How to Make Gummy Gems
I love the look of hard candy gems on cakes but the process of working with hot sugar and isomalt is always a little off putting to me. Typically the hard candy gems are tossed to the side because they can not be eaten with the cake; and all my hard work is thrown away. So I set out searching for a recipe that would make a “gummy gem” that not only had the look of hard candy but also taste great.
Thanks to the folks at confectioneryhouse.com I found just that! This tutorial for gummy gems was adapted from the Confectionery House and I appreciate their help in making my gummies and this tutorial.
Materials
Great Lakes Gelatin (this brand of gelatin is more stable than Knox)
Glucose
Granulated Sugar
LorAnn Flavor of choice
Gel or liquid food color
Gem molds (chocolate or hard candy molds work)
Microwave safe bowl
Squeeze-it bottle fitted with a plastic tip, preferably number 2 (A metal tip will work but can not be micro waved)
*A kit can be purchased at www.confectioneryhouse.com that includes gelatin and glucose (enough for two recipe batches) as well as a squeeze it bottle fitted with a plastic tip. This is a more cost effective way to try out making the gems.
Step 1.
In a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup add 5 tablespoons of glucose. Measure ¾ cup of cold water and add to the gelatin, stir until blended. Let set until it is the consistency of applesauce.
Step 2.
Add 2/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup of glucose, stir to blend. Place in the microwave 30 seconds at a time and stir slowly as to not incorporate air. You may need to do this 4-5 times to completely dissolve the sugar and gelatin.
Step 3.
Let your mixture set until almost firm so the air bubbles come to the top and the gummy is clear on the bottom as shown.
Step 4.
Heat up the mixture again and spoon off the white foam, when done it will look like the photo.
*Note- The second time I made this I let it set up until completely firm and using a spatula I loosened the edge to remove the gummy out of the measuring cup. With a sharp knife I cut the white foam off the top. I then micro waved the gummy mixture for 30 seconds at a time until it was liquid again.
Step 5.
At this point I added the green food coloring and the flavoring. I poured the mixture into the squeeze bottle. If the mixture starts to firm up it can be re-micro waved. (Squeeze bottles can melt so only microwave for 5 or 6 seconds at a time)
Fill your gem mold starting from the outside of the cavity and working your way in to the center. Be sure to keep the tip down into the liquid to avoid air bubbles while filling.
Step 6.
After filling the cavities, put in the freezer for 5 minutes to set up. Unmold by carefully peeling the gems out of the mold. Set on waxed paper or silicone liners since they are quite sticky.
I was so excited about the results that I decided to add a large 3-D gem to my cake. As a bonus to this tutorial here is how I made it.
Place your mold in a pan or anything that will keep it flat and level, pour gummy mixture in both sides of the gem you want to make. Place the pan and mold in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, remove from the freezer.
Unmold the top of the gem and carefully line it up with the bottom and stick the two halves together. The gummies are very sticky so they will adhere. Let the piece set up a minute or two before unmolding.
Confectionery House Gummy Recipe
5 Tablespoons Great Lakes unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup cold water
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup glucose
2 ½ to 3 teaspoons extract or a few drops of LorAnn Oil flavoring to taste
Food color of choice
Directions: Stovetop
1. In a small heavy saucepan combine 5 level tablespoons unflavored gelatin and ¾ cup cold water, let sit until the consistency of stiff applesauce.
2. Add sugar and glucose, stir until blended.
3. Place the saucepan over medium heat until all ingredients look melted.
4. Once completely melted, add flavoring and color.
6. Pour into plastic candy molds and place in freezer for 5 minutes.
7. When firm remove from mold.
Directions: Microwave
1. In a 4 cup microwave safe bowl or measuring cup combine 5 level tablespoons unflavored gelatin and ¾ cups cold water, stir to blend and let bloom (a consistency of stiff applesauce).
2. Add sugar and glucose stir until somewhat blended.
3. Place in microwave for 30 seconds, remove from microwave and stir to avoid hot spots.
4. Place back in microwave for another 30 seconds, depending on your microwave, you
may have to repeat this process for a total of 2 minutes to insure the sugar has dissolved.
5. Follow steps 4 through 8 of the stovetop method above.
Thanks so much for this tutorial!
Супер, спасибо за урок!!!
I have a question....are there some steps missing in the stovetop instructions? In the microwave directions, there is reference made to steps 5-8....steps 5 and 8 are missing in the stovetop instructions. Are they just misnumbered, or are there actually steps missing? I don't want to try this and have it not work because of missing instructions.
How much gelatin should we use in your recipe, it dosent say, thank you!
How much gelatin should we use in your recipe? it dosent say, thank you!
Oh goodness what a nice surprise! I did not know this was posted. I'm sorry things got jumbled a bit in the instructions,not sure how that happened. I'm in a rush but ill copy and paste my original microwave instructions from when I first made these. Please read over the tutorial as there are some tips to getting the gems very clear and ill be happy to answer all questions :))
Microwave instructions:
5 Tablespoons Great Lakes unflavored gelatin 3/4 cup cold water 2/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup glucose 2 ½ to 3 teaspoons extract or LorAnn Oil flavoring to taste Food color of choice
In a 4 cup microwave safe bowl or measuring cup combine 5 level tablespoons unflavored gelatin and ¾ cups cold water, stir to blend and let bloom (it will be the consistency of stiff applesauce).
Add sugar and glucose stir until somewhat blended.
Place in microwave for 30 seconds, remove from microwave and stir to avoid hot spots. Place back in microwave for another 30 seconds, depending on your microwave, you may have to repeat this process for a total of 2 minutes (in 30 second intervals) to insure the sugar has dissolved.
Once completely melted, add flavoring to taste and desired amount of food color.
Let set for about 5 minutes so you can skim the foam off the gelatin. Skim as much off as you can
Pour into plastic candy molds and place in freezer for 5 minutes.
When firm remove from mold and set on waxed paper or silicone parchment since they are quite sticky. You can at this point lightly oil your hands with either canola or vegetable oil and using your oiled hands coat the gummies. This last part is helpful but I found my gems were a little dulled from the light oil.
I hope these make better sense I'm so sorry!
looking forward to trying this one - thankyou for sharing :)
But if we didn't want to do the microwave version, are there missing instructions on the stove top method?
What is different with the stovetop directions vs. the microwave directions? That question still isn't clear based on my previous posting.
Gerle-
Thanks for taking such interest. As I stated before, I was in a rush and only had time to post the microwave directions so sorry! Here are the stove top directions that I was able to revise so they could be understood. Please, if you have any other questions I'm so very happy to answer them.
Thanks guys!
Directions: Stovetop 1. In a small heavy saucepan combine 5 level tablespoons unflavored gelatin and ¾ cups cold water, let bloom (it will get to the consistency of stiff apple sauce) 2. Add sugar and glucose stir until blended. 3. Place the saucepan over medium heat until all ingredients look melted. 4. Once completely melted, add flavoring to taste and color. 5. For this step I recommend putting your mixture into a clear Pyrex bowl or 4 cup measuring cup. Wait approximately 5 minutes for foam to rise to the top. Skim as much foam off the top of the mixture as possible. 6. Pour into plastic candy molds and place in freezer for 5 minutes. 7. When firm remove from mold.
This is fabulos. I too am intimidated by Isomalt. Thanks for giving us the link for supplies.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this tutorial! Do you need to prep the molds in any way? Should they be oiled first?
No need to oil the molds first, just start with a nice clean mold and you shouldn't have any trouble. So glad you enjoyed the tutorial! :)
5 tablespoons :)
This is wonderful, thanks for sharing :)
Wow this is fantastic! I can't wait to try it!
Hi!! I've been playing w/Knox gelatin & water & my pieces always get hard & shrivel up :( Will that happen w/these recipes?? If not, how long have you been able to keep the pieces nice/shaped?? Thank you!! :)
I haven't had any of them shrivel up. They do firm up after a few days but all of my gems kept their shape. I had a few left over from Christmas time that I forgot to toss out, they kept their shape! They were hard though...since they were from Christmas time hehe
Fantastic!! I was just on there looking for a response ;) I wanted to buy these ingredients & play a little! I was putting my gelatin in molds & I'm hoping I can do that with this recipe & they will be ok for a while! By the next day My'n were all shriveled up & hard like I mentioned :( Not so good for putting on a cake ;) So, I'm excited to try this recipe!! Hope it does what I want it to do! Ty so much!! :)
shellb123, If you'd like to make your gummies a few days ahead, try covering them with plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge until your ready to use them. They will be a bit firmer than "fresh" gummies, but they shouldn't shrivel and should still be edible. My kids loved them flavored with marshmallow! :) Can't wait to hear how you like it!!
Thank you for sharing. I want to use the gummies to make jewels for a crown. Have you tried putting the gummies on fondant? Any suggestions on getting them to stick to the fondant? I just ordered the kit and molds from Confectionery house. Can't wait to try it!
They can totally be adhered to fondant and even chocolate. Use a little gum glue or frosting to stick them on. Confectionery house actually has a tutorial where they used their chocolate shoe mold to make a chocolate high heel shoe and they put the gummy gems on that. Honestly there are so many ways to use this recipe. I saw a tutorial where they made gummy eyeballs too. Here is their blog www.confectioneryhouse.com/blog They were super helpful with my tutorial so many thanks to them too :)
Awesome it worked, I forgot other gelatin so I tried Knox and it worked thank you do much! Aloria
yay!! so happy to hear. I like using the great lakes better because I feel they are a little firmer and clearer however knox will work. I make gummies and the gems a lot so the great lakes is more cost effective for me as well. If you get a chance, give the great lakes a try too. Thank you so much for the feedback. I am so happy it worked for you :)
I have been playing with my own version for about a year. I have kept them for 6 months. I would love to find a way to make clear ones. I am trying something I bought at the health food store that is vegan gelatin. Thanks for sharing your version.
I haven't been able to achieve a clear gem with the gelatin either, a smidge of violet counteracts the yellow tinge to the gelatin but still isn't "clear". Would love to know how you made out with the vegan gelatin! :D Thanks for your feedback!!
It is so great to see everyone enjoying this recipe! Thank you Hobby4Mom for being such a great customer, we were so happy to help you with this project. We appreciate you mentioning us!
I truly appreciate this tutorial! Up until now, I too did not want to put sharp and hard candies as gems on a cake. Seemed too dangerous for kids. I used to cut "Chuckles" into gem shapes with very sharp scissors to set into princess crowns, etc…. This looks way more professional - THANKS so much :-D
WHAT TO SAY..I LOVE THIS! THANKS FOR SHARING...I WAS looking for something with isomalt ,which taste i do not like and then i found you. So glad!
MareofAvon & leny,
Sorry I Didn't respond earlier MareofAvon, I've been so busy that I haven't spent much time on CC. I'm so thrilled that you both enjoyed this tutorial, I use it for so many applications, ice cubes, making my own gummy spiders and of course gems!!! I'll be sure to let my friends at the Confectionery House in Troy,NY who came up with this recipe and helped me immensely in making a cohesive tutorial, that it is still being enjoyed over a year later!! :D