Candy Comes In Handy With These 13 Fancy Plating Hacks

Who knew your favorite candy can be used to create these #fancyAF plating designs? If you can’t decide between sweet and chocolatey or tart and sour, we’ve got 13 designs to help you get inspired. Check out our list of ingredients and instructions so you can recreate yourself!

Rainbow Gummy Bear Smear

Ingredients:

• Multi-colored gummy bears or other candies
• 1 Mini tart or other desserts

Instructions:

1. Place a flat plate with no lip over a pot of boiling water. Arrange the gummy bears in a straight line on the plate so that they create a rainbow formation.
2. Let the candies melt until only puddles of each color remain, about 15 minutes.
3. Use a greased offset spatula to slowly swipe the candy across the plate creating a rainbow smear.
4. Place a fruit tart or other dessert at the end of the streak and serve.

 

Toblerone Streaks

Ingredients:

• 1 Toblerone candy bar
• 1 slice cheesecake or other desserts

Instructions:

1. Use a lighter to melt the tips of a Toblerone bar. Swipe the candy bar across a flat plate to create even lines.
2. Top the lines with desserts as desired and serve.

 

Pixy Dust Vine

Ingredients:

• 4 pixy stick dust or other powdered candy straws
• 1 small serving raspberry cheesecake or other desserts
• Sliced berries

Instructions:

1. Over a lightly greased plate, lay down a long piece of butchers twine to form a doodly vine on the plate.
2. Pour the pixy stick dust into a small sieve and dust over the twine.
3. Carefully pull the twine off the plate leaving a doodle vine on the plate.
4. Decorate the plate with the cheesecake and berries as desired.

 

Chocolate Coin Spiral

Ingredients

• 1 dark chocolate coin
• 1 single serving oreo cheesecake, or other small desserts

Instructions:

1. Heat a flat, heat-proof plate in a 375°F oven for 20 minutes.
2. Set the hot plate on a cake spinner and give it a solid spin.
3. While the plate spins, press the side of the chocolate coin to the center of the hot plate and slowly pull toward you to create a spiral effect.
4. Let the plate cool and top with the desired dessert.

 

Cotton Candy Meltdown

Ingredients:

• 1 large handful of dual-colored cotton candy
• Small desserts
• Sliced berries

Instructions:

1. Place cotton candy on a plate and use a kitchen torch to melt down into a decorative design of hard handy.
2. Decorate the plate with small desserts and berries. We used a small pannacotta, meringue cookies, ice cream quenelle, blackberries, and raspberries.

 

Grated Ring Pop

Ingredients:

• 1 blue ring pop
• 1 single serving cheesecake or other desserts

Instructions

1. Place a fork and spoon in an X formation on a dark plate.
2. Use a ring pop grate blue candy dust over the silverware, creating a fork and spoon design on the plate.
3. Place a small dessert on the side of the plate and serve.

 

Hershey Kiss Melt

Ingredients:

• 10 Hershey kisses, 5 of them with the top half of the kiss cut off.
• 1 single serving dessert

Instructions:

1. Heat a flat heat-proof plate with a lip in a 375°F oven for 20 minutes.
2. Place the hot plate on a cake spinner and arrange the kissed and kiss tops on the plate.
3. Spin the plate and let the kisses run on the plate as they melt.
4. Top the plate with a single serving circular dessert.

 

Matcha Lines

Ingredients:

• 1 matcha white chocolate bar
• Macarons, berries, and mint leaves, as desired

Instructions:

1. Use a lighter to melt the side of the matcha bar.
2. Press the side of the bar to a white plate to create a grid design.
3. Decorate the plate with macarons, berries, and mint leaves.

 

Laffy Taffy Comb

Ingredients

• 1 piece Laffy Taffy candy
• 1 single serving dessert
• Edible flowers as desired

Instructions:

1. Place a flat plate with no lip on a pot of boiling water. Place the Laffy Taffy piece on the plate and wait 10 minutes until the taffy has melted fully.
2. Use a cake comb to draw wavy lines in the Laffy Taffy.
3. Remove the plate from the pot, let cool, and top with desserts and flowers as desired.

 

Juicy Drop Flower

Ingredients:

• 1 red juicy drop bottle
• 1 green juicy drop bottle
• 1 slice cheesecake, or other desserts
• Edible flowers, as desired

Instructions:

1. Use the red juicy drop liquid to draw a large flower stem on the plate.
2. Use the green juicy drop liquid to make 5 small dots on one side of the flower stem.
3. Place the dessert on the plate and place an edible flower at the end of the stem.

 

M&M Dots

Ingredients:

• 10 yellow M&Ms
• 6 green M&Ms
• 1 small lemon or other yellow colored desserts

Instructions:

1. Dunk the m&ms in a little bit of water, the place on the plate to dry. Arrange 7 yellow in a large half circle, the green in a small half circle, and the remaining yellow in a smaller half circle.
2. Let the candies dry for 2 minutes, then remove them from the plate to reveal candy-colored runoff on the plate.
3. Place the small dessert on the plate.

Pocky Lines

Ingredients:

• 3 match green tea pocky sticks
• 2 pink strawberry pocky sticks
• 2 yellow banana pocky sticks
• 1 small colorful dessert

Instructions:

1. Heat the pocky sticks with a hairdryer until melty.
2. Arrange the pocky sticks on a flat plate in a fanned out design.
3. Remove the pocky leaving lines on the plate.
4. Place the dessert down at the end of the lines.

 

Chocolate Checkerboard

Ingredients:

• 1 1-inch chocolate cube
• 1 mini vanilla cupcake
• 1 mini chocolate cupcake

Ingredients:

1. Heat a flat square white plate in a 300°F oven for 20 minutes.
2. Remove the plate and carefully press the chocolate cube to the plate in a checkerboard design.
3. Let the chocolate cool, then decorate the plate with the vanilla and chocolate cupcakes.