Spun Sugar Recipes

SPUN SUGAR

Steps:

• Using masking tape, attach 2 wooden spoons to your work surface, placing them side by side with handles extended over edge. Lightly brush oil over handles. Cover floor with newspaper.
• Prepare an ice-water bath. Bring sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Cook until mixture turns pale amber, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat; transfer pan to ice-water bath. Let cool until slightly thickened (like the consistency of honey), about 1 minute.
• Cut the looped ends of a wire whisk with wire cutters (or use 2 forks held back to back). Dip ends into caramel. From about 2 feet above spoon handles, swing caramel back and forth like a pendulum in long arcs, allowing strands to fall in thin threads over the handles. Immediately gather strands into a loose nest. (If caramel becomes too stiff, gently reheat over low.) Use immediately.

SPUN-SUGAR CROWN

Steps:

• Using masking tape, attach 2 wooden spoons to the counter, placing them side by side with the handles extended over the edge. Lightly oil the handles. Cover floor with newspaper.
• Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Cook until mixture turns pale amber and registers 300 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool 2 minutes. Stir in beeswax. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until caramel registers 250 degrees.
• Cut the looped ends of a wire whisk with wire cutters (or use 2 forks held back to back). Dip ends into caramel. From about 2 feet above spoon handles, swing caramel back and forth like a pendulum in long arcs, allowing strands to fall in thin threads over the handles. Immediately gather strands into a nest.

HOW TO MAKE SPUN SUGAR

Steps:

• Prepare your workstation by covering your kitchen counter and floor with newspaper to catch sugar spills. Take 3 or 4 saucepans and arrange them close together on the paper-covered counter, handles facing outward and extending over the edge of the counter. Spray the handles with nonstick cooking spray.
• Fill a large bowl with ice and water, and set it aside to be used later.
• Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cover the saucepan with a lid and boil for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to boil the sugar syrup, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 310 F. The sugar will cook very quickly toward the end, so watch closely to ensure it doesn't burn.
• As soon as the sugar reaches the proper temperature, remove the saucepan from the heat and dunk the bottom in the prepared ice water to stop the sugar from cooking further. Allow the mixture to stand for a minute or two. It will thicken slightly.
• Hold the pan in one hand and a fork in the other. Dip the fork in the sugar syrup and stir. Remove the fork from the heat and hold it 5 to 6 inches above the prepared saucepan handles. Rapidly flick the fork back and forth over the handles. The sugar syrup should create very fine strands of sugar that drape over the handles. If the syrup doesn't create any strands, or the strands have a lot of "beads," allow the syrup to cool for another minute. If the strands are very lumpy and difficult to form, reheat the syrup very briefly.
• Continue to dip and quickly flick the fork over the handles, creating many fine strands of spun sugar. At any point, you can remove the sugar that has accumulated and shape it into balls, nests, or thin tubes as desired. Continue to create spun sugar until your syrup is gone, or until you have enough spun sugar for your needs.
• Spun sugar is best used immediately after it is made. The sugar will start to liquefy if it comes into contact with anything moist or humid. If you are using it on top of a dessert, wait to position it until the last possible moment. If you want to attempt to store it, place it in a dry, airtight container, preferably with several packages of desiccants, like those found in vitamin bottles. Keep the sealed container away from extreme heat.

SPUN SUGAR

Steps:

• Mix the ingredients together in a medium pot and, using a pastry brush soaked in water, wash down the sides of the pot to make sure there is no caramelization to color the sugar before you get to temperature.
• Heat the ingredients on the stove top to 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat and cool to 275 degrees over a water bath.
• Dip a fork in the sugar syrup and stretch the sugar syrup back and forth across the bottom of a pre-greased bowl, going as quickly as possible. Gently gather the spun sugar and place it on a dessert plate.