beat the cream with sugar and vanilla sugar.
Then add cheese. Beat the mixture at medium speed until smooth.
Assembling the cake.
Cut the cooled biscuit into layers of equal height. This is convenient to do using a special string for cutting biscuit.
We grease the first cake layer from below with cream and place it on the base with cream. Soak the cake on top with syrup (heat water, sugar in a 1:1 ratio until the sugar dissolves, add berries, remove from heat, strain). If desired, you can add berries or other filling. Cover the top of the cake with a layer of cream.
Layer by layer we assemble the entire cake (I have 5 cake layers, because I baked two servings of sponge cake).
Place the cake in the refrigerator to thicken the cream structure.
We make the cream for covering the cake in the same way as for impregnation, only we replace vanilla sugar with vanillin (so that there are no black grains of vanilla). Add dye if desired. I used Americolor Turquose gel dye.
We take the cake out of the refrigerator. Fill a pastry bag with a “Tube” tip with cream. Cover the entire cake with cream.
If pastry bag If you don't have it on hand, you can apply the cream with a spatula.
Level the cream by pressing it firmly onto the cake with a spatula.
Loading...