Easy Candy Sugar Balloon Bowls
I love, love, love experimenting and developing something new that’s never been seen before on the internet or TV. As I write this there are no blog posts about this, no YouTube videos and no Pinterest pictures – it is just totally fresh and new. To be honest I didn’t think this idea would work, I expected that I’d get hot sugar splattered around the kitchen. But it really did work and they looked even more beautiful and amazing than I’d imagined they would. I’ll definitely be doing more of these.
Candy Splash Sugar Bowl Recipe
(Developed by Ann Reardon. IMPORTANT: if you use this blog post to film your own video or write a post PLEASE do the right thing – GIVE CREDIT AT THE START of the video/post and put a link above the fold to my original video. “I found these on the internet” is NOT giving credit, the internet is not a person, it does not create anything. I know that this sounds a bit like a rant but I’m really tired of getting blatantly copied without credit. C’mon, you can be better than that 🙂
300g (10.58 ounces) or 1 1/3 cups sugar
200g (7.05 ounces) or 1/2 cup glucose syrup
75mL (2.54 fluid ounces) water
flavouring and colouring (optional)
Candy Thermometer
Balloons (CAUTION make sure you have helium quality balloons and test with an un-inflated one first to check it does not melt).
Fill your balloon with water and remove all the air as shown in the video. Dry with paper towel and rub with a little oil.
Mix together sugar, water and glucose syrup and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Wash down the sides of the bowl using a wet pastry brush. Heat the syrup up to 150C (302 degrees Fahrenheit). Remove from the heat and stir in desired colours. Then pour over the balloon.
Leave to cool completely then make a small cut in the balloon and let it deflate.
Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
Sugar Bowl Part 2 and Danger WARNING
My Cookbook
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All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.
Gorgeous! If I dare to make some for valentines day, of course I’ll give you the very deserved credit.
How long does it take for the sugar to harden
Hi Samantha, It happens very quickly. It will harden in under a minute but need to be allowed to properly cool before you deflate the balloon.
I tried these sugar bowls but they melted down almost immediately. Should I have left it in the book longer or what.
On the balloon
Hi Sand a clark, It does sound like your sugar syrup had not got to the Hard crack stage.
Hi,
How many balls come with this recipe? and what size?
Thanks
Letizia
Hi Ann,
These bowls are really cool!
My only question is how do I get them to come out translucent? All but one (that was using a different balloon) came out with a bit of haze due to the interior not being completely smooth (like frosted glass). I let the sugar cool but I didn’t wait very long.
Thanks,
Cristina
Hi Cristina, It sounds from your comments that the balloon may be the issue. Try using the same type of balloon that gave you the better results. Also make sure sure you have a very light but even coating over the entire balloon.
I tried to make these sugar bowls and they ended up sticking to everything and broke very easily, I was thinking to use these great sugar bowls for a project for school and was wondering if there was a way for me to prevent them from being as sticky as they were and also on how to make sure they don’t break when taking out the balloon
I’ve been working on these lately and had some struggles. Are they sticky from the very beginning? How long are you allowing them to dry?
I’ve actually used this recipe to make snowglobes to top cupcakes and this recipe has been great for me. I spray the balloons with a little cooking spray before they go in the sugar and then I let them sit for at least 2 hours. When I take them out of the balloons, I wear gloves with cooking spray on them. They generally slide out pretty easily and they don’t stick to me since I have the oiled gloves.
This is what I made for a Christmas cake competition at school! Thanks Ann, everybody loved it!
Wow, great work Lucia!
I have a question… do you fill the giant balloon all the way with water or only partially?
All the way, and make sure to get rid of the air that may be left. It is said in the video.
Hi Tina, You fill the balloon and then remove all the remaining air.
Thankyou so much. Here is my attempt. Thankyou again.
Beautiful!
That is great work Michele.
wow i really like your sugar bowls recipe it worked really well and every one at my party got to take one home.
Love, FNAFgirl
That is awesome FNAgirl.
Your turorial is so amazing Ann.
I saw this post when I am desperately looking on how to make jellyfishes for a cake topper. And guess what your sugar bowls were the best suited for it.
Please look at the cute jellifishes on top
Of the 18th birthday cake I made last weekend.
how do you eat these since the edges/drippings look really sharp.
HiKat, if you really want to eat them, you would eat it like any toffee or hard candy.
Hi Ann.
I came across you stunning sugar bowls and am thinking of making them in a couple of weeks.
I know it depends on the size of the balloons, but can you please tell me approx how many bowls do you make with the ingredients listed?
Hi Kerri, Ann made 2-3 large bowls. It depends on how large you want them to be.
Is it conpulsory to have candy can we put oil paint for colohr
Dear Ann,
I check your uploads regulary and looove all of your projects! <3 Thanks you so much for your efford, since your projects are a lot of work and really breathtaking. Right now I am looking for another stunning desert recipie for the holidays (I just love surprising my family) and stumbled across your georgeous sugar bowls. I' d like to serve a mousse this year but i think this this bowls aren't ment to spent such a long time in a moist enviroment, so I guess these bowls wouldn't work well if I poured a mousse directly into it (and melt and collapse?). What do you think? Maybe these bowls work the best if the desert is assembled just befor eating?
Best wishes form Germany,
Lana
Hi Lana, Yes assemble just before eating, as moisture will cause the sugar bowls to deteriorate quickly.
Thanks a lot Ann!
Any worries about the ingredients in the balloon causing a reaction or getting chemicals into the sugar bowl that can harm humans?
Hi Toni, as long as high quality helium balloons are used and tested prior (as per Ann’s instructions) then there should be no issue:https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/candy-sugar-balloon-bowls/%3C/a%3E . If the in testing the ballon and sugar mix, you find the balloon is melting then discard those balloons.
Wonderful idea , looks very impressive. I shall try my hand at this creative masterpiece.
Silly question….is glucose syrup the same as corn syrup?
Hi Michelle, glucose syrup is the same as light(that refers to the color) corn syrup.
so , can we use corn syrup to make sugar bowl?? thank you..
Hi Donna, Yes you can.
I can find neither corn nor glucose syrup anywhere and I’ve been running from one shop to another for three days now. Could I also use light agave syrup? It’s the only syrup I can find…
Hi Sebas, You will need corn or glucose syrup. This can be purchase online if you cant find it in stores. It is a standard product for candy making and so readily available baking stores. It is called confectioners syrup or liquid glucose in some places.
Hi, I had to make a beauty and the beast themed cake for a friend of mine, I made the glass dome using the method in your video, the photo doesn’t look great but it looked really impressive 🙂 I made the rose from jolly rancher sweets, thanks so much for uploading the video, it really helped me and I’m hoping to make another cake for my brother soon and I’ll be using you method again, I’m hoping to make the alien egg from the film Aliens,
Wow, that is amazing Chris. Well done! Do post a pic of the alien egg if you make it.
. I just made a very nice sugar bell it’s now completed and it’s very sticky how can I remedy this I can’t make another one so how can I fix the one that sticky