I have been wanting to delve into the world of candy-making and these jellies were a good first experimental step.
My eyeballs definitely did not turn out as amazing as the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen‘s did but I did my best! This recipe has very simple ingredients but does require a Mini Semi-Sphere Mold and a piping tip or a small, round cookie cutter.
The Recipe
You will need 3 cups of white cranberry or white grape juice. I picked up Welch’s concentrated white grape juice on sale. Much easier to carry home!
I made the juice and got out 4 envelopes of gelatin. You will also need some blue and green food colouring. Spray your Mini Semi-Sphere Mold with non-stick spray and then use a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Put the juice in a medium sauce pan and sprinkle with gelatin.
Let sit 5 minutes.
Carefully warm up the juice and gelatin. You do not want it to boil but you need the gelatin to dissolve. I stirred a little to help it a bit.
I got two shallow dishes and put 1/2 cup of the gelatin mixture into each vessel. I left the rest on the stove but on zero heat.
I added some Wilton green gel with a toothpick and a couple of drops of neon blue food colouring. I stirred to incorporate together and then put in the freezer for 18 minutes.
The Technique
You are supposed to use a 1/2″ diameter cookie cutter but I did not have one so I used a piping tip.
I put the wide edge down to cut them out.
This resulted in tall pupils so I cut them in half. Then I added some of the neon blue food colouring to the centre. They said to put these in the fridge until the dye was no longer shiny. That did not happen and I just lost patience. I figured these were nowhere near the way they were supposed to be so I just went ahead.
I filled the dome cavities 2/3 of the way with the rest of the white grape juice and then added the pupil and the iris. I topped up the molds and put everything in the fridge to set.
Foodie Results
I thought they were going to be an absolute disaster! They are not as perfect as the Test Kitchen‘s but not bad for Halloween at all!
They did have a tendency to stick to the very centre of the mold so make sure you grease really, really well if you try this. The grape juice flavour is very subtle. I think this one is more about freaking out your guests than anything but I am thrilled that it was not a complete disaster.
Whole New Foodie Level
When I was in Toronto I visited Madame Gateau and picked up some candy molds similar to these Mini Pyramid Silicone Molds and Vertigo Chocolate Molds.
I had a lot of leftover gelatinized grape juice and I thought, why not try to make a fancy elegant version of the same treat?
I chose the classic colours orange and black and wow, these were gorgeous! As much as I love spooky and creepy, it was very fulfilling to finally use some equipment I bought and let it shine and make something so stunning with such simple ingredients. I think I am getting hooked on candy-making.
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