On one... on two... on three... Ooooooooooooooooh!

It was my birthday just before Christmas. To my brother's big surprise, pretty much everything I had on the list of things I wanted was cookware. But one thing that I wanted but didn't get at the time was a sugar thermometer. Last night, I had a very late birthday party... and Ann gave me a sugar thermometer (o:. I've wanted to try learning basic sugar work for a while, and had got a ladle specially to try to make sugar bowls... and thought there's no time like the present!
As you can see, it was a reasonable first attempt. The bowl was somewhat uneven, but definitely recognisable as a sugar basket. While I was at it, I thought I'd try spun sugar too. Probably less successful (I'm not entirely sure how much to let the caramel cool first), but also a reasonable success. I think with a bit of practice, I might be able to make neat bowls!

Sugar Baskets

1. Dissolve 100g caster sugar in 100ml water in a clean small saucepan, heating gently.
2. Once all the sugar is dissolved, boil and heat to Caramel point (about 174 C).
3. Stop heating and allow to cool until the syrup becomes thick and about the viscosity of thick honey.
4. Wipe the back of a ladle with a sheet of kitchen towel dipped in cooking oil.
5. Drop a stream of the syrup from a spoon over the back of the ladle, working it in a criss-cross lattice.
6. Allow the sugar to cool for 30 seconds.
7. Use a sharp knife to trim the excess sugar from the rim of the ladle.
8. Gently twist the bowl away from the ladle.

Spun Sugar
Done as above but instead of forming over the back of a ladle, flick the stream quickly back and forth, catching the fine strands over the handle of a wooden spoon.

This method is based largely on this webpage: http://cooking4chumps.com/Skills%20Sugar%20Work.html. Having done it, I'm not convinced you need so much water to begin with - it all boils off and so I think you could probably halve the amount of water and it would just speed things up.

One thing I did appreciate though - having Teflon baking sheet over the table where you're doing it makes cleaning up a heck of a lot easier!