I promised Gerry Gomez Pearlberg an update on the fondant experiment, so here it is.

We started with a recipe that Greg found here and adapted it to the size of cakes that we needed:

• 1.7kg white cane sugar
• 425mL water
• ½ teaspoon vinegar

It’s dead-simple to make, too:

1. Put the sugar in a large pot and add the water and vinegar.
2. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly.
3. Insert a candy thermometer, reduce the heat and allow it to boil for three minutes until it reaches 234 – 240°F (soft-ball stage)
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool to 200°F
5. Whip with a whisk or mixer until the liquid turns white and thickens. You’re aiming for a “just pourable” consistency.
6. Pour it into your mold or on to a cookie sheet (if you’re putting pieces into the hives) and allow to cool completely.

We used a steel frame roughly approximating a full hive-sized comb as the mould. We also embedded some #4 hardware cloth in it for added strength, leaving approximately 1 inch sticking out the top. When it was cool, we sandwiched the extra wire between the two halves of a top-bar that I’d split on the saw and screwed it back together. Bingo, one “comb” of fondant ready to put into the hive. Repeat once for each hive you’re planning for.

An accurate candy thermometer is critical. One batch didn’t cook at the right temperature and only solidified on the outside. It was still soft in the middle days later. You’re looking for a solid slab of sugar that you can scratch easily with your fingernail. The acid in the vinegar inverts the sugar into a form that’s more easily digested by the bees.

They’re taking it and storing the sugar, so they must like it: