Rum Bubble Surprise

Step 2 Rum Sphere Ingredients

To start off, there are some tools that will make this a lot easier. If you don't have a scale, it'll be hard to measure out accurate amounts of the ingredients. I've provided my best guess as to the volumetric amounts of the ingredients you'll need in parentheses. Also required is an immersion blender to mix the alginate bath. If you don't have one, a regular blender will do in a pinch.

You'll probably want a turkey baster. You don't need one, but it'll help later on.

Also a requirement is a set of hemispherical candy molds. I have a set of cherry cordial molds that are set into a sheet of plastic - these things are really cheap, and you can find them at Hobby Lobby or any similar store.

Gather together the following:

For the rum spheres:

350 ml water
15 g (20 ml) of rum
100 g (~ half a cup, packed) light brown sugar
8 g (~2 tsp) calcium lactate or calcium lactate gluconate
10 g (~1 tbsp) molasses (optional, but does a lot of good for the flavor)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Allspice

For the alginate bath:

1400 ml hot water
65 g (~1/2 cup) sugar
6 g (~1 3/4 tsp) sodium alginate

Prepare the rum ball solution by mixing the rum, brown sugar, calcium salt, molasses, and spices in the water. Heat in the microwave until everything has melted, and filter to remove the excess spices.

Make the alginate bath by pouring the sugar and sodium alginate into hot water, and blending with an immersion blender until all the solids have dissolved. This will whip a lot of air into the solution, so cover the container and set the bath aside until all the bubbles are out.