Bubble Sugar Is The Decadent Garnish Your Dessert Needs

Have you ever gazed through the window of a patisserie, or watched a reality show involving brilliant pastry chefs, and wished you could whip up something even half as impressive? The decorations and garnishes of those professionally crafted pastries turn scrumptious treats into works of art, and it's hard to resist daydreaming that you could wow your family and friends with your own sweet masterpieces. The good news is, you can. Bubble sugar is a dessert garnish that looks like something from a Michelin-starred kitchen — and yet, it's so easy to make. The recipe calls for just a few ingredients, and anyone can do this at home (although, you don't have to tell anyone that when they're oohing and aahing over your creations).

To make bubble sugar, gather ¾ sugar along with a ½ cup of water and 1½ tablespoons of corn syrup. You also need 2 tablespoons of alcohol, but this ingredient is flexible. You can use different types of alcohol which can have a subtle impact on flavor — clear alcohols like rum or gin are standard, but you can mix in liqueurs to match the dessert you're decorating. Or, if you don't want to incorporate any booze, you can use an alcohol-based extract. That's simpler than it might sound — the vanilla extract in your pantry has a significant percentage of alcohol. You will also need a candy thermometer, a small saucepan, a baking sheet, parchment paper, and food coloring if you want to add different hues.

First, heat the sugar, water, and corn syrup at medium-to-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Then, use a candy thermometer to monitor when this mixture hits 315 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, crinkle a sheet of parchment paper before you smooth it back down on your baking sheet — this creates texture for the sugar mixture. Simply using your hands, rub the alcohol or extract over the paper. The next step is pouring the hot liquid on this sheet, so if you do want to add color, this is the time. To pour, tilt the baking sheet and carefully let the heated liquid pour over it. The alcohol is what causes the bubbles and the wrinkling adds that extra texture. Once the mixture totally cools, you can peel it off and break it however you want to use it.

You can elevate pretty much any dessert with bubble sugar. Make a chocolate orange tart and crown it with orange-hued bubble sugar, for which you can use a combo of orange liqueur and coffee liqueur in order to match the tart's flavors. Make yellow-tinted bubble sugar using limoncello as the alcohol and use it to garnish a home-baked lemon cake. Or create homemade velvet falernum, a liqueur with lime and ginger, incorporate that into bubble sugar, and use that to top a tropical passion fruit pavlova. Shards of bubble sugar would also be the easiest and most stunning ice cream sundae upgrade.