I'm attempting to cast sugar jewels with isomalt, since I live in a place that's humid. I keep getting small bubbles on the surface of the jewels. I did overheat the isomalt atleast five degrees, which may be part of the problem. I've tried pouring the sugar when it's a little cooler, but then it hardens too quickly, not picking up the silicone mold details. I've been reheating it in the microwave, and don't have a heat lamp. I need just a few jewels for a cake, and thought I could just whip them out. Obviously, I haven't worked with sugar much. If anyone has any input that might help me solve this problem, I'd be very appreciative!

Now I don't do sugar, so please understand that this answer comes solely from watching tv and videos....

I've seen people take their stuff out of molds and hit their pieces with a blowtorch (like what you use for creme brulee). They just run the flame over it a few times to heat up the surface just enough to level out the bubbles.

I'm sure someone knows better than me, just bumping you with what I've seen here and there.

Thanks for the info, every little bit helps! I'll give it a try.

Sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I would like to know what it is when you find out, too!

It is really important that you don't over heat the isomalt. you start to get crystalization and have to start over. try it again and don't lose patience. I have worked with sugar in pastry school and many blisters and burn later, I decided then that it wasn't for me. fun at first but then the smell of burning flesh started to turn my stomach. good luck.

I tried the flame, it certainly gets the bubbles out, but I lose some detail in the process. I think that I need to keep working with that idea.

I do think the overheating of the isomalt is a big problem, I've ordered some more... Does anyone know the ideal temperature to cook isomalt for pouring into molds? And can I leave water out of the cooking process to help the pieces hold up better in the humidity. The ones I made are losing their shine.

Thanks for your comments, they really help.

Don't leave the water out -- you need it to dissolve the Isomalt in the first place. Bringing it up to temp will boil most of the water back out.

Boil it to 340F. Let it cool to about 250F, then pour into molds. If you pour it too hot, you'll get bubbles in your piece. It's harder to work with at 250F because it thickens. You can warm your silicone mold in a 250F oven to prevent the Isomalt from firming up too quickly. That should give it enough working time for the Isomalt to fill in all the mold details before it hardens.

Thank you for the tips! I will follow them exactly, when I get my order of isomalt. By the way, thank you, BKeith, for your tutorial on whimsical cakes. I followed it for a cake I did and it went so smoothly. Thank you for sharing your knowledge so freely.

My pleasure. Good luck!

In the sugar class I took at wilton, the only time we added water to isomalt(boil to 340) was to pull or blow it. And pouring, casting, etc was done with just plain isomalt, no water(boil to 380). Be EXTREAMLY carefull- it will burn all the way to the bone- it is a chemical so you can't just stick your arm under water like with sugar! You only need to heat isomalt to that point once. You can reheat it, but you just need to heat it enough to a liquid state. They do make isomalt that you just need to heat to liquidfy and use-you don't need to boil it. Can you tap the mold like you would do a cake to get the bubbles out?