I’m sure I can’t be the only person who has pulled one of those holiday window clings out of their kid’s mouth, right? I can’t say I totally blame kids for trying to take a bite. They look just like candy! After popping a few cute cling hearts on our windows with my daughter, inspiration struck. Why not make edible ones?!
Choose Your Liquid
I limited my gelatinous experiments to the various shades of Jell-O I could find in my local supermarket in an attempt to make this as easy for you to recreate as possible. The one variable I tossed in was the liquid. This came about when I was working with the grape Jell-O. Made with water, the grape hearts turned out a little muddled and murky especially when compared to the other colors. My solution for a purple gelatin heart without having to start from scratch was milk! The addition of a white, opaque liquid allowed the purple color to shine through. In the image below you’ll also find cherry hearts made the same way.
The addition of milk made the taste of the hearts a little creamier (obvi), but not all that different than their water-made counterparts. While I didn’t try it myself, I have to believe this would also work with non-dairy milks.
Don’t Sweat It
Today it is 21 degrees F where I live, because that just usually how it is around Valentine’s Day here in New Hampshire. If I was going to make gelatin hearts in a more humid environment, I would add them to my cake shortly before serving. Placing them on the sides of a cake would be super tricky in warm weather, but the top of a sheet cake would likely work in any climate.
Gelatin Clings
Equipment
- Small sauce pan
- Toaster tray (The one I used had 10 x 7" of tray space. Any container around that size would work.)
- Heavy duty aluminum foil (nonstick works even better)
- Cookie cutters
- Small knife or icing spatula
Ingredients
- 3 oz Flavored Gelatin Alternatively you can use 2 1/2 tsp plain powdered gelatin.
- 3/4 cup Water or milk (dairy or non-dairy)
Instructions
- Line a toaster tray with a solid piece of aluminum foil large enough that it sticks up over the sides.
- In a small sauce pan, whisk toegther the gelatin and your liquid of choice. Bring to a full boil over medium-high heat. Pour into the lined pan and chill for at least an hour, ideally up to 3, before using.
- Remove the foil from the tray and flatten out the sides. Cut the gelatin with cookie cutters and slide an icing spatula or small knife underneath the shape to loosen it from the foil. Move the shapes to parchment paper or another sheet of foil. Use right away or store for up to a week in the fridge. Store gelatin shapes in an airtight container with nothing on top of them. Pressing plastic wrap against the shapes will leave wrinkle marks.
Notes
- Allow the shapes to sit out at room temperature for a little while to dry out. Any moisture left on the surface of the cling will cause it to slide around on the cake.
- If applying shapes to the sides of a cake, make sure the cake is thoroughly chilled. Have a little extra buttercream on hand to help the shapes adhere.
- Apply shapes shortly before serving. Once applied leave the cake at room temp. Store extras in the fride, but expect a little bit of weeping.
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