How to Make a Sugar Igloo

Igloos are usually made from stacked blocks of snow.

Stacking and gluing sugar cubes to make a model igloo takes more time than most classrooms can spare. It only takes a few minutes to make a sugar mixture that will hold its shape so that you can mold it into an igloo. The resulting igloo will be more delicate than a sugar-cube version, so handle it with care.

Things You'll Need

• 2 nested metal or plastic round-bottom bowls
• Cooking spray
• 5-pound bag granulated white sugar
• 6 egg whites
• 1 tbsp. cream of tartar
• Wire whisk

Instructions

1. 

   Separate the egg whites from the yolks.

   Stir cream of tartar into 6 egg whites. If you do not want to use egg whites, you can use "1 teaspoon meringue powder for every cup of granulated sugar" instead, advises Angela Villalba of Reign Trading Company, who makes sugar skulls for the Mexican holiday Dia de Los Muertos. If you use meringue powder, add 1 tsp. water per cup of sugar.

2. 

   Add sugar to the mixture.

   Stir 6 cups granulated sugar into the tartar/egg white mixture. If mixture is still runny, add 1 cup sugar at a time until the sugar mixture is moist but difficult to stir.

3. Coat the inside of the larger round-bottom bowl and the outside of the smaller bowl with cooking spray.

4. Pack the larger bowl with the sugar mixture until it is 1/2 to 3/4 full.

5. Press the smaller bowl into the larger bowl to force the sugar up the sides in the space between the two bowls.

6. Place the nested bowls in the refrigerator and allow the sugar mixture to harden overnight.

7. Dampen a kitchen towel with hot water. Ball the damp towel and place it inside the smaller bowl for 5 minutes.

8. Remove the damp towel and tap around the rim of the smaller bowl to loosen it. Carefully remove it from the larger bowl without damaging the sugar shell.

9. Cover the sugar shell and remaining bowl with a sheet of 1/8-inch thick cardboard. Invert the bowl and cover it with a hot, damp cloth for 5 minutes. Tap gently on the bowl and remove it, leaving the sugar shell behind.

Tips & Warnings

• If the sugar shell breaks, repeat all steps but double the cream of tartar. This may take several tries before you get a usable sugar igloo. Kids Cooking Activities head chef Debbie Madson packs her sugar-egg molds by hand and scoops part of the sugar away with a ladle before it hardens instead of using a two-piece mold.

References

• Reign Trading Company: Making Molded-Sugar Skulls
• Kids Cooking Activities: Making Sugar Eggs