I stumbled upon one of the greatest decorating ideas ever a few days ago on
http://www.cakecentral.com/ this site has everything you need to start making your own cakes. I defiantly would recommend this site to beginners and experts of all sorts.
I decided to make these for my memorial day cake, I'm just beginning, so this isn't going to be perfect-especially since this is my first cake!
Sadly, I'm not finding the recipe on cake central,they apparently removed it, so I'm going to have to do it on my own from memory.
You're going to need:
water
unflavored gelatin ( you can find this at Walmart or Foodlion, it may also be labeled as "Knox")
water balloons (blow them up in advance and don't make them too big)
luster dust for shimmer (optional-I didn't use this)
To make up the consistency it will be one part gelatin and two part water. I did two tablespoons( two packets) of gelatin and four tablespoons of water. When I ran out, I just made that up again. Stir real good.
I went ahead and added two drops of blue food coloring to give it an extra umph- since I'm not going to be using luster dust.
Microwave in ten second intervals. It should come out like this:
I didn't worry about the bubbles too much, but if you want it to be perfect, try popping them with a toothpick. If you have lumps in your mixture, do your best to get them out. While covering the water balloons, leave a circle around the knot in the balloon(that way you can get the balloon out later).
This is going to get very sticky mind you! And it's going to get a gooey consistency quickly, If you get that, just toss it in the microwave for 10 seconds again and you're good. I had to do that a few times. And I was working at a disadvantage since the ceiling fan was on, it was good for drying the gelatin and water mixture on the balloons but not for what I was working with. When you bring the balloon out, it's going to be dripping, and when it hardens; having a hardened drip isn't going to look pretty. So do your best to put the drip around the balloon by following it ( kind of like making circles around the balloon). When smooth, stick it up to dry. So it's getting ready for the next coat.
After you're done dipping your water balloons, and some of them are dry, dip them again. You want them nice and thick; at least three coats but four for best results. I only did two coats this time, but, as I said, I recommend three to four coats. (trial and error, my friend!)
I didn't use anything fancy to dry them with. I put the ends of the balloons through a skier and put holes in a old cereal box and fit the remaining in a old strawberry container. After a hour or two, if you touch them they should feel cold and still a bit sticky. For best results, let them dry overnight.
In the morning they should be very stiff. Get a pair of small scissors and cut a small hole near the top, the air should come out. Some of them, you can just pull and the whole balloon will come out, others, you're going to have to stick your fingers in and lightly rub it out. That's why I told you to leave a circle at the top, making things SO much easier.
Here's my end result:
I'll be posting how they look on my memorial cake later. ;)
To place on your cake, simply put the side where the hole is directly on the cake, that way you're "covering up" the hole in the back of your bubble.
They're edible, but don't expect much! It doesn't taste too good ;)
I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial! Thanks for stopping by.
Please comment if you have any questions!
-Cake Crumb Girl
