I've seen a lot of sugar gems, but I've never seen opals. I'm planning my niece's wedding cake and thought I'd like to try to replicate the trim on her dress, which is gorgeous. She lives four hours away so I haven't seen the dress in person, just pictures I found online. The trim has lots of silvery looking crystals, pearls and a few opals. I have no idea how I'd go about trying to make edible opals, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
i think i would dot colors into the mold using chocolate -- then fill with choc then remove from mold and put a thin confectioner's sugar glaze over top so you can still see the colors peeking through -- i love me some opals but i don't think i've ever used them on a cake
or y'know maybe just dousing the molded choco gems with pearl dust would conceal the colored dots well enough too without the glaze -- oh no -- i got it -- put some gum arabic in the glaze and they will glow
You could use isomalt with some titanium dioxide mixed in to give it the opaque color. Then dust them with some luster dust when they're set up.
if you do the isomalt method you could dot them with different colors of dusts with a teeny tiny brush -- they're not polka dotted they have colors deep inside -- different water levels within the stone -- like internal rainbows --
if there's an opalescent luster dust -- i know there's opalescent sugar crystals...
Thanks for the replies! I spent half the day yesterday searching for opalescent luster dust, but the only place I found it said it's no longer available, which is just the kind of luck I've been having lately, lol. I did see a video where someone made a couple opals out of resin. She cut up some of that iridescent Easter grass and put it into the mold with the resin and it did look pretty close to a real opal. I've been thinking that maybe I'll just do that with isomalt and maybe put that part on a plaque of some kind that's removable so nobody eats it. I did want everything on the cake to be edible, though. The wedding isn't until September so I have a lot of time to experiment.
definitely get some gum arabic -- it provides shine -- but wonder if you dropped some iridescent sugar into the mold then hot sugar on top of that... -- or just melted down a bag of the opalescent sugar...idk just thinking out loud
just had another thought -- edible flake glitter is nothing more than water, gum arabic and color -- if you sprinkle it onto something wet it can just dissolve and leave the color behind -- so that might be a significant test -- take a pinch of white, pink, blue, green and purple crush them a bit in your palm and sprinkle it on something to possibly get the opalescence -- but i was particularly thinking of sprinkling it on something that was damp -- idk -- i'd play around with that if I was making an opal -- ooh maybe you could do a few layers-- let them dry in between -- paint over with plain gum arabic & water ...who knows--random brain storm type thought
Great idea! I do have a bunch of flake glitter that I rarely use so I'll try that. I also found that Fondant Source has pearl dust that's called "opal" and another one that's called "mother of pearl." I think I'll order those and play around. The wedding is over five months away, so hopefully I'll find a way that looks good by then.
oh opal pearl dust -- be still my beating heart
what a fun project
can't wait to hear what you come up with
There is an opal sanding sugar....can you incorporate it with isomalt to make them??
Thanks, I am going to order the opal sanding sugar and try that. Last night I tried grinding flake glitter in a bunch of different colors together and sprinkling it on white fondant. Then I brushed piping gel over it, dusted it with white pearl dust and then put on another layer of piping gel. It doesn't look like real opals, but it's not too bad. I want to make them better, though, so I'm going to keep trying.
If possible, please post the photos of your experiments and final results. I am curious to read/see how they turned out!
yes this is a lot of fun -- you can make gum arabic paint out of any color including the clear or white - just put a couple dots of water on a pile of flakes -- try that like you did the piping gel..
There is also a hologram silver disco dust...
http://www.coppergifts.com/cookie-cutters/pc/Disco-Dust-Hologram-Silver-p5217.htm
This too may work in isomalt mix with the rainbow disco dust (below) for a white opal??
Found this...may help your process :)
http://www.cakecentral.com/forum/t/753291/getting-glittery-isomalt
There is an opal isomalt stick!!!...its out of stock but gives a clue...they use a milky background with the flecks in it....so maybe you can use a bit of a milky isomalt instead of just clear?......
http://www.decobake.com/product/opal-pearl-isomalt-10-sticks/
They are available here...but I do not know the site
http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/218983473/SassieShotz_Isomalt_Sticks_Opal_Pearl_10_sticks.html
Jewelers put glitter shapes into acrylic to make gems ....looks like
Also id nothing else works....an iridescent sequin like this ....behind the clear gem???
Here is the site....https://www.etsy.com/market/round_sequins
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