If you have seen the movie Frozen, you know that Princess Elsa has the power to create ice and snow. After something happens in the kingdom, Elsa goes up on a mountain and builds herself a beautiful ice palace to live in.
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You only need a few ingredients to make ice candy. It is very similar to Rock Candy, but much quicker from start to finish. In a big pot, add 3 and 3/4 cups of white sugar, 1 and 1/2 cup of light corn syrup, and 1 cup water. Food coloring and extract flavoring are optional. Start to cook the sugar, syrup, and water on medium heat, stirring to make sure that all of the sugar dissolves.
While you do not "need" a candy thermometer to make ice candy, I "highly recommend" it. The first two times I tried to make this candy, it did not set right because I did not get it hot enough. I had no idea because I could not find my thermometer. Boil the sugar mixture until it reaches 300 degrees, or until it hardens into threads when a dropped into cold water. If you do not get it hot enough, the candy will not harden and set. It looks pretty, but it will be sticky and syrupy no matter how long you wait or how long you refrigerate it. I was successful on my third try. I was actually surprised with how long it took to reach 300 degrees. It confirmed that I took it off the stove way too early the first two time.
Once you reach 300 degrees you can remove it from the heat, and add a few drops of food coloring. For my candy I used liquid blue coloring. I decided not to add a flavor extract. Pour into a cookie sheet with sides sprayed with cooking spray. I could immediately tell it worked on this attempt. It looked like a giant piece of glass. Allow to cool either by allowing it to sit, or put it in the refrigerator.
Because I had used the cooking spray, the candy was easily removed in one piece.
When I broke the candy, I noticed it even looked glass while in pieces. This might not be the "safest" treat to make for real young kids. If your Frozen party is for young guests, it might be best to pour the ice candy into candy molds instead of making it in one sheet.
I left some of the candy in big pieces. These would be perfect to decorate the cake or turn into an ice palace.
The smaller pieces are a good size to serve by themselves. I "filed" down some of the sharper corners with a fine grater. They have a sweet taste and are very easy to bite into and chew. Something that I always seems to do, no matter how many times I tell myself otherwise. I guess I am like the Tootsie Roll Owl from many years ago.
Here are a few items you might find helpful when you make your Elsa's Ice Candy.
Are you having a Frozen party? Here are some Elsa themed items you might enjoy.
More Frozen Party Posts
Your ice candy is so pretty! And totally perfect for a Frozen party. I'd love if you came and linked up to The Makers Link Party over on my blog. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, I am so ecstatic to find this. I used to make this candy all the time only used essence of oils and did so many flavors but, had lost my recipe. I am pinning this so I don't lose it again. So glad I found you.. Cathy
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! Great idea and tie to the new movie.
ReplyDeleteOh, my word, this is beautiful! It really does look like ice or stained glass! I bet this was a big hit with the kids. I like your idea of using candy molds for the younger kiddos. :) Thank you for sharing this at Treasure Box Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea! When I saw them I thought of beach-glass! But frozen is another fab take.... :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing.… :)
Have a happy weekend; hugs x, Crystelle
Crystelle Boutique
These turned out so beautifully! What does it taste like without any flavoring in them? Watermelon and Cherry are my two favorite flavors so whenever I make candy, I always add the flavoring, I've never even tried it without. I may have to give it a go just to see. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome! How long did it take to reach 300 degrees? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome! How long did it take to reach 300 degrees? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your question Monica.. I tried to answer in an email, but did not have an email address.. I hope you can see the answer here.. It took quite a while, probably a good 15-20 minutes. The first time I made it I did not use a candy thermometer, and I took it off the heat way too early. It is best to use the candy thermometer because it takes so long to finally reach 300.
ReplyDeleteHi! Thank you for your reply, I wish I could post the picture of the cake I made! The ice candy worked out perfectly! I didn't have a thermometer, I was just real patient and praying it would come out right lol. My daughter loved her cake. It was too pretty to eat! Thank you!!!!!
DeleteHi there, have just made a princess Elsa cake for a friends little girls 6th birthday and was looking for something to make it look extra special... This is absolutely perfect can't wait to make it tomorrow :) I am in the Scotland so will be using golden syrup instead of corn syrup, hope it works out! Thanks so much x
ReplyDeleteI tried to make this ice candy but it turn to crystalized...do you know what's the problem?
ReplyDeleteI have not had that happen before with making this candy, so I am not 100% sure. I did an online search to find out more, and it looks like it is a common problem when making candy this way. With some candy you want it to crystallize like when we made Rock Candy last summer. I found a couple of sites that might help. Baking911 has a problems and solutions page, and No so Humble Pie has a great post on why it happens on a post called Lollipops and Sugar Science Ramblings. I hope that helps
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, this remark made my day! I didn't get corn syrup in Germany and folowed some advice of using "sugarwater" - but - no surprise to you, I suppose - the candy cristallized...
DeleteAt the website of No so Humble Pie I found the tutorial for inverted syrup! YES! The second lot of my candy manufacturing didn't cristallize - wasn't exactly as blue as I wished, but - non the less - great!
Thanks a lot for your blog and your advice!
Thanks for sharing this great idea! I am looking forward to trying this for my daughters birthday!
ReplyDeleteI featured it in my blog round up here:
http://www.rekrahcreative.com/top10frozenpartyfoodideasandfrozeninviations/
GREAT IDEA!!! What color food coloring did you use to get this color? Just blue?
ReplyDeleteI used just blue liquid food coloring by McCormick
DeleteGREAT IDEA!!! What color food coloring did you use to get this color? Just blue?
ReplyDeleteI have tried this 3 times now. I can get the candy to harden, but my color is terribly green. I was able to get a real, but not this ice blue. How did you do that?????!!! My party is Saturday!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh.. I am so sorry I missed your comment.. I have been so busy these last few weeks, that I some how did not see it.. My candy did have a slight green tint to it. . I figured out with another blogger that the food coloring is probably reacting with the yellow/brown color of the hot sugar water. I am not sure if anything can be done differently to stop it from happening.
DeleteHello! Thanks so much for your sharing! I tried yesterday and the consisteny was great! However it's green.... Since it caramelized at 300 the blue reacted with the yellow....what can i do? Take it out before it becomes golden?... I have to do the cake today....thanks a lot
DeleteMine also was green. I did some research and on my next try (half recipe) brought to a boil much faster and cooked to 295. Still green!! Another solution site suggested 285, I will try that that if I ever want blue again. I flavored with peppermint extract and everyone loved "eating glass"-- some liked it more than the cake, which was a good thing since I ended up with so much!
DeleteHi.. u r us8ng fahrenheit ir celcius.. thank u
ReplyDeleteIt is 300 degrees Fahrenheit. I am not sure how to covert that to Celsius.
DeleteIt would be about 149 °C ;-)
DeleteHello there...sorry if this double posts. Having issues wth it. Does the candy change over time? Is tonight too early to make it for a party sat? Also do you know if humidity affects it? I live in texas and her party is outside. Didnt know if it would melt or sweat or anything?
ReplyDeleteThat is a good question Bonnie. It is not too early to make it before the party. It is a hard candy and will keep very well. I am not sure if humidity affects it. I live in Michigan, and made it during our very long, cold winter. I know it looks like ice, but it does not melt like ice. If it gets really hot during the party, it is possible it might become a little sticky, but I really can not say for sure as I have never had it in heat before.
DeleteLove this, thank you so much for sharing! Just tried it out and so far it seems to be working great!
ReplyDeleteThanks it turned out great! Beautiful blue! Could you tell me what size cookie sheet you used?
ReplyDeleteI had no idea so I had to go measure it. :) It looks to be 11 x 18. You can use any size cookie sheet, just know that the bigger the sheet, the thinner in the candy.
DeleteI just finished making this rock candy and I want to thank you so much for your tutorial! You saved my daughters Frozen party this Saturday. I was going to go buy the rock candy lolly sticks but they are so expensive for how many I was going to need. I did not have a thermometer so I just kept dropping it in the water then when I thought it was done I put a quarter size on wax paper, let it cool, then tried to crack it to see if it was ready. Thanks so much once again!
ReplyDeleteOnce cracked put it in a zip bag with powder sugar and (shake it around) it will help on the stickiness
ReplyDeleteand it will look like snow on it.
Thank you so much for this!!! I was curious on how many drop of blue food coloring you added to yours to make it that color. and am I correct in thinking that if no coloring is added it will be a clear color?
ReplyDeleteIt has been so long since I have made this that I can not remember the exact number of drops. I think I just went by sight, until I got a color I liked. The hot syrup will have a bit of a yellow tinge to it from the high temps, which will cause the color of the candy to have a little bit of a greenish tint to it. Maybe a few extra drops of blue might help that. I am also not sure if it would be totally clear when no color is added since I have not tried it that way. It might be fun to find out. :)
DeleteHow do I get the stickiness out of the pot? Any tricks?
ReplyDeleteI put a pot of water on to boil then pour it into the pot with sugar residue. Swish it around (carefully). You may need to let it sit for about 10 minutes, but the hot water will melt the hardened sugar and it should come right up!
DeleteThat is a great idea Amy! I usually just use the sink sprayer with really hot water and spray it until the I get everything thing out. Amy's idea sounds a bit easier. :)
DeleteHi all having a panic as too why my candy is very dark in the center and a lovely blue on the ends, please help guys.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you will see this. The notification I received was no reply, so I could not answer by email. I have never had that happen before, so I am not totally sure what it causing it to do be dark in the center. I did think of a couple of possibilities though. If you used liquid food coloring, it could be possible that the color needed a little more mixing, and was more concentrated in that area. Did the center section seem thicker than the outside? It is also possible that the candy did not distribute evenly in the pan but more in the center, making the center appear darker. I am glad to hear that it was a lovely blue on the ends, now we just have to figure out the middle part.
ReplyDeleteIf I do not have a candy thermometer...how do I know when it hits 300 degrees?!
ReplyDeleteIt can be very tricky without a candy thermometer. Both times I tried to make this without one, it did not harden properly. How you can tell if it is ready is by taking a small spoonful of the hot liquid, and drop it in cold water. It should immediately harden in the water. The problem I came across was I thought it had hardened, when it really hadn't. Once I used the thermometer, I realized the boiling process took a lot longer than I thought. It will need to boil for at least 15-20 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI tried this yesterday for my daughter's frozen cake next week as a practice run. all of your tips are perfect - the candy came out just as you described except for the color. I got more of an emerald green. I could tell it was a reaction to the brownish color of the hot candy - but how do i avoid that? I used about 6 to 8 drops of blue and it was immediately green. I also took the pot off the heat and added the coloring within the next 30 seconds. how did you get that beautiful blue???
ReplyDeletethanks for the recipe and all of the tips - everything worked out perfectly except for the color. I too got a dark green color with about 6 to 8 drops of mccormick blue food coloring. I could tell immediately it was a reaction to the brownish color of the candy just off the heat for about 30 seconds. can you tell me exactly how you got that blue color? less drops (2 or 3) or did you have the candy off the heat for a longer time? i am desperate for blue for a Frozen cake of course! :)
ReplyDeleteChristine.. I hope you can see this since I was not sure how to contact you by email. If the candy turned dark green you might have added too much blue. My candy did have a slight green tint to it when I made it. It may look bluer, because I have a lot of blue in my kitchen. I made this over a year ago now, so I can not remember the exact number of drops I used, but I think it was 3 or 4. I am not sure how to stop it from reacting with the yellow in the hot liquid. I wish I did. One commenter in the thread, found online that you can possibly boil to 285. I know the color is still yellow at that temp but it might be less so. I have not tired it, but you might be able to let it cool down for a few minutes to see if the color is less yellow before you add your coloring. You won't want to wait too long though, because the candy does set pretty quickly. I am going to look around and see if I find any more ideas.
ReplyDeleteAfter doing some research, I found a few more possible options to get a bluer color. One site said to make blue, boil to 275 and then add the color. The hotter the temp gets, the greener the color looks. Another site did boil to 300, but added about 10 drops of color. A third site suggested using neon blue color. I can not guarantee any of them will work for sure, but trying one of these might be worth a try.
ReplyDeletethanks pam...i am sure the first time i made this i accidentally let the temp get to 320 degrees. tonight i tried again and pulled it off the heat right at 300. i added 6 drops of mccormick blue and it came out exactly like yours! thank you for your help!!
ReplyDeleteYea! So happy to hear that! Hope you have a great Frozen party.
DeleteJust made this tonight and am storing it for a later use. It came out awesome. Color was great. When I broke it I got a lot of pieces that almost looked like icicles. Can't wait to do my daughters frozen cake for her March 27 birthday.
ReplyDeleteHi i am in england we dont have corn syrup here do i use golden syrup or glucose syrup please i really want to try this its lovely
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
Deleteas I replied to another comment, I'm from Germany and we don't have corn syrup either - For my first try I just used sugar and water - that was suggested in another german blog to substitute corn syrup - though my candy cristallized... Next try to substitute the syrup was water sugar and some lemon juice - it worked perfectly - besides from the yellowish color - but that could not just be a problem with the lemon juice as I read in some comments above ;-) Hope you have / or you will succeed in cooking the candy! ;-)
I'm from Ireland so had similar available ingredients to U.K. I just made this without corn syrup and without a sugar thermometer. I'm so happy with the result! It almost worked on my first attempt but then it suddenly crystallised as I was adding lots of blue. So on my second attempt, I added the blue very slowly on a heated spoon which I balanced over the pot. My ratios were: 2 cups water, 3 and 3/4 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup of golden syrup. I used the method of dropping it in ice cold water to check when it was ready.
DeleteThanks so much to Pam and to all the helpful comments here. I just hope the rest of the Frozen cake works as well as this!
I am not familiar with either of those syrups, so I am not really sure which one to use. You might just have to try them both out and see which one works best. Recently I talked to another person from England who wanted to make it as well. I did come across a recipe to make your own corn syrup that might work. http://www.thekitchn.com/pantry-staples-diy-cane-sugar-131934 I know she had good luck with making the syrup but have not heard if the candy turned out.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know how long it should take to harden?
ReplyDeleteFor people outside the US looking for a substitute for corn syrup... I am in Australia, and used a similar recipe today, with glucose syrup (derived from corn). I found it on the baking aisle of our local supermarket, not sure if it is exactly the same thing as corn syrup but it is a thick, clear syrup and it worked a treat.
ReplyDeleteMy "ice shards" worked first time, set hard and very clear, and as noted in the original blog post above, broke into very sharp pieces. I took them off the cake before cutting it and I didn't give them to the children! They looked fabulous though.
The proportions I used were 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup glucose syrup, 1/4 cup water, with just a drop or two of blue colouring. I found it hard to break... the most useful pieces were from around the edge where I had thinned it with a spoon as it set.
How do we break it to have the icicle look?
ReplyDeleteIt has been awhile but I think I just hit it against the cookie sheet, and used my hands for some of the bigger pieces. It was not that hard to break. You could probably use a lot things in your kitchen, such as a rolling pin or dull knife.
DeleteHi! I followed the recipe to letter. It looks great BUT the top is sticky to the touch. The bottom is greasy feeling..I probably used too much cooking spray, but I can wipe that off. Can' t figure out why the top is tacky. Ideas?
ReplyDeleteIf it is still tacky, it is possible you did not get it quite to hot enough to 300 degrees.. It took me more than one try when I first tried to make it, because I did not cook it long enough. It takes a very long time to reach 300 degrees, a lot longer than I thought it would. When it does not get hot enough, it will not set correctly Since only the top is tacky it could that you were very close. Did it break into smaller pieces okay?
DeleteHi! Can I use this recipe without cream of tartar?
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see your recipe, it's a perfect substitute for a candy I haven't been able to find in _years_. We used to melt 'ice blue mints' and make puddles out of them, then put them in the 'yard' of a gingerbread house as an ice skating pond. :) Do you happen to know if this recipe might react adversely with 'Royal icing'?
ReplyDeleteHi, thank you for this recipe! It is the second time I am making it now, with thermometer and the exact ingredients. I use Wilton royal blue color, but my glass always turns a bit green-ish. What do I do wrong?
ReplyDelete