I’m throwing a bridal shower at my home next month, so I’ve been searching for perfect food & decorating ideas for the bride.  Since we’ll be serving hot tea, I thought tea sugars would be pretty and somewhat unique.  I used a general sugar cube recipe and will elaborate & share what I learned through the process.

Supplies:

mixing bowl, food coloring, 1 cup sugar (1 cup measuring cup), 1 tablespoon hot water (1 tablespoon measuring spoon), mixing spoon, candy molds (I used regular clear plastic ones and a flexible silicone mold; either type works fine.  Just consider serving size…how much sugar would one person need in their cup of tea?), and a small hard surface for removing your candy & allowing it to dry (I used small glass plates-not pictured;  you’ll want something that can be turned upside down as you remove the candy, and I like clear glass because it’s easy to see when your candy has broken free from the mold).

Instructions:

1.  Put 1 cup of sugar in the mixing bowl.  (The original recipe uses double this recipe, but I found that working with a small batch is easier…especially when I was first experimenting with colors.)

2.  Place drops of food coloring in your measuring spoon.  Use only 1 drop for a light pastel color, and more drops for deeper color.  (You can also start with less coloring and add more if you need to, although it mixes into the sugar more uniformly if it’s mixed with the water first).  Fill the rest of the spoon with hot water (not boiling, but nice & hot).

3.  Add the water/food coloring mixture to the sugar.  Stir until the sugar is uniformly colored throughout.  The consistency of the sugar should be like wet sand.

4.  Use a spoon to press the sugar into your candy mold.  Then use the spoon or your fingers to push off excess sugar so you’re left with a crisp outline of your shape.  After you have a nice outline, you may want to again press the sugar into the mold, making sure it’s firmly packed.

5.  Now you’re ready to remove the sugars from the candy mold.  They’re fragile, so you want to move & handle them as little as possible.  First, find a flat surface that you can handle tipping upside down while holding it flush against the candy mold.  I like glass plates because I can easily see when the sugar is released from the mold.

Keep your candy mold facing up while you place the plate upside down on top the mold.  Next, keep the plate & mold firmly pressed together while you turn them upside down (the candy mold is now upside down on the plate.)  Gently tap each section of the candy mold to insure the candy is released.  You may look up through the glass plate to get a better look.  Then gently remove the candy mold from the plate.  If any sugars stick to the mold, lower the mold, tap again, then raise the mold when the sugar releases.

6.  Allow the sugars to dry.  Drying time will vary due to the size of your candy mold shapes.  Mine took about three house to completely dry out (when dry, they’re hard to the touch & crunchy if you bite them.)

Also, as a side note, since my candy mold only holds 4 sugars, I used six plates for the unmolding process:  I filled all 6 plates with fresh sugars, I allowed them to dry slightly for about 1/2 hour, then I gently condensed them to one plate to allow them to continue drying.  I covered my bowl of sugar tightly with seran wrap when I wasn’t using it.  Then, when I had more available plates, I continued molding the sugars.

7.  After the sugars are dry, gently place them in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve them.