Different Molds to Use with Isomalt Simi Cakes

Hey, guys, I'm Sidney Galpern here from simicakes.com here for Creative Cake Design. And today I wanna talk a little bit about different kinds of molds that you can use with isomalt because it can be a little bit confusing not knowing which ones to use or which ones can hold up to the heat. So I'm gonna talk about three different kinds of molds that you can use for a whole bunch of different isomalt projects. So let's talk about one of the most common molds that's gonna be used when working with isomalt which is silicone. So I have a beautiful silicone flower mold here, this really pretty plumeria. And so you can see it has some really nice detail. It's very deep, it's nice and flexible so the isomalt pieces will come out really easily once they're cool. And this is really nice because silicone does not have to be greased or powdered. You can pour the isomalt directly into the silicone mold and as soon as it's cool, it's gonna pop right out. There's no mess and it just makes it really easy and straightforward. It's also really easy to find silicone molds 'cause there's lots of different companies that make silicone molds. You just wanna make sure that it is rated for high heat so you want it to go at least to 400 degrees or so. And you also, of course, want it to be food safe, but you can also make your own silicone molds and it's very, very accessible to working with isomalt using silicone molds that you may already have. Now another type of mold that you can use with isomalt is gonna be hard candy molds. Now, hard candy molds are specifically a very specific type of plastic, so it has to be rated for the high heat. So make sure it is a hard candy mold, not a chocolate mold. Usually they're gonna be this white opaque color, but again, still check and make sure they are hard candy. And the difference with these is you are going to have to use a grease to make sure your piece is released from the mold. So I spray it with a little bit of cooking spray. I usually spray it into the mold and then I wipe it out with a paper towel to make sure it's a nice, thin coat. Or you can spray the paper towel and then wipe it into the form as well before you pour. And that way when you pour it in, it's going to release. If you don't do that step and you don't grease it, it's not going to release from the mold. It's gonna stick. So you're gonna have to soak the mold and wait for all the isomalt to dissolve out and you're gonna lose all that isomalt. And you don't wanna harm your mold either by trying to rip it out or flex it. Now, these aren't quite as flexible and pliable as the silicone, but usually with the grease, the pieces are gonna pop really easily out of those molds. And this is what a lot of lollipop molds are made out of. Now, finally, you can also use a metal for a mold. So you can see here, I have some cookie cutters. So these are just regular metal cookie cutters and it's really nice because you probably already have some cookie cutters that you can get started with, with isomalt, you can also use metal cake pans and those work really good if you wanted to do, like, a base on top of a cake for a cake topper. You can use a greased metal cake pan to make a base out of isomalt. That way it fits the exact size or you can stagger the sizes, you know, using different cake pans that you have and you know it's gonna fit perfectly on top of your cake. So you do have to grease these as well. So either spray it with some cooking spray or spray that cooking spray onto a paper towel if you have a really intricate cookie cutter that you're using. And both cookie cutters and cake pans give you really beautiful 2D pieces. So you can make ornaments, you can make plaques, you can make bases. And so I utilize those a lot because they're very easy to find and as long as they're metal, not plastic, and they've been greased, they're gonna hold up really, really well to the temperature. Now, you do have to be careful 'cause metal conducts heat. So the metal is going to get just as hot as the isomalt once you pour it in. So just be careful when you are using those molds. But of course, as long as you're wearing your gloves, all of these molds are going to work really, really beautifully with isomalt depending on the different finishes and the different styles of pieces that you wanna make. Now, one kind of mold that you never, ever want to use with isomalt is going to be a chocolate mold. So chocolate molds, of course, usually come in this nice, clear plastic, but there are all kinds of different chocolate molds. And while chocolate molds are great for chocolate, chocolate melts at a much lower temperature than isomalt. So if you use these molds with isomalt, they're gonna melt. It's gonna break through, it's gonna stick, it's not gonna be pretty. So you don't wanna use chocolate molds, generally these nice pretty clear molds, with isomalt. You have to make sure that it is a hard candy mold if you're using something that's plastic. If you're not sure that a mold that you have or a mold that you're getting is gonna work with isomalt, you can contact the company and see, you know, what temperatures it goes up to. And I also have a little test that you can do at home if you already have the mold maybe you don't remember where you got it from or what it's rated for or what temperatures it goes to. So what you can do is you can flip the mold over and either pour on the back or pour a little bit on the side, somewhere that's not in the cavity of the mold. You can put a little bit of isomalt, liquid isomalt, just like if you were pouring it into the mold, but do it off to the side so that if it doesn't release, you haven't ruined the cavity of your mold or melted it through. So just pour a little bit of isomalt onto the side. Make sure if it's a metal or a hard candy mold, you grease that area that you're pouring over, just like you would if you were using the mold on its own and actually pouring in the cavity and then wait for the isomalt to completely cool. So wait a few minutes. You know, depending on how big of a puddle you poured, it might be 5 or 10 minutes. Once the isomalt is completely firm to the touch with the toothpick, you can see and flex the mold, see if it releases from that mold. If it seems to come off really easily and cleanly and it hasn't warped the mold at all, it hasn't melted through or stuck or anything like that, you should be good to go with your mold. But if it has stuck or it's warped the plastic or the metal or anything like that, if anything doesn't seem like it's working, you can soak off the isomalt and you can still use that mold for other mediums that are not high heat. I hope you enjoyed this video and that you're gonna have fun going through and thinking about all the different kinds of molds that you have that you can immediately start working with isomalt. Make sure to check out my other videos here on Creative Cake Design and I can't wait to see you in the next one.