How To: Sparkling Candy
A little bit hands-on and a lot of fun, this sparkly stuff is something you should start making right now! The bite-sized pieces are perfect (they really do sparkle in your mouth when you eat them!)
My best idea: Chop the pieces into bits and sprinkle them all over ice cream (I like chocolate or vanilla). This sparkly stuff on cold, cold ice cream is a total taste sensation.
Notes:
You can either use very top notch cherry preserves in place of the purée OR you can make your own by roasting some fresh cherries in a little bit of sugar until the cherries are super soft and juicy. I recommend the purée because you can use it in candy, of course, and you can also refrigerate it then stir it into yogurt or oatmeal. You can also use it as an ice cream sundae sauce!
The yield depends upon the skill of the candy maker. Once the candy has been cooked it gets poured out of the pot onto a non-stick mat. Once it's a little bit cool, you'll use your hands to roll and pull the candy into ropes that you'll then cut into small pieces. You can expect around 100 or so pieces. The more you make this candy the better you'll get at the pulling and shaping!
Cherry Sparkling Candy
267 grams glucose syrup
400 grams granulated sugar
120 grams water
6 grams cherry purée (see notes)
6 grams cherry flavoring
8 grams citric acid
8 grams baking soda
Scale the glucose, sugar, and water directly into the cooking pot.
Without stirring (but swirling is okay), bring the contents to 317 degrees.
Once the syrup has reached 317 degrees, add the cherry purée, flavoring, and citric acid to the pot.
Whisk JUST until combined.
Add the baking soda and (using the whisk) gently fold it into the candy mixture – it will puff up a bit – do not overmix.
Immediately pour the contents of the pot into two puddles on a non-stick mat.
Allow the candy to cool just slightly (so you can touch it), then begin stretching, rolling, and pulling it into ropes that are around ¼” in circumference.
Use a bench scraper to score the ropes into bite-size pieces, no bigger than 1/2".
Once cool, break the candy apart at the score marks.
