Edible Gelatin Sugar Lace and Sunflower Cake

Over the winter, I was watching a cooking show and one of the contestants decorated a cake with gelatin lace.  Well, color me curious!  I love decorating cakes creatively and I also love learning new decorating techniques.

I’ve used a lace texture a couple times before in decorating.  On this one,  I used a stencil to scrape a thin layer of royal icing over a fondant covered cake, while on this one I hand-piped a larger lace using royal icing and gumpaste.

I was able to find a mold on amazon pretty easily, but the actual recipe for the lace was more of a challenge.  Luckily I’m tenacious and was able to find something close to what I needed.

I ended up trying 2 recipes from the same website and then tweaking them to achieve the exact lace I was looking for. 

Two types of lace.  Left - gelatin-free and more rigid; Right - with gelatin and more fabric-like

I started with a recipe that did not use gelatin.  This lace stood up on its own and held its shape well, but was extremely difficult to remove from the mold, especially with all of the little lace detailing intact.

Next, I added the gelatin and that was the ticket!  The gelatin gave the lace structure, allowing the dried lace to be more easily removed from the mold.  The gelatin-based lace, even when dry, is supple and fabric-like.  In fact, I had an extra piece leftover from decorating the cake and held onto it out of curiosity.  The piece of sugar lace has been sitting out on my counter since March (it's June now) and it is still as flexible as the day I made it (though the color is starting to get dingy, possibly because of dust storms in the area).

I feel like the possibilities are endless with this sugar lace.  It could be tinted different colors, or used on cookies, maybe with fondant or royal icing - I can’t wait to try more!

This cake is a simple chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  I took that sugar lace and gently pressed it over the freshly frosted cake.  It stuck well, but if it came loose, I was planning to glue it on with a water and corn syrup mixture.  I then decorated the cake with some fondant flowers that I had cut out and dried.

Recipe Note:

-The recipe below, with the gelatin, results in a supple, fabric-like edible lace.

-For a more rigid lace that will support itself, omit the gelatin

-Tylose (CMC) and food grade glycerine can often be found in craft stores in the cake decorating section or online.

Edible Gelatin Sugar Lace

Adapted from Gelatin Market

1 tablespoon cold water

1 teaspoon gelatin powder

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1 teaspoon tylose (CMC) powder

⅓ cup boiling water

1 teaspoon food grade glycerine

2 tablespoons cornstarch

½ teaspoon white gel food coloring

Mix together the cold water and gelatin.  Set aside for 1 minute or until absorbed. (Omit if making a more rigid lace)

Mix together the powdered sugar, tylose powder, and boiling water.  Whisk vigorously until completely mixed and no lumps remain (mixture will be thick and translucent).  Place the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 5-10 seconds or until melted.  Add to the tylose mixture and whisk until mixed.  Set mixture aside for 15 minutes.

Whisk vigorously again after the mixture has rested, then add the glycerine, cornstarch and food coloring and whisk until smooth.

Spread the mixture over a silicone lace mold, taking care to work the mixture into the little nooks and crannies.  Use a bench scraper to remove excess mixture.

Set aside to dry for 8 hours (for lace without gelatin, check lace every 2 hours to ensure that it is not too brittle to remove from the mold).  Once the lace is no longer tacky, carefully work it free from the mold and use it to decorate cakes.