I toyed a little yesterday with melting Jolly Ranchers to get flat sheets I could cut into shapes while still warm. It worked alright, but I would prefer to have a sheet of this glass-like stuff to cover a cake with, like fondant!

Anyone know if this is possible, or seen anything like this? I would assume you would have to add something like gelatin, I have no baking or other food training!!

Any thoughts??

It would have to be gelatin, otherwise, you'd have to remove it from the cake before cutting it. You would probably need to put down BC first, then cover it with a gelatin sheet. Someone here should be able to help with instructions on gelatin sheets. I would be interested in that. It would make a beautiful stained glass!

Actually, while the melted Jolly Rancher mixture was still pretty hot, I used a shortening-coated knife to cut into the mixture I poured onto a greased piece of parchment paper. I was able to cut geometric shapes pretty easily before it hardened, even without adding anything to the melted JR.

You could do this with several colors to make a stained-glass creation!

I just tried to mix a packet of gelatin (dissolved with less then called for water) and got a great, thin pouring. It was a little to tacky to pick up, even with greased hands, so I put it into the frig. We'll see what it's like in a bit.

I also thought of homemade gummy treats recipes! If I poured those mixtures flat, I should be able to pick that up and drape it over a cake, no!?

I guess I'm wondering about the original request -- it's very unusual. I've worked with gelatin and with jolly ranchers before and neither of them is really conducive to covering an entire cake. Gelatin needs to be cut with scissors, it doesn't work with a knife. Jolly ranchers melted make great stained glass windows but are still a hard candy even after they are remelted. That's why I'm curious as to what exactly you are hoping to accomplish.

LOL! I feel like a witch over here, over my experimental pot! A picture of the 3D creature I am hoping to make is attached. As you can see, he has a shiny transparent spots of color and gray patches.

I was at first thinking about just piecing together pieces of gray fondant and flat sheet shapes of melted JR. Then, I realized it would be better to cover the entire cake with the shiny color and do shapes of gray fondant on top.

Well, I guess I will continue to experiment and update you all on what comes out!

Attached to what? Sorry I don't see any picture...

Oops, sorry!

O-M-G I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!! After just ONE failed attempt, I'VE CREATED SOMETHING THAT WORKS!!!

Okay, I've included pictures here of what I did. The first pictures of the smaller 'circle' was just crushed up Jolly Ranchers with one diluted packet of gelatin. It was too sticky. I had to put it in the refrigerator to even handle it to get off the greased parchment paper. And, as you may see, it kind of picked up a little of the parchment.

The SECOND set of pictures, of the much larger piece, I used 6 packages of gelatin and 2 3oz packages of Jello mix, and 1 cup of water. I altered the recipes I saw for making homemade gummies. Then as it was hot, I added about 4 Jolly Ranchers and stirred until they were completely melted.

As it cooked on the stove on low, I noticed all that foam that occurs with cooking gelatin. So, after I took it off the stove and moved it near my greased parchment, I used a turkey baster to get under the foam at the clear liquid.

After I poured it all out and let it cool, LOOK WHAT I GOT!!!! And look at what I was able to do with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud!!!

It is SUPER easy to handle, doesn't stick, is not stretching, as it's still hanging off of the vase I hung it over! I am so excited to try this with my test cake!

Hopefully, you all can experiment with this!!!

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/leighrobin/Cake/?albumview=grid

(password is: Greensboro)

I am sorry, it's not letting me rearrange them in order (they are numbered now). I can move them around, but it's not saving them for some reason.

Sounds awesome... But I can't open Photobucket with "Greensboro"

How long did it cook on low?

I tried to look at your pics but it keeps telling me your album is private & asking for a different password.

Aha... try GREENSBORO - all caps.

Looks great!

The gelatin sheet need to be cut with a scissor. Make sure you can cut yours with a knife or they won't be able to cut the cake.

Good luck!

Thanks for sharing!

Very cool you mad scientist you! How are you going to use it?

Oh, sorry about the all caps.

sadsmile--I plan to try to drape the whole cake in that stuff (sticking it on like fondant) and then going back and cutting gray fondant to match the gray markings on the guy. I'm glad I'm doing a practice!

leahk--thanks for that thought. I will try it on the test cake.

By the way--it cuts fine with a knife! This is soooo cool! I cannot wait to try it this week on the test cake!

LOL I can't wait to see your results!

Oh my goodness I totally want to try it!! So, I put the gelatin, jello mix and water over low heat for how long??? Do I let it boil for a while??? Then after I add the jolly ranchers, I let stir it until they're melted and then pour the liquid out?!! How long does it need to set?! That is SO cool!! Thanks for experimenting!!!

GREENSBORO or Greensboro is not working, it's not letting me in

mrsmudrash--I just used a basic recipe for gummies (not sure which one I used, but here's one:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4711835_homemade-gummy-bears.html

Then, as it was over the low heat, I added the few Jolly Ranchers and stirred until they were fully dissolved. Then, I put a large piece of parchment paper on the counter and greased it with shortening. You will notice that the top of the mixture is foamy. Get a turkey baster and suck up the clearer liquid from underneath and pour onto parchment paper. Continue to do this, building out as much as you want (it should ooze together to fill in spaces, but help it along if you need to). Then just let it dry!

That is the way I did it the first time, but the heat from the mixture warped the parchment paper so that the cooled sheet of gelatin had a little rippling design in it. This time, I will disinfect the granite countertop and pour it directly onto that.

Good luck! I am doing it today for the first time after my test run!

ailika--it should work with GREENSBORO. Try again!

Thanks got it...Wow! didn't know JR could do this I will try it one day can imagine the disaster I'm going to make LOL

Okay, although COOL, this stuff is NOT cooperating! I thought I could use it for the transparent detail on this rock monster guy, but after several attempts and many hours, I think I need another idea!

It doesn't stick or stay like fondant. Maybe it needs a little alteration! I'll have to figure something else out for this guy.

So after it cools, does it set up at all or does it stay soft like fondant?

Very interesting experiment, btw. I love to encounter fellow brave folks who will try something to see what happens.

LOL, Kimberly! It sets up very quickly (especially on my cold hard granite counter), because of the high concentration of gelatin in it. When I tried the second batch last week (not in the pictures), I tried to add more water, so it ran thinner when poured, and would be lighter and easier to stick. I could not get it to thin before gelling up. I don't have any reason right now to keep wasting money on gelatin and Jello, though, to get it right! It didn't work out for its intended use this time!

I actually am trying a different version this week, with more sugar than gelatin--I need a semi-pliable hard candy. I am using the Jolly Rancher recipe, and adding Jello, to see how it effects the finished product! Maybe I'll post those results to this thread!

Oh, but if you mean harden at all, or change from jelly-like to hard, NO, it does not. It sets until it's a blanket of gelatin you can easily handle without it sticking to your hands. It's actually quite fun and therapeutic to play with! But it doesn't change after that.

the password isn't working even with all caps

I just checked it. . . it's still listed as GREENSBORO. Maybe try again? Not sure.

Here is one pic, in case you still can't get it to work. . .

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/leighrobin/Cake/IMG_1085.jpg