Homemade Sweet Coal, a treat to put in the Befana’s stockings to remind us that we’re all a bit cheeky but also very sweet! The first time I tried this recipe, I couldn’t believe the final result, I didn’t think it was possible to reproduce it at home. Instead, making sweet coal is easy and fun, it requires a little preparation because it’s useful to have a food thermometer and food coloring to make it black. Fortunately, these are things that are easily found on the market now. I recommend using paste or powder food coloring because gel might dilute the mixture too much. Unfortunately, reproducing the black color in cooking isn’t easy, so you need strong colors to reach the desired shade without using too much coloring. An important thing to remember is that the color intensifies over time, so you can stop at a nice gray and you’ll see that during cooking and cooling, the shade will become more intense.
Regarding the food thermometer, it’s important for the sugar syrup that needs to reach 284°F. Food thermometers can be found at really low prices in kitchenware stores. If you don’t have one at home or don’t want to buy it, you can gauge it by watching the syrup when it starts to crystallize without darkening like caramel.
You’ll see that for about 10 minutes your syrup will be liquid and transparent, then as the temperature increases, it becomes white and more crystalline.
This is more or less the moment you should combine the egg white and sugar mixture with the syrup.
It will be a very fun moment because when you combine the whipped egg whites with the syrup, the mass will automatically increase in volume. For this reason, I recommend preparing the sugar syrup in a saucepan with high edges.
For those who love to cheer up children with treats on the morning of the Befana, I also remember some delicious cookies like
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 25 pieces
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 81.66 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 20.73 (g) of which sugars 20.55 (g)
- Proteins 0.30 (g)
- Fat 0.00 (g) of which saturated 0.00 (g)of which unsaturated 0.00 (g)
- Fibers 0.00 (g)
- Sodium 5.58 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 21 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
The ingredients are simple, mainly egg whites, sugar, and water, but you’ll also need food-grade alcohol or vodka and black food coloring
- 10.6 oz sugar
- 4.9 oz water
- 2 egg whites
- 7.1 oz powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp vodka (or food-grade alcohol)
- A few drops lemon juice
- as needed food coloring (black or other colors)
Tools
I recommend using a stand mixer for whipping the egg whites and a saucepan with high edges for cooking the sugar syrup.
- 1 Stand Mixer howork
- 1 Saucepan
Preparation
As you can see from the photo, sweet coal is easily cut when well-chilled, just use a good smooth-edged knife, and it becomes quite crumbly.
The color intensifies a bit as it cools, so do not add too much coloring. Instead, try to buy one that is very intense and not a gel, but trust that it will intensify a bit.
Additionally, I would like to specify that you can color your sweet coal with other colors, as red, sky blue, and green are also available on the market and these are certainly easier to reproduce than black.
Start by placing 10.6 oz of sugar covered by 5 oz of water over low heat, I recommend using a scant amount of 4.9 oz rather than abundant because after caramel, it would be too liquid. This should reach a temperature of 275/284°F if you have a food thermometer, otherwise, wait anyway until the sugar browns a bit and all the water has evaporated.
While the sugar is on the fire, begin to whip the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar using the stand mixer. When they are well-whipped to stiff peaks, start adding 7.1 oz of powdered sugar, return to stiff peaks, and add the lemon drops and the tablespoon of vodka or alcohol. Proceed by adding black coloring as intense as you want to reach the color, I advise against using paste colorings and very intense colors because liquid ones would dilute the egg whites too much.
When this nice stiff glaze is ready and the sugar has reached the exact temperature, proceed by combining the glaze with the syrup on the fire. After about a minute, turn off the heat and mix well with a wooden spoon. Wait a few moments for the mixture to grow in volume, if all the processing steps have been performed correctly, you’ll see that it will do it automatically!
Put the mixture in a rectangular container with high edges and especially covered with aluminum, which will facilitate the release. Let it cool now for at least 2/3 hours until it dries well, then you can cut it into blocks and gift it to whomever you prefer.
NOTES
Homemade sweet coal keeps well for about 20 days in airtight bags, so you can prepare it in advance and fill your stockings with this special treat.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use powdered coloring?
You can safely use powdered coloring, but be careful as it takes a little time to intensify, so do not add too much.
Can I add flavors?
You can add vanilla flavor; it goes very well
