I think out of all the treats for the Inside Out Party these flames are my favorite (not including the CAKE of course, that’s ALWAYS the best part). I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I seriously LOVE the way they look and am totally planning on doing this again for a camp fire cake or something this summer! What would you use candy flames for?
So Isomalt is my new favorite medium. It’s like making a regular sucker out of sugar, BUT it’s more flexible, it can be reheated so you can work with it longer. ALSO it’s sugar free! Also it’s resistance to crystallization, so you don’t have to worry about brushing the crystals off the side while boiling.
Isomalt Tips
- use distilled water for perfectly clear isomalt (I obviously used regular tap water, but since I was going with reds and yellows I wasn’t worried about it).
- don’t use wooden spoons, it will also cause yellowing
- Make sure your candy thermometer is working accurately, boil some water, and check the temp, it should read 212
- Store in a container with a tight fitting lid for up to 2 years, room temp, do NOT refrigerate or freeze
- don’t add any flavor or color until it hits 310 degrees
Ingredients
- 2 C isomalt crystals
- 1/2 C distilled water
- cinnamon oil
- red and yellow candy coloring
- sucker sticks
Instructions
Isomalt
- Add the water and isomalt crystals to a small sauce pan, boil until 330 degrees
- pour onto a silpat mat on a pan and let cool until hard
- break up and you can store for up to 2 years
Flames
- preheat the oven to 320
- in three bowls separate the broken cooked isomalt (I used about 2/3rd's of the previously cooked isomalt and got 12 suckers)
- put the bowls in the oven, the isomalt will remelt
- pulling out one at a time you can stir in a drop of cinnamon and the coloring
- on a silpat mat pour blobs of the red, then orange then yellow on top of the sucker sticks, they will harden semi quickly, it's okay
- working with a few at a time (I found 3 to be best, they spread a lot) place a few of the suckers on a silpat mat again and place BACK in the oven for 2-3 mins.
- the blobs will melt and spread
- pull them out and using a toothpick drag the colors together and into points (aka flames).
- you can let them set completely or what I did was wait until they were mostly set, just slightly soft/flexible and I pulled and twisted them into place
I played around with these flames when they were warm. Be careful not to burn yourself. Some are more stretched and twisted, aka perfect. Some I started manipulating when they were too warm or too hard already and I didn’t like them QUITE as much, I could have reheated them and tried again, but they were good enough, so I left it. BUT that’s the BEST PART, you CAN reheat them and try again…
The biggest concern here is that it is really hard and can be very sharp, so be careful if you are serving them to kids, I used the softer ones for the kiddo’s, with the prettier, sharper, ones for the adults (and you!)
More Inside Out Party Posts, Recipes and Tutorials
Ashlee Marie
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Danica
Could you instead using cinnamon oil could you use like peppermint essence?
Elisha
Do you sell these?
Ashlee
nope, just share how to make them – they are delicate and would be very hard to ship
Jessie
Is karo syrup not needed for suckers?
Is there any change in taste?
Ashlee Marie
corn syrup helps keep sugar based recipes shiny and keeps them from getting granulated. but isomalt is totally different (actually sugar free) and it’s it’s own mixture and you don’t want to add anything but water.
Taylor Turner
What type of bowl did you place in the oven?
Ashlee
oven safe bowls – glass
Summer Dawn
LOVED this! My friend’s son graduated from firefighter school so we did these suckers as toppers for cupcakes for his graduation dinner party. The suckers with the added touch of custom cupcake wrappers featuring a firefighter logo were fabulous. We spread them randomly down the center of the table at the restaurant as added tabletop decoration. It was a HUGE hit!
Your instructions were perfect. We actually used strawberry flavor oil to match the strawberry cupcakes (our firefighter’s favorite flavor). I don’t have a silpat mat so used parchment paper instead.
My friends and I had so much fun doing this together. Thank you so much for sharing!
Ashlee Marie
that sounds AMAZING! and the perfect use for these!
Margarita
Hello! Amazing job! Can you put the sticks on cake and into the fridge?
Will they be damaged by the change in temperature when they are out of the fridge again?
Ashlee Marie
I don’t recommend refrigerating cake – it dries cake out – and no I wouldn’t refrigerate these suckers, but as long as they don’t get wet it would probably be okay.
Lauren
could you use a colored candy (jolly ranchers, as a example) for the three colors stacked on the stick?
Ashlee Marie
yes that should work just fine
Cy
How long do these last? In other words how far in advance of the party could I make them?
Ashlee Marie
they last for weeks and weeks, just keep them covered so they don’t get dusty!
Elizabeth
I want to use these as a cake topper decoration. Will they get sticky?
Ashlee Marie
if they get damp yes, but not just sticking in a cake
Jess
Hi, can i use granulated sugar instead?
Ashlee Marie
you can make suckers – here is a recipe https://ashleemarie.com/snowflake-suckers-frozen-birthday-party/ – instead, it’s not just not quite as flexible.
Nettie Baker
I just want you to know how jazzed that I found this. You rock, Lady! My “new” go-to is isomalt and I never thought of make flaming lollipops. Thank you so much!
Ashlee Marie
you are so welcome!
Megan
Can you use sugar free candies instead of isomalt?
Ashlee Marie
as long as they melt smoothly then yes
Elny
Hi Ashlee,
The degree here you mentioned is Fahrenheit, right?
Btw, can I use isomalt directly when I boil it with water until 330 degree? Or should I let them cool first onto silipat before remelting it?
Many thanks for your advice
Ashlee Marie
you need to temper (cook) the isomalt and let it cook into disks then remelt and use.
Amanda
I already have some suckers that I’m wondering if I can break up and use?
Ashlee Marie
totally = place them on a pan and they will remelt in the oven
Dagmara
Hey! When You write about temperature You mean degrees Celsius or Farrenheit?
Ashlee Marie
Fahrenheit – i live in the usa
isomalt
What did you use to drop the blobs onto the cookie sheet? I have plastic pipettes, but I’m worried they will melt with the hot isomalt? Do I have to get a glass eyedropper??
Thanks so much! They look so fantastic I can’t wait to make them!
Ashlee Marie
I just used the spoons I was stirring them with! nothing fancy!