We have some super sweet treats for all you Do It Yourself fans made with love by Erica O’Brien Cake Design and Brooke Allison Photography. We saw these ultra stylish DIY Ombre Sugar Hearts on Wedding Chicks and couldn’t wait to share! They could easily be used at a fabulous bridal shower, for wedding favors, as a special surprise for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day or even decor for the cutest wedding cake in the world.

Beautiful little DIY Ombre Hearts - we love!

What you’ll need:

• Two cups sugar (or more, depending on the number of colors you want), divided
• 4 teaspoons (or more) egg white or liquid meringue (1 teaspoon of meringue powder mixed with 1 tablespoon warm water)
• Paste food coloring
• Large cutting board,
• baking sheet or other flat surface, lined with parchment paper

Plus:

• Baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• Small cookie cutters

Optional:

• Organza bags
• Coloured ribbon
• Cake to decorate

Step-by-step to making these beautiful hearts...

Step 1.

Place ½ cup sugar in medium bowl. Add a small amount of paste food coloring (we used a combination of Wilton’s Rose and Violet), and mix thoroughly. This will be your darkest color. (Hint: A little goes a long way and will darken once liquid is added in next step.) Add more if needed until desired color is achieved. Add 1 teaspoon egg white or meringue liquid and mix thoroughly until the mixture resembles wet sand. Be careful not to add too much liquid or you will dissolve the sugar.

Step 2.

Empty contents onto parchment lined cutting board or baking sheet. Spread with hand or spatula and pat down, then roll over mixture with rolling pin to compress. Ideally, the flattened mixture should be as compact as possible and level, about ¼”. Press heart cutter into mixture and lift up. Place hearts on lined baking sheet. If cutter will not release heart, gently tap with the back of a butter knife. Repeat 10-20 times or as many as desired. If hearts will not hold their shape, add more egg white or meringue liquid in small increments and mix thoroughly. If sugar builds up in cutter, rinse with warm water and pat dry before continuing. Pour remaining colored sugar back into bowl and proceed to

Step 3. 

Add ½ cup sugar to colored sugar from Step 2 to lighten. Mix thoroughly. Add 1 teaspoon egg white or liquid meringue. If desired color is not achieved, continue adding additional ½ cup sugar plus 1 teaspoon egg white or liquid meringue and mixing thoroughly until desired color is achieved. Repeat Step 2. Continue with Steps 2 and 3 until desired shades and number of sugar hearts are achieved. We recommend at least three to five shades. Leftover sugar can be stored in ziplock bags for future use.

Step 4.

Heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat hearts in oven for 10 minutes. Allow to harden overnight. Sugar hearts will be the consistency of sugar cubes. Design Options: Place 10-20 sugar hearts in an organza bag. Staple ribbon to bags. Tie ribbon. Can be given as gifts or used as favors. For cake: Attach sugar heats to cake using royal icing. Begin with darkest color on smallest tier. Continue with lighter colors. These sweet and tasty Do It Yourself Ombré Sugar Hearts were shared with us by Erica O’Brien Cake Design and Brooke Allison Photography.

These hearts make a gorgeous cake decoration - too lovely!