Using gelatin for "glass"
I have used gelatin to make butterflies but had not ventured further than that until this past week. So, I thought I would share my experiment with using gelatin as glass. I had two orders one day after another where the design that I came up with were 3-D and required something to make glass. In one, for the window panes in a haunted house and for the second, as the glass in some "spy" eye glasses.
I colored the gelatin for the haunted house window panes a golden yellow and left the ones for the eye glasses clear. I had different thicknesses on my mat where I poured it. The thicker gelatin took longer to dry but had a true hard plastic sheet like feel when dry. I used royal icing to adhere it and found that I had to weight the pieces or the liquid from the royal icing wicked into the gelatin sheet pieces and caused them to buckle.
In any event, the experiment was a success and I was able to create my haunted cookie house with the battery operated LED lights inside to provide an eerie glow and my spy glasses were good enough you could see through them. I had happy customers. Just thought I would share.
I am including pictures of both projects!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cindy Zoesch on
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wow, beautiful work! Thanks for the idea and inspiration. As a begginer I love this kind of info.
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Permalink Reply by June Kowalczyk on
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Wow
both cakes are awesome. Thanks for the technique. I have only made small items from gelatin...hearts, flowers etc. This is good info to know for any future project.
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Permalink Reply by Melanie on
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Thanks for the info, beautiful work! I've heard of using melted sugar for window panes but not gelatin. What ration of gelatin to water did you use?
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Permalink Reply by Debbee Stone on
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Could I use this to make ice for a beer cooler cake I'm making as a groom's cake for a friend of mine? I have isomalt and it works very well, but it takes so, so much ($10.00 a bag), I was hoping to do a layer of something first then use the isomalt on the top. That way it would have more depth. If anyone has any ideas I'd be open to trying them. Thank you. Your cakes are beautiful!!!
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Permalink Reply by Linda Wolff on
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Wow! You did an amazing job on both cakes! And the glass look just adds to it. I would have been one happy customer too!
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Permalink Reply by Janice Groves on
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I am so impressed. What type gelatin did you use for the clear glass?
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Permalink Reply by Janet M. Hall on
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It is a ratio of 3 tablespoons of unflavored gelatin to 7 tablespoons of water. Mix the water and gelatin together in a small microwave safe bowl and let sit for a few minutes to "bloom". Then, microwave for 5 - 10 second intervals (but no more than 30 seconds total) until the gelatin is liquid. There will be a foam on top - skim this foam off. It is now ready to be used. You could add gel colors at this stage one drop at a time but keep in mind with gelatin color goes a long way and less is better. Make sure to paint a thin layer in your mold. If the gelatin is too thick it will curl as it dries. Do not manipulate it. You will know it is dry when it releases itself. It just takes come playing around with to learn what thicknesses to make it for what applications you are going to use it for. HTH
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Thank you for the information. I do not know why mine dried yellow. I wonder if perhaps I might have heated it too long. I will try again with your instructions. Thanks again, Jan
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Permalink Reply by Sandra Dunaway on
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Thank you for sharing, but I have a question for you. Can you cut it to shape after it dries or do you need to make it to the pattern from th start?
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Permalink Reply by Natasha on
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Hi Janet, Thanks for the information....much appreciatted..... it looks amazing. I'm also interested to read your response to Sandra' question above.
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I have done it both ways by either pouring into a form (like for making butterfly wings, etc.) or drying flat and then cutting it like it was a piece of plastic. You just need to be very aware that even the moisture from royal icing will cause it to curl if you do not dry it under a weight. For instance, when making a window pane you have to have already created and dried two pieces of window frame and then when you add your cut gelatin for the "glass" you need to sandwich it between the two frames and then weight the whole thing until it is dry. Otherwise, the gelatin will warp. That's also how I did the glass in the spy glasses. HTH
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