Cake Gemstones Candy Recipe

By
Elizabeth LaBau
Sweet Book of Candy Making Elizabeth LaBau
Elizabeth LaBau
A professional pastry chef, cookbook author, and writer, Elizabeth LaBau has published more than 600 articles on baking and candy making.
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Updated on 11/23/21
Cake Gemstones Candy Recipe

The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn
Prep: 60 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 65 mins
Servings: 24 servings
Yield: 24 truffles
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
145 Calories
8g Fat
19g Carbs
1g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 24
Amount per serving
Calories 145
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 10%
Saturated Fat 3g 17%
Cholesterol 11mg 4%
Sodium 54mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 19g 7%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 17g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 35mg 3%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 60mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Get ready to have cake truffles like you've never seen them before! Cake Gems are gorgeous candies, shaped like gemstones and filled with moist bites of cake. 

I first started seeing this idea floating around Instagram and Pinterest about a year ago, and I was immediately obsessed. Cake truffles and cake pops have become so commonplace, it's hard to really make them stand out these days--but molding them into gemstones and decorating them with glittering accents certainly makes them pop!

To make these gems, you'll need a silicone gem-shaped mold, like this. Look for one that's large enough to hold at least a tablespoon of cake, and that's flexible so you can easily release the candy when done. Because the mold you choose might be a different size, it's important to note that the yield on this recipe is an estimate only. 

Ingredients

  • 1 (8-inch) cake layer, baked and cooled: about 9 ounces, to yield 2 cups cake crumbs, or 1/3 of a cake prepared from a boxed mix

  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup prepared frosting

  • 6 ounces pink candy coating, or other colors of your choice

  • 6 ounces blue candy coating, or other colors of your choice

  • Edible gold or silver leaf, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Cake Gemstones Candy Recipe ingredients

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  2. Crumble the 8-inch cake layer into a medium bowl. There should be about 2 cups of cake crumbs from it. This recipe is very flexible, so don't worry if there is slightly more or less cake.

    crumbled cake in a bowl

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  3. Spoon 1/3 cup of the frosting into the bowl and mix it together with hands or a rubber spatula until the mixture is well-combined. It should be very moist and hold together if squeezed into a ball of cake between fingers, but not too wet or greasy. If the cake mixture is still a bit dry, add more frosting to get it to the desired consistency.

    crumbled cake and frosting in a bowl

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  4. Place the candy coatings in separate bowls. Melt them individually in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after every 30 seconds to prevent overheating.

    melted candy coating in bowls, blue and pink

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  5. Spoon a small amount of pink coating (about 1/2 teaspoon) into each candy mold.

    pink melted candy coating in a candy mold

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  6. Use a clean, dry food-safe paintbrush to brush the coating in a random pattern inside the mold. Don't worry about covering the whole interior, and don't worry about making it "pretty"—the idea is to give the gemstones an abstract colored pattern, not to make them identical. Refrigerate the candy mold for about 5 minutes, to set the pink coating.

    candy coating brushed in the candy mold

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  7. Spoon a larger amount (1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons) of blue coating into each mold, and use the paintbrush to brush a thick layer of blue on the bottom and up the sides of the gemstones, covering the interior completely.

    blue candy coating in a candy mold

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  8. The warm blue might melt the pink coating, and that's OK—it will soften the line between the 2 colors and make the pattern more organic. Refrigerate the mold again until the blue is set completely.

    blue candy coating in a candy mold

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  9. Fill each mold with some of the cake mixture, once the blue is set, and press it down gently to compact it. Make sure to leave a small margin at the top of the mold for another layer of candy coating.

    cake and candy coating in a candy mold

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  10. Re-warm the blue coating if necessary, and spoon a small amount on top. Spread it out to the edges so that the cake filling is covered completely. Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes, until completely firm.

    candy coating topping the cake in the candy mold

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  11. Gently flex the mold and pop out the cake gems.

    Cake Gemstones Candy in a candy mold

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  12. Use a paring knife or utility knife, if using the optional silver (or gold) leaf, to tear a small piece of silver leaf away from the sheet.

    gold leaf

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  13. Pick up the piece of leaf using the tip of the knife or razor.

    gold leaf cut with a knife

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  14. Lay the silver leaf on the candy's surface, and use a clean, dry brush to push it down and get it to attach to the candy and detach from the blade.

    Cake Gemstones Candy with gold leaf on top

    The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

Tips

  • Cake Gems can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. For the best taste and texture, bring them to room temperature before serving.
  • Edible silver leaf can be found online, and in some cake supply stores. It shares many properties with edible gold leaf, so if you want to learn more about what it is and how to use it, you can check out these articles: What is Gold Leaf and How to Apply Gold Leaf.

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