I’ve heard these were a favourite of a past Headmaster of the school. The slightly fizzyness and the brightness of the lemon make these great for Spring!
You will need!
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup glucose syrup (corn syrup)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- grated peel of 1 lemon (scrubbed first)
- 1/4 cup icing sugar
- 1 tsp citric acid
- 1 tsp bicarb soda
- additional icing sugar and citric acid
- butter for greasing
Equipment needed
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Bowls
- chopsticks
- candy thermometer
- metal strainer
- silicone mat
- candy making gloves or your wand
- Saucepan
- Small plate
- Baking paper
- Baking tray
Instructions
- In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water, glucose syrup, lemon peel, and cream of tartar over medium heat,
- Once the sugar has dissolved, place the thermometer in the pot so you can see it, and let it simmer without stirring.
- While it’s Simmering, in a bowl mix together the icing sugar, citric acid and bicarb soda, and set aside.
- Have a pat of butter nearby on a small plate, to keep the end of the chopstick oiled, set it out now so it can soften some while you do all the rest before its needed.
- Once the candy reaches 300F, hold the metal strainer over the silicone mat and pour the candy through to catch the lemon peel.
- Put on your candy making gloves, and start pulling and tucking your sugar edges into the middle, until the whole piece can be picked up. This can also be done with a few spells if you don’t have the gloves.
- Start pulling and folding the candy over and over until it starts to become difficult to work with and a bit stiff.
- Pull sections off, rolling the pieces into balls, then pressing the chopstick end down into the middle of the candy, before removing the chopstick to leave an insert where the powdered sugar can go.
- Once all the balls with holes have been made, press, using a clean chopstick, the icing powder mix into the center.
- Assuming the candy is now too hard to press together, place the candies on a baking tray lined with baking paper, and place in a warm oven. Pay close attention using your gloved hands to check for softness. The moment you can press the ends together of one candy, remove the tray and close all the ends. Don’t let the candy heat up too much!
- In a bowl, mix together a cup of icing sugar with a tsp of citric acid, and roll the candies in the powder. I prefer to store my candies in the excess sugar in an air tight container to keep any moisture at bay.
