i was able to get Isomalt at this place: http://www.lepicerie.com/catalog/product_122129_Isomalt.html?gclid=CKGsq9i7zY4CFQVHUAodiQe2AQ

I have not tried it yet.

Okay I know this is a relatively old topic, but I want to attempt one this weekend.

When you make the mold to hold the bottle as you rotate, do you make it to mold half the bottle as if:

1. you turned the bottle upside down into a block of putty and then pulled it out.

2. Molded half the bottle vertically i.e. from top to bottom.

Half the bottle from top to bottom

I have a question about size of cake for beer bucket. I am going to attach a pic of my last try on this and what a disaster it was. I think my cake was too small and when I put the bottles in it cracked and fell apart. What do you do, do you use dowels to support bottles or what? Any help would be appreciated.

Did you fill the molds so that they were solid? I wouldnt have thought they were heavy enough to cause the cake to sink?

The bottles should be hollow - I have done it without dowels on smaller versions - but I don't put the bottles in until I get to the party if I have to travel far, just because of bumps.

I do usually dowel the first layer just so I can take the cake apart and cut the bottom first with out disturbing the bottles. I also don't push the bottles in too far, twist them gently as you push them in and go slowly or it will crack.

I'm so sorry that happened to your cake!! Your bottles look great.

Also a quick apology to those of you who have PMed me in the past week or so - life has been crazy and I have not been able to answer. GOing to try to get to them all now.

My bottles were hollow, I think I just pushed them in too far and my cake needed to be bigger. thanks for your responses!!

Just a quick question what did you make the fake ice with?

Same sugar recipe, just don't cook as long - pour out onto foil and break apart carefully when hard.

I was just reading my original post and noticed the measurements don't show up - and I can't edit the post.

It is 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup corn syrup.

I think this is a really cool idea - but I am sooo not getting it. Does anyone have a picture of their mold? It sounds like you're making a full 3D mold.... all around, but the bottom is hollow.... but I don't know how. I was thinking of ordering some of the liquid silicone plastique from Culinart.net - I know I have some other stuff of his - haven't used it yet, but I'm thinking that liquid stuff would be the easiest to use for this type of thing.

But how is the sugar bottle not solid? How do you get it to just be the sides? I guess I'm just a very visual person... I don't get it..... I'd really like to make one for a friend, so I'm trying to figure this out before June if anyone can help. I just can't see it in my mind!

Oh also can't figure out the bottlecaps... I saw someone ask that question but I never saw an answer

Hmm this post is acting a little funny - I think it had some posts from pre-crash..... so I'm just posting again to bump it and hopefully this time it works.

So how much of the silicone plastique or rubber stuff do you have to buy to make a mold of a beer bottle?

And are they really edible.... or are they just made of sugar, but you should tell people not to eat them?

Here are some pics that might help. I used the silicone plastique for my bottle molds. I have two molds, but plan to make a third because I usually have enough sugar to mold 3 bottles at a time.

One of the pics is of what happens when your sugar is not at the right temp, but it also illustrates the shape of the molded bottle. The bottles should come to a point, as shown, so they don't crack the cake when inserted.

Ooh thanks for the picture DianeLM - do you do two half bottles and then put them together? How do you put them together?

Also, I thought you used the whole sugar mixture to make one bottle. Are you saying you just usually have enough sugar on hand to make more than one, or are you using the one recipe to make 3 bottles?

I haven't read the whole thread so please forgive me if I'm repeating or contradicting previous advice. This is just the way I do it. Doesn't mean it's the right way or the wrong way.

The bottles are only the front half and top half. I don't 'put the halves together'. I have attached a couple of pics of a cake from the side and from the back. Hopefully, you can see how the bottles fit in. A pic of the front of this cake is in my photos.

I haven't read the recipe that started this thread, but the recipe I use yields enough sugar to make 3 bottles. This is AFTER I've used 1/2 a recipe, or so, to make the ice. I melt 1 cup of sugar with 1/2 cup corn syrup.

great info and pictures

What coloring do you use to make your bottles brown

Molly2

All right I know the labels are edible images... (hope I can find someone to print one for me), but what are the bottle caps? Those aren't sugar too, are they?

Has anyone tried to make these molds out of silicone plastique? I have about a pound of it - it's from the makeyourownmolds.com website. I'm just not sure if it will be a strong enough mold....

And what do you use to hold it when you're pouring the sugar? regular gloves? Are there special candy gloves?

And I didn't see an answer about the bottle caps...

I just hope I can get someone to print the edible images too for the labels

Have you all tried these?

http://www.decoratethecake.com/store/WsDefault.asp?Cat=SugarBottleMolds

this is such a cool idea!! very creative!! but i have one question.. i'm trying to picture this in my head, but after seeing pictures of molds here i'm lost... do u create 2 half molds or one full bottle mold??

Diane, I am sorry - I did see your pictures... I should have clarified asking if you could use the silicone plastique for the full bottle mold - since the ones I saw were only half bottles...

I did still have a question about the gloves.... I thought I had seen something about gloves before - but I can't remember what page it was on... too bad we can't search a specific thread.....at least I don't think we can....

And I didn't see an answer about the bottle caps. I saw several posts about those.... but when I went to the posts, they were empty - must have been done before the crash of this site.... so I think the answers there were lost and I didn't see any in this thread.....

I completely understand how frustrating it is to see questions you've already answered.... I think I just wasn't specific enough.... sorry for that. I really appreciate your pictures and posts.

There appears to be a page 11 to this thread, but when I try to access it, I get an error message. What a drag!

imartsy - I'm sorry I misunderstood your question. I have not seen a whole bottle mold made of any material. I don't see why one couldn't make a whole bottle mold from silicone plastique. Just form the silicone all the way around the bottle, then cut the mold in half. Rubberband the two halves together when pouring in the sugar (or chocolate!).

If the bottles would be inserted into a cake, I would still try to make the bottom half of the bottle come to a point - or two points, depending on how the sugar runs down. Trying to insert a thick bottle could cause the cake to crack.

The tricky thing about gloves is, the better insulated they are, the bulkier they are, making it difficult to handle the materials. I'm not the most graceful person and I've never had an incident with the hot sugar. However, there were a couple of times I was darn glad to be wearing the cotton and latex gloves!

I have a couple of the "bottle" cakes in my gallery -- thanks to Diane's instructions and examples --

Here's a tip that might help -- Diane, can't remember if this came from you or not --

With the microwave version, To keep the color more clear, I was told to use something other that Kayro for the bottles-- I believe it has to do with fructose ratio or level-- anyways, I use wal-mart's great value brand -- the microwave -- and get clearer bottles --

I'll see if I can locate the exact text around Kayro versus 'off brand"

HTH
melissa

thanks for sharing

DianeLM - I'm sorry if your referring to me! I was a bit confused because I've seen this done a few different ways!! Some people have full bottles some have it your way.. which is why i asked... I DID see your pictures and I DID read what you said... i even printed some of it out to refer to!! This is just a learning/helping website.. and how do you learn..by asking.. even if it is asked multiple times. ... but, I feel like an idiot now..