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CakeCentral.com :: Please! Need help on geode! Please! Need help on geode!

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Author: maddiseeyore, Location: Ontario, Canada PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 11:32 am    Post subject: Please! Need help on geode!
Hi all. I am finally tackeling the geode cake for a friend's boyfriend who is a geologist. The geode is made of a RKT ball, fondant covered, hollowed out a bit and filled with purple rock candy. Now here is my problem...
because it has a LOT of amythest (ie: purple rock candy) inside it I don't know how to get all the candy attached. I tried royal icing, but because not every single piece of candy is touching the royal, of course a lot of it just falls off! I'll attach a picture of the actual geode I'm hoping to replicate. So how do I attach a lot of rock candy? If there was some kind of clear, syrupy stuff I could pour in there that would dry hard and hold everything in it would work; but is there such a thing?
I don't know if this is all making sense, but help!!!

The real geode. How to attach the rock candy?
Author: maddiseeyore, Location: Ontario, Canada PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 11:59 am    Post subject:
By the way, I have searched the net, searched CC searched geology sites...I don't think I've ever done more research on a cake!! lol Now I know my question is difficult and I'm just hoping someone will have some idea for me! Help!
Author: maddiseeyore, Location: Ontario, Canada PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 12:28 pm    Post subject:
oh man.....anyone?! I'm so stuck....!
Author: __Jamie__, Location: The less seriously you take me, the better off we'll all be! PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 12:35 pm    Post subject:
Clear piping gel. Stickiest stuff in the world.
Author: juleskaye518, Location: Auburn, AL PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 12:48 pm    Post subject:
piping gel or melted sugar. Get one of those air spray cans, fron office depot, and as you syrup spray it with the high pressure air to cool it fast.
Author: DianeLM, Location: Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 12:49 pm    Post subject:
Quote:
If there was some kind of clear, syrupy stuff I could pour in there that would dry hard and hold everything in it would work; but is there such a thing?

Yep. It's what the rock candy was before it was rock candy.

Do you have any experience making hard candy? Or caramel? Hard candy is what you get BEFORE you get caramel. Smile Just melt some sugar in a pan on the stove or in a measuring cup in the microwave (add about 50% water or corn syrup to your sugar to protect against burning.)

If you have a candy thermometer, cook to between soft and hard crack stage. You can add a little purple coloring to it at this point or just leave it clear.

I don't know how big your geode pieces are, but you can dip them into the syrup, then stick them onto your cake.

Most important.... FOR THE LOVE OF PETE.... WEAR GLOVES!!! I usually wear a pair of latex gloves over my cotton candy gloves. And keep a bowl of ice water nearby just in case the melted candy touches your skin. It is very dangerous!

hehe... I just realized I typed "cotton candy gloves"... What I mean is, my candy making gloves, made of cotton. Laughing

When you've finished with the syrup, pour the excess out onto a silicone mat and let it set. Then, you can throw it away easily. What remains in the cup or pan can be boiled off with some water or soaked.

Hope this helps!
Author: maddiseeyore, Location: Ontario, Canada PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 1:02 pm    Post subject:
Thank you so much! DianeLM, when you say to melt the sugar with water or corn sryup, do I just stir up (for example) 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of either water or corn syrup till the right temperature? And which is better, water or corn syrup? And what is the difference in the end product? I don't have candy making experience but I'm willing to give it a shot! Now this stuff will dry clear and hard? And hold the pieces together?
This really might be the answer I'm looking for!!
Author: BlakesCakes, Location: Cleveland, OH PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 2:23 pm    Post subject:
juleskaye518 wrote:
Get one of those air spray cans, fron office depot, and as you syrup spray it with the high pressure air to cool it fast.



NO, NO, NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Canned air IS NOT FOODSAFE!!!!!

If you plan on telling people that they can eat the rock candy and the cake, you need to use foodsafe cold spray. It's much for expensive than canned air, but the container, the propellants, and the air itself are from foodsafe sources.

Regular canned air can have contaminants in it that are not OK to be consumed.

For my sugar work, I use a dedicated hair dryer that has a cool setting on it. It works just fine.

Rae
Author: mariu, Location: New York PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 2:31 pm    Post subject:
I think it would be much simpler to use piping gel, it's clear and you can brush it on, it is also inexpensive. HTH
Author: maddiseeyore, Location: Ontario, Canada PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 2:37 pm    Post subject:
IT WORKED!!! Thank you so much for the cooked sugar suggestion! I'm so happy; not only did it stick all the crystals together but it made 'amythest' looks shiney and much more realistic! I just had the 'blob' practice rock to try it on, but I'm confident when I do the real thing it will be perfect. I will post a picture of the finished geode when I get it done. Thanks so much! Ypu guys are always so helpful and I always count on CC'rs for answers to all my weird questions! Thank you again!
Author: LKing12, Location: Somewhere out in left field! PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 2:38 pm    Post subject:
I would use honey. I have used it to "paste" things on cakes and it does hold-clear!
Author: maddiseeyore, Location: Ontario, Canada PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 2:42 pm    Post subject:
Oh, and thank you BlakesCakes for the tip about the canned air. I ended up cooking the sugar to closer to hard ball stage so it dried quickly and I didn't use any air anyway. But it's good to know it isn't food safe (kinda makes sense really)!
Author: DianeLM, Location: Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:15 pm    Post subject:
I've been busy with a giant cake today, so missed all the excitement! I'm so glad the cooked sugar worked for you! Can't wait to see the finished product!
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