Ingredients
Mould bed
- 1 kgcornflour
Syrup
- 500 gsugar
- 200 gglucose syrup
- 150 mlwater
- 15 ggelatine
- 100 mlraspberry syrup
- 2 tspcitric acid
- a few drops of purple colouring
Equipment
- a deep tray
- a cone-shaped wooden former
Directions
- Fill a deep tray with the dried cornflour and level the surface.
- Press cone-shaped impressions into the starch with a wooden former, spacing them well apart. Bloom the gelatine in a little cold water.
- Boil the sugar, glucose and water to 115°C (240°F), then take it off the heat and stir in the bloomed gelatine, raspberry syrup, citric acid and colouring.
- Pour the hot syrup carefully into each starch cone, filling it right to the top.
- Sift a thin layer of dry cornflour over the whole tray and leave it somewhere dry and warm for 3 to 5 days. The starch draws moisture out of the outer surface only, so a thin crust of crystallised sugar forms while the centre stays liquid.
- Lift the cuberdons out and brush every trace of starch off them with a soft brush.
Technique
- This is the mogul process, the same starch-mould method used industrially for jelly sweets, done by hand.
- The short shelf life is the whole character of the thing. A cuberdon that has gone solid is not a stale sweet so much as a different one.
- Raspberry is the classic flavour, though the purple colour is a convention rather than a fruit.
Substitutions
- Any strong fruit syrup in place of raspberry.
- Agar in place of gelatine, which sets firmer and less reliably here.
Variations
- Made with violet, apple or cherry syrup.
- The commercial versions, which are all still made in and around Ghent.
- Poured into shallower moulds for a faster and slightly softer sweet.
History
A Ghent speciality nicknamed neuzeke, little nose, sold from street carts since the late nineteenth century; it stays soft only a few weeks.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cuberdon?
Cuberdon is a snack from Belgium: purple cone-shaped sweet with a hard shell and syrupy liquid centre. A Ghent speciality nicknamed neuzeke, little nose, sold from street carts since the late nineteenth century; it stays soft only a few weeks.
How long does Cuberdon take to make?
Cuberdon takes 1 hr plus 4 days setting of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 30 sweets. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Cuberdon?
Yes, within limits. Any strong fruit syrup in place of raspberry. Agar in place of gelatine, which sets firmer and less reliably here.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cuberdon?
Sift a thin layer of dry cornflour over the whole tray and leave it somewhere dry and warm for 3 to 5 days. The starch draws moisture out of the outer surface only, so a thin crust of crystallised sugar forms while the centre stays liquid.
