Glitter.... that you CAN EAT and MAKE yourself?

Yep, the original gelatin home-made edible glitter recipe!

That's right, learn how to make homemade edible glitter. Not pulling your leg! And, to top it off, it's EASY peasy! Now, now, pick your jaw up off that floor... chin rug burns are not attractive 😉

Ah, the holidays, where trails of glitter lead you to magical eye candy utopia! When it's not being used on every ornament, tree and mantle, it's the sparkle in every little (and big) girl's eye. There is something extremely nostalgic about glitter and yet applied in the right way, very sophisticated and chic. Those little sparkles catch the corner of your eye every time, face it, you love GLITTER.

Sure, you can buy glitter for your cakes...or wait....can you? That is the question most of the time, isn't it? It can be very confusing. Disco dust (non-toxic, but NOT edible) commonly sold alongside edible products, should not be used on food that will be consumed. It's more for those items that are showpieces only. It's essentially non-toxic craft glitter... it won't hurt you if you eat it, (so they say) but never gets digested. By the way, ever wonder how much glitter you inhale? Bits of plastic in my lungs... meh, I'm good, no use for glittery lungs. 

This tutorial will show how to create your own out of gelatin! Now, I'm not saying you're going to want to eat spoon fulls of glitter (unless you always go around eating pure gelatin).. but you can feel secure in sprinkling some on a cupcake or putting it a cake without feeling like you've contaminated a cake with plastic, I mean, disco dust.

So, here is the alternative to all that confusing non-sense! YOU know what goes into it and you get to customize it to your liking! AND it's....3 ingredients! 

SLOWLY (*important*) sprinkle gelatin EVENLY over water. A wide-mouth bowl is best, allowing more surface contact for the gelatin to dissolve properly. Do NOT mix.

If you just pour the gelatin in, you will most likely have very large chunks of gelatin that will not melt down. Take your time and do it right.

Place in the microwave and heat in 10 second increments (very important) for about a total of 20-30 seconds.

Gelatin heats VERY quickly AND when gelatin starts to boil, it breaks down the proteins, which essentially means your gelatin will no longer serve it's purpose. 

There will be some white foam that gathers on the top, just skim it off with a spoon.

Mix in your desired color and shade! (I did red and silver airbrush, owwww, ahhhhhh)

Pour gelatin onto surface of choice (cutting mat or texture sheets). The two surfaces come out with different results. The cutting mat has no texture, thus creating an airy, flaky glitter. While the texture sheet creates curves that can allow for a more reflective glitter. Either way, beautiful results.

Access my full Wafer Paper Filigree Peony video tutorial along with a downloadable template and bonus video! 

You want to paint the gelatin with a larger brush, thin (but not TOO thin). It DOESN'T need to look perfect, it's just going to be ground up anyhow... so put your perfectionist self away for this one! You can also use a small cake spatula to spread if you'd like.

Now... the hard part..... let it sit for 6-10 hours (depending on humidity). You can put a fan on them to speed up this process.

You'll know they are ready when they have released from the surface and are dry to the touch. Like I said, not perfect... but who has time for perfect when there is glitter to be made?

Cut the gelatin sheets down into smaller pieces.

Mmmm pretty, organized piles. *swoon*

Alright, time to stuff that gelatin in the grinder and make magic happen!

As we know, glitter has that oh-so-true reputation of being, well, messy. This case is no exception. So be prepared to get glitter... here and there, probably everywhere! Don't say I didn't warn ya! Totally worth it. It will in no way harm you, but might irritate your sinuses. A simple dust mask or handkerchief does the trick.

Tip: gelatin melts with contact with water, so try to collect with a dry cloth first. 

Because the gelatin is so light, I found it best to grind in small bursts to allow the gelatin to come back down to the blade. At this point, you can grind it as coarse or as fine as you like.

TA DA!!! The pile on the left is the gelatin from the cutting mat surface and the right is the textured surface. Dorthy would be SO proud of this pile of ruby red, don't you think?

Pardon me, I now must skip around and sprinkle glitter on EVERYTHING...

Hope you found this as helpful as I found it fun... now go adore everything with GLITTER!

TIP:

Added tip from Kara Andretta, use a sifter to separate the smaller flakes and larger flakes! This way, you can have a much finer, consistent glitter! Then put those larger chunks in and re-grind. Or use them for something else!

She also came up with a version of gelatin glitter (using gelatin leaf!) if you want to check out her tutorial >> http://www.karascouturecakes.com/edible-gelatin-glitter/

The Original Edible Gelatin Glitter Recipe

Glitter you can actually eat and make from home (using things you probably already have in your pantry!)

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Prep Time30 minutes minutes

Resting Time8 hours hours

KeywordGelatin

Yield:4 tbs of glitter

Equipment

• ▢
  Gelatin Texture Sheets, Cutting Mat or Plastic Wrap
• ▢
  Pastry Brush or Offset Spatula
• ▢
  Microwave
• ▢
  Microwave Safe Bowl
• ▢
  Coffee Grider or Spice Grider

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tbsp Knox Gelatin - (equivalent to 2 packets)
• ▢ 6 tbsp Cold Water - preferrably filtered
• ▢ 1 squirt Airbrush color -or- Food color -or- Edible luster dust - (see notes)

Instructions

• Slowly sprinkle gelatin EVENLY over water. A wide-mouth bowl is best, allowing more surface contact for the gelatin to absorb the water evenly.

  If you just pour the gelatin in, you will most likely have very large chunks of gelatin that will not melt down. Take your time and do it right.
  
• Place your dish in the microwave and heat in 10 second increments for about a total of 20-30 seconds.

  Gelatin heats VERY quickly AND when gelatin starts to boil, it breaks down the proteins, which essentially means your gelatin will no longer serve it's purpose. 
• There will be some white foam that gathers on the top, just skim it off with a spoon.
  
• Mix in your desired color and shade!
  
• Pour gelatin onto surface of choice (cutting mat, texture sheets, acrylic, plastic wrap).
  
• You want to paint the gelatin with a larger brush, thin (but not TOO thin).
• Let it sit for 6-10 hours (depending on humidity). You can put a fan on them to speed up this process.
• You'll know they are ready when they have released from the surface and are dry to the touch.
• Cut the gelatin sheets down into smaller pieces.
  
• Stuff those pieces of gelatin in the grinder and make magic happen!
  

Notes

Storage: keep in an airtight container at room temp. I've never seen them go "bad", but I'll say 6 months for the safe side.

 

• Gelatin can wilt when in the presence of A LOT of moisture. Most climates don't have a problem, but be cautious and try not to get gelatin wet or leave in a humid environment for too long. If you are in a very humid environment, be sure to apply the glitter last and right before event if possible.
• When applying glitter to fondant, a thin layer of shortening works great. You can also use piping gel or a corn syrup/water blend. Try not to use straight water.
• This is NOT a vegan/kosher option. However, you can try this method, I have yet to try it myself, and Gum Arabic can be a little bit more difficult to source. Try this method Vegan/Kosher method >> Lindy's Cakes Ltd.