What's a sugar cube light and what do I need to make one?
I love making this kind of winter/christmas decoration with my son because it is so easy to do and yet so beautiful to look at. Fair enough, I did have to persuade the almost 10 year old to do this project again in 2022, but once we got started he actually had a lot of fun! The fact that this decoration is so easy to make makes it the ideal project even if you have younger children, as it is not complicated at all and the worst that can happen is sticky fingers and a pretty sticky table and/or work surface. All you need is:
- sugar cubes (1 box of 500g)
- powdered sugar
- some water
- a small bowl
- a small plate or similar with a relatively flat surface
- any light (tea light, small candle, led light)
Preparation
Once you have everything you need, mix some of the powdered sugar (2-3 tablespoons) with a little bit of water at a time to make the icing that you are going to use as edible glue. Be warned: some of this icing will inevitably find its way into your child’s mouth but you were probably expecting that already.
Make sure the icing is not too watery, as this will make the mess even bigger and the sugar cubes may dissolve in the process. Spread a thin layer of icing on the inside edge of the object of your choice (we used a small decorative plate) and place the sugar cubes in a circle, always leaving some space between them to allow the light to shine through.
When the first layer is finished, spread a little more icing over the cubes and place the next ones on top, again with a tiny offset. Continue like this until the light has reached the desired height or until you have used up all the sugar cubes. We used 500g for 9 layers. Finally, place the candle / (led) light in the center and light it.
What other benefits are there?
Another great thing about this sugar cube light project (and many other, really) is the fact that children develop in their creativity and thinking as they grow up. Consequently, this project can look differently every year (smaller/bigger, round/rectangular, messy/neat) depending on your child’s age and development, and that’s wonderful to see.
This year mine was wondering if the sugar cubes wouldn’t melt if we lit a candle in the middle of the lantern. I explained that it would of course depend on the level of heat and we did a small experiment to satisfy his curiosity. To demonstrate what (extreme) heat could do to the sugar, I held the flame of a candle lighter to one of the remaining sugar cubes. We noticed that it took a few seconds for the sugar to melt and the result was tiny drops of caramel 😉 What a pleasant and fragrant surprise.