Post by WVsnowflake on Mar 26, 2005 19:09:38 GMT -6
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: Sugar Eggs
Making Sugar Eggs
Humidity affects how well the sugar will set, and therefore how long you'll need to wait to apply royal icing; if possible, do this project on a dry day. Use stiff royal icing to glue pieces together and to pipe decorations like flowers and bows. Medium-stiff royal icing is good for beading and piping lines and designs.
Mixing and Coloring
There are 3 ingredients in the sugar mixture: superfine sugar (also called bar sugar), which gives a smooth texture and sparkle to finished eggs; water; and liquid or gel food coloring. Place 2 (1-pound boxes) superfine sugar (about 4 1/2 cups) in a mixing bowl, and add 3 tablespoons water. Use your hands to work water into sugar thoroughly. Mix in tiny drops of coloring until you've reached desired shade. One batch yields one large egg (about 6 inches from top to bottom) or several smaller eggs. For giant view eggs (9 inches), triple the recipe. Strong brewed tea—use 4 tea bags per cup of water—can be used as natural coloring; substitute it for water. Pure vanilla extract can also be used, but it works better for smaller eggs than large ones. To keep bowl of sugar from drying out while you're working, cover it loosely with a damp paper towel.
Molding
Pack the sugar mixture firmly into plastic candy mold molds. Pack a large mold in layers, firming the sugar before adding more. Some egg molds have 2 identical halves; others have one flat side on which the egg will sit.
Baking
Heat the oven to 200 degrees F. Invert the molded sugar onto a cardboard cake round or baking sheet. If it breaks apart or any cracks appear on the surface, repack and try again. For a view egg, cut out an egg-shaped paper pattern of the window size you want, place it on the egg, and outline it with a toothpick. Scrape out a little of the sugar from the window area, leaving loose sugar on the surface; this keeps the top from becoming too hard to break through. Transfer the cardboard round to the oven. (Using cardboard is safe at a low temperature, but you can use a baking sheet if you prefer.) Bake a giant egg half (9 inches) for about 25 minutes, a large egg half (6 inches) for 20 minutes, a small egg half (anything smaller than 6 inches) for 10 minutes; for other sizes, adjust baking times as necessary. When the egg is ready, the surface will feel firm; tap it with your fingernail or press your finger gently into it, and if it gives, continue baking.
Carving
Let the egg half stand at room temperature for about 2 minutes. Then hold it gently, and hollow it out with a melon baller or small spoon. For a view egg, start with the window. Much of the sugar will scoop out easily, but it hardens as it cools; you may need to scrape gently. For large eggs, the walls should be about a half inch thick; smaller eggs, quarter inch. The sugar you scoop out can be reused for another egg as long as you remove the hard bits. Inevitably, some eggs will break as you're working with them, so it's a good idea to make an extra half.
Sanding
To smooth the rough edges and help join the egg halves neatly, rub the eggs in a circular motion over sandpaper that has been placed in a baking pan to catch the sugar shavings. You can also use sandpaper to smooth opening of a view egg or to make a flat bottom so an egg can stand without toppling (if you plan to do this, leave the bottom a little thicker when hollowing out the egg.)
Sugaring
Glue superfine sugar to egg surface with an egg-white-and-water mixture. Dab powdered coloring into sugar to color it, or leave it plain. Then combine 2 egg whites with a few drops of water; beat with a fork until frothy. Working with half an egg at a time, paint whites onto egg with a soft paintbrush. Spoon sugar over wet egg whites, and gently shake off excess sugar. For plaid eggs, make stripes in 1 direction, and sugar them. Let dry, about 15 minutes. Then make stripes in other direction, painting over the first stripes. Hold finished half against other half; in order for design to match up, pipe dots of royal icing onto second half to mark where stripes begin.
Flocking
This technique incorporates royal icing and sanding sugar, which has a slightly larger, crystal-like grain. The icing can be tinted with liquid colors, the sugar with powdered coloring, or they can be left plain. Use a small round tip (#1 or #2) to pipe medium-stiff royal icing onto an egg, then spoon the sugar over it. Let dry; brush off excess.
Joining
To join halves, pipe royal icing onto one, and press another against it. Hold in place for a few seconds; let dry one hour. For egg ornaments, knot a piece of ribbon at its midpoint, and lay onto royal icing with the knot just inside one half of the egg and both ends of the ribbon sticking out. Dot royal icing onto the ribbon where the other half will join; press egg half into place. Let dry. Tie ribbon ends into a small bow or knot.
Piping Flowers
Different techniques create different flowers. The daffodil is piped onto a flower nail using a small rose tip (#101); the petals are pinched at the ends (dip your fingers in cornstarch first) for a daffodil shape. Let it dry. Use a #1 tip to pipe the flower centers. For the stem, insert tip of a cloth-covered wire into a #2 or #3 round tip, and squeeze the bag, forcing wire out and coating tip in icing. Adhere this to back of flower. For the leaves, insert a piece of curved wire into a leaf tip (#352), and pipe it out; the wire will be at center of leaf. Pipe the lilies of the valley with #80 tip directly onto a wire. The large green leaves are store-bought. Anchor leaves and flowers in gum paste.
To crystallize edible flowers, thin an egg white or powdered egg whites with a bit of water. Hold the stem with your fingers or tweezers; coat with egg white uisng a small paintbrush, and sprinkle with superfine sugar. Put flower on a tray covered with wax paper, set in a warm, dry place to let dry.
Working with Gum Paste
This malleable, edible substance, available at baking –supply stores, can be formed into almost any decoration, and there are many tools to assist you. To make dogwood blossoms, for example, use a pastry brush to dust a smooth work surface with cornstarch, then roll out the gum paste paper thin. Cut it with a dogwood-shaped cutter. Place the flower shape on foam pad; use a balling tool to shape petals. Let flower dry on parchment; brush on powdered colors.
Royal Icing for Flowers and Decorations:
5 tablespoons meringue powder
1 pound confectioners' sugar
Scant 1/2 cup water
Combine ingredients with electric mixer; beat with paddle attachment on low until fluffy, 7 to 8 minutes. Thin with water if necessary for desired stiffness. Stir before using; if not using immediately, cover bowl with damp towel.
Yield: about 3 cups.
