Gelatin Sheet

A gelatin sheet recipe is simply powdered gelatin that is dissolved in water then laid out to dry in a thin sheet

This is my gelatin sheet recipe. I use this recipe for a variety of things including my flexible butterfly wings for my daughter's bug birthday cake, sails for my pirate ship cake and recently, my edible glitter tutorial. You can also make gelatin sails!

You can combine sheet gelatin with various amounts of food coloring, dusts or edible metallics to make it different colors.

Gelatin Sail

To make a gelatin sail, I brush the gelatin mixture onto plastic wrap, in a splash shape. Once the gelatin isn't liquid anymore, you can pick up the whole piece of plastic and drape it over a bottle to dry overnight. 

The next day you can peel it off the plastic wrap and you have a beautiful gelatin sail!

Learn more about this in my sugared sheet wedding cake tutorial.

Gelatin sheet recipe

The basic gelatin recipe is 5 teaspoons of powdered knox gelatin (not packets) dissolved in ¼ cup of cool water. There are a few things to know though about this process. You can add food coloring, pearl dust, metallic dusts or pretty much anything you want to this basic recipe. This is great for making gelatin bubbles like the tutorial in Sara Myers bubble cake tutorial.

Gelatin sheet recipe tips

• When you sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the water, make sure you go slow and let it all absorb into the water evenly. If you see any grains of gelatin that are not dissolved, put a little more water in there. It might take longer to dry but you don't want any unabsorbed gelatin leftover.
• Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. This is called "blooming" and basically is the process of the gelatin absorbing the gelatin fully. Sounds fancier than it really is.
• Once your gelatin is bloomed, make sure you heat it gently. 30 seconds at first then 15 second increments afterward. If you boil the gelatin or heat it too hot, it actually changes the integrity of the gelatin and it might not set correctly so be gentle with your gelatin.
• Once your mixture is cooled, let it sit for a couple of minutes. You might see some white foam rising to the top. That foam is not your friend. You're going to want to scoop that off with a spoon unless you're TRYING to make foam like I did for my gummy beer tutorial in the giant hamburger cake tutorial.
• Now you can add in colors, dusts etc. I spread the gelatin out onto some plastic wrap and let it dry overnight. It will wrinkle and warp as it dries. If you add a small amount of corn syrup (about 1-2 teaspoons) it will make the gelatin slightly flexible. This is a good mixture to brush over wafer paper.

So that's basically it! Hopefully, you get some good use out of this gelatin recipe. Let me know if you have any questions about it in the comments or if you need help!

Recipe

Gelatin sheet

This is my basic recipe for making gelatin. Sometimes I let it dry out to make a sheet, sometimes I combine it with corn syrup to make flexible sheets. It's very versatile. 

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Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute minute

drying time: 1 day day

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 sheet

Calories: 67kcal

Author: Liz Marek

Ingredients

• ▢ 5 teaspoon knox powdered gelatin
• ▢ 2 oz cool water
• ▢ 1 drop liquid food coloring optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Pour water into a shallow dish. sprinkle gelatin evenly over the water and let it absorb for 5 minutes
• Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir and microwave for another 15 seconds if needed to melt fully
• Let sit for 5 minutes and bubbles will rise to the surface and create a white foam. Skim this foam off the surface with a spoon and discard
• You can now use this base recipe by combining with metallics, food colors, corn syrup or whatever you need. Store leftovers covered in a container in the fridge. 

Nutrition

Calories: 67kcal | Protein: 17g | Sodium: 42mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!