I am going to have to try this...I love the way it looks!!

I just want to share that Lorann's Oil sell hard candy molds. I'm not sure if you all knew that or not. Here is one that might work for the tiles:
https://www.lorannoils.com/p-8611-sheet-mold-rectangle-breakup.aspx

Thanks so much, Munchkinette...

I wish they sold one with squares, but for that price I'd be willing to try it.

I don't see a size for each indent...I'm going to call them and check.

Damn, I just missed them...their recording says 9 to 5 on Fridays. I'll try back on Monday.

I own that mold, and have used it to make candy a few times. I know off hand that its not a very deep mold. Probably an 1/8 of an inch thick. I'll go go dig it out of my box of molds and measure it and let you know for sure.

thanks os much for the infor....can't wait to try it!

PROBLEM, PROBLEM, PROBLEM!!!!!!

For some strange reason I stuck one of my "glass" tiles in my mouth to taste today ... AND IT WAS SO GROSS!!!!!! Could not even stand it in my mouth, all the dye was on my teeth and lips, and it was bitter and nasty!!!!

Not sure if that taste was the pink dye (????? could that be????) - it was Wilton gel color -- or if that taste was the Diabetic Sugar Substitute I used?????

Does anyone know if Isomalt has a bad taste on its own????

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO??? Can't have the tiles on the cake taste NASTY!!!!

Any advice?????

Amy

Isomalt doesn't taste "bad" itself, but it does taste like a sugar substitute.......not like sugar. My Mom is diabetic and she hates it. Maybe you are reacting to the artificial/funky/non-sugar like taste.
Some people add a flavoring to the candy they make with it.......
Here are instructions I found for making isomalt jewels. They add flavor with the color......


IDEA for making JEWELS - Isomalt & water melted. Color/flavor. Spray mold w/Pam, wipe off excess, add edible glitter, dump excess, Pour Isomalt mixture into mold, Heat in Microwave a few seconds. Let set up and unmold jewel. Recipe: Boil 1 kilogram of Isomalt (1 killogram = 2.20462262 pounds) with 2 cups water. Boil to 165C (approx 320deg.F). Pour into heat resistant molds or pour into shapes on teflon non-stick mat. Add paste color when heat reduces to 140Cgranular form, simply add up to 10% water and dissolve the granules to achieve the correct consistency for making pulled sugar decorations. Isomalt can also be used with most sugarcraft molds. Unlike normal sugar, Isomalt can be re-used after heating, so anything that is left over from a project can be re-melted.

I was in Michaels today and saw the small silicon Brownie pan - it is red and has several ~1.5 inch squares for making Brownies - it would work perfectly for making the sugar tiles. It is $9.99 and of course would be less with a weekly coupon.

I was wondering if you happened to taste the original sugar tiles you made - the more orange ones? If so, how did they taste. If they were okay, then it must be the sweetener, right? You used the same coloring? Just a thought.

Guys, you don't have to add water to isomalt--just melt it.

No, you don't have to add water. But it doesn't hurt it to add water at all., at least not for this application. And water is cheaper than isomalt.

I did taste the original tiles .. the orange ones -- they were DELICIOUS! Tasted just like a sugar lollipop! I guess it must be a mixture of the isomalt and the color .. the bitter taste was terrible! I'll just have to live with it!

Thanks for all the help! Much appreciated!

Amy

Do you think using Lorann's flavored oils would help?? I'm dying to try this, but I want them to taste good...

Hi Ladies
I am looking forward to trying these tiles! But here is a thought: what about melting jolly ranchers candy? I have done this technique before and poured the melted candy into a ceramic pampered chef heart mold... I spray the mold with pam and then pour the melted jollu ranchers in and let it sit till harden about 10 minutes and then pop it out. It them tastes like a jolly rancher-yummy... I might try this technique-what do you guys think?

I have done Jolly Ranchers before too. It was OK. My only problem with them was that they were really sticky. For me, they were a big sticky mess!
I am doing the isomalt/water with a little flavoring and so far they are not at all sticky, even in high humidity, so I am really happy with that. They don't taste as good as a jolly rancher, I'm sure. But they don't taste awful either.......kind of like plain rock candy.
But anyway, have a try with Jolly Ranchers if you like and let us know how they turn out.

What's the best way to melt a jolly rancher? Do you do it in the microwave? In a saucepan?

OK, I've been doing some experiments ...

These tiles are all done in REAL SUGAR, but I only cooked to 290 degrees to try and maintain the color. It's not as hard, but still hard enough to work with.

There is shiny dark pink (glossy side up)

Light pink shiny side up is mold lined in luster dust (glossy side up)

Light pink dull side up (the side lined in the dust) - kind of looks like stone???

What do you think?? I'm going to try little tiles later today ...

Amy

I wish I could show you all the large detailed pictures!!! Anyone know how I can get a larger file up???

They look beautiful, Amy. Do you think using real sugar is the way to go? Have you concluded that heating sugar to 290 did the trick to keep the colors true?

So, do you think you can get the tie-dye look of the isomalt ones you did earlier with the real sugar?
Do you still have some of the originals? Have they gotten sticky at all?
My isomalt ones are not sticky yet, but you never know.
Maybe I'll try a mixture of isomalt and sugar next, just for fun.....

what a great resource!

Very cool! Thank you so much for all of your help. I can honestly say, and I'm sure I speak for others as well, that I am greatful for the time and expense you have given to this experiment and for being so generous with sharing your findings. You are an asset to us all! Thank you again!

OK, last set ... I think I'm ready now and have a good array of colors/textures and sizes for a good "mosaic" look on my cake .... next week I'm making it ... I'll post a pic when it's done.

Thanks for everyone's help with everything!!!

Amy

I saw the show and thought those were so amazing. It's a great idea and I love the swirly colors. Your tiles are so pretty! I can't wait to try this, there are so many ways to use them.

Did you finish your cake? We are so excited to see pictures!!!
I checked out the sugar substitute in Target and it had acesulfameK in it, in addition to isomalt. I think that may have been where your bad taste came from??, cause I really don't like the taste of that (acesulfame K)if it is heated........really awful! I made some straight isomalt tiles yesterday and they taste OK. How did your sugar tiles hold up? I am not putting my cake together for a couple of more weeks.....

I'm almost there -- the tiles are great, but I'm disappointed with the cake itself ... almost done. I will definitely post when it's done!!

I am making a cake with these on it too!! I have made several batches of the tiles and by the third or fourth one I finally got the hang of it. I am putting it together tonight... will definately post pictures!! I think it is going to look great.

ANik2Grls- Thank you so much for your experimenting!! I learned alot just by what you have found out. I wouldn't have been brave enough to do this without you!! Thanks!!

OK, here's the final cake! I wound up "glazing" the tiles with a pearl glaze to give them an iridescent look - it seemed to fit the look of the cake better ...

Beautiful work!