Using gelatin with cakes

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Permalink Reply by Isabel Marques on February 17, 2011 at 1:11pm

hi John

you can coat the inside of the well with fondant and use pipping gel for water, it will not soak into the cake.

good luck

 

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Permalink Reply by John Ulvr on February 17, 2011 at 3:28pm

Thanks for the suggestion.  I've not worked with fondant before either, and I don't know its properties either. 

 

I understand that piping gel would not be a problem with the fondant, but... would gelatin?  That is, if you were to pour tepid gelatin mix into a fondant bowl, would the fondant disolve?  I'm just asking because I need a certain depth (2in), and it would be achieved simpler with gelatin

 

Secondly, fondant sounds nice as it would be simple to create a very detailed press for the outside of the cake.  Is it possible to paint fondant with a paint brush and watered down food-coloring to add highlights?

 

Having said all of that, I'm still wondering if there's an alternative to fondant.  While fondant has many advantages, I don't think it would go well with parisian chocolate (again, chocolate would be a preference, but I'm still flexible with that as well).  I don't mind the gelatin soaking in a bit, as long as it doesn't ruin the cake (the gelatin would be rum-flavored, so it would add a bit of taste...)

 

John

 

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Permalink Reply by Eileen S on February 17, 2011 at 4:48pm

John,

 

You can use a thin coat of buttercream under the gelatin.  The fat in the frosting will keep it from soaking into the cake.  You can also partially chill the gelatin until it is not completely liquid before adding it.  It should settle into a smooth surface.  I wouldnt pour gelatin into fondant.

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Permalink Reply by luciya helan on February 17, 2011 at 11:46pm

I appreciate the concern which is been rose. The things need to be sorted out because it is about the individual but it can be with everyone. I like this particular article It gives me an additional input on the information around the world Thanks a lot and keep going with posting such information.I understand that piping gel would not be a problem with the fondant, but... would gelatin?  That is, if you were to pour tepid gelatin mix into a fondant bowl, would the fondant disolve?  I'm just asking because I need a certain depth (2in), and it would be achieved simpler with gelatin

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Permalink Reply by Serena Baumea on February 18, 2011 at 5:01pm

I like the aluminum foil Idea for the pool, but I was thinking you could also use a ganache to place on the inside and it hardens. For the  rock or stones you can mix various shades of gray with differing colors of red, geen and madke into differant size rocks.

luciya helan said:

I appreciate the concern which is been rose. The things need to be sorted out because it is about the individual but it can be with everyone. I like this particular article It gives me an additional input on the information around the world Thanks a lot and keep going with posting such information.I understand that piping gel would not be a problem with the fondant, but... would gelatin?  That is, if you were to pour tepid gelatin mix into a fondant bowl, would the fondant disolve?  I'm just asking because I need a certain depth (2in), and it would be achieved simpler with gelatin

======================

Law Ebooks

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Permalink Reply by Jerry C on February 19, 2011 at 8:34am

Perhaps you could prepare the gelatin seperately in a bowl, mug, can, etc. to approximately the desired depth and diameter of the 'well' opening and simply slide the 'water' into place once the gelatin is firm.

Use a little less liquid than called for so the gelatin is a bit firmer and there shouldn't be a need to line the opening with anything that will detract from the taste or appearance of your cake.

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Permalink Reply by L Welch on February 19, 2011 at 12:06pm

Go to the Jell-O website and get the recipe to make Gigglers. It is basically jello that is made with less water so that it retains it's shape and doesn't have to be refrigerated. I would make the giggler recipe in a separate pan to the size and depth you wish to make the well. Then when it is set, you can place it on the cake. Fondant and water are not friends! You could use modelling chocolate instead. That would also taste better with the style of cake that you are making. You can make edible paint by using vodka and cake coloring to paint on the fondant or modelling chocolate. Have fun with your project. It sounds great.

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Permalink Reply by Shelley-Anne on February 19, 2011 at 6:19pm

why don't you set the gelatine beforehand in a shape to match the cut-out 'well' in the cake, and once the cake is iced put the gelatine water in the middle.  Once the gelatine is set it is less likely to give off moisture or draw water out of the cake, then just remove the 'plug' of gelatine when you cut the cake..  much like one puts gelatine over a terrine, it seals it but doesn't melt or draw more moisture.  Otherwise, you could put a very thin fondant 'lining' into the water cavity and make the water with piping gel as suggested previously.

Another suggestion is to make a hard candy set 'water', again in the same shape as the well cavity and just set that into the space.

Something else I have seen done previously to represent water is just simply to fill the space with coloured liquid glucose, however it would run like a thick syrup when you cut the cake.  If left long enough in the air though, it does thicken and forms a 'skin' over the top.

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Permalink Reply by John Ulvr on February 23, 2011 at 6:41am

I did a trial run on the weekend to see how things would go.  I used jello on this one so the kids could partake, but the idea is similar.   I used a 2:3 parisian cream, and chilled it so it would harden.  The jello was made, and let sit in the fridge for 50 minutes until it was cold but still liquid.  I pored (actually, carefully spooned is more accurate) the jello right onto the parisian cream, and it turned out well -- a few small floating specs of the icing ended up at the top, but they almost look natural.  I also tried scoring the side with a hot butter knife to see the effect, and it wasn't to bad, though I'm going to make a few changes in that department.  As for flavour, I mixed one cup of gelatin with three teaspoons of Kahlua to the side, and it seems to be a very good compliment to the chocolate.

 

For the final design, I'm going to create the cake with a thicker (1:1) parisian cream, and let it set.  Then I'm going to make a dirty white parisian cream (thinner), and ice the side of the cake with that.  The plan is to use a heated carving chisel to score out the grout lines

 

I'm toying with the idea of leaving a very thin layer (2-3mm) of water/Kahlua mixture on the top of the gelatin (about 1/2 cm), and floating a couple of pieces of green marzipan in it as leaves (dipping the marzipan in the gelatin quickly to give it a coating so it doesn't disolve).

 

There is one final idea I'm toying with that will give it an additional wow factor, but I won't mention it right now.   I'll send photo's videos when it's done.

 

John

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