Ingredients:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup water
Preparation:
1. Prepare your work station: cover your kitchen counter and floor with newspaper, to catch sugar spills. Place a large cookie sheet on the counter and lightly spray with Pam.
2. Fill a large bowl with ice and water, and set it aside to be used later.
3. Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cover the saucepan with a lid and boil for 2-3 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to boil the sugar syrup, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 310 degrees. The sugar will cook very quickly towards the end, so watch closely to ensure it doesn’t burn.
4. 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, to thicken slightly.
5. 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 5-6 inches above the cookie sheet. Rapidly flick the fork back and forth over the handles. The sugar syrup should create very fine strands of sugar. 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, re-heat the syrup very briefly.
6. Continue to dip and quickly flick the fork over the cookie sheet, 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.
7. Spun sugar is best used immediately after it is made, as the sugar starts 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 Tupperware container, preferably with several packages of desiccants, like those found in vitamin bottles.
Tags: sweets
