DIY Dessert Magnets with Polymer Clay

Contents

Besides searching for new bubble tea joints, one of my favorite things to do on the weekend is exploring new dessert places in San Francisco. It always makes me soooo happy to just spend the afternoon people watching and enjoying a quality dessert. From a buttery and flaky Kouign Amann to a smooth and fragrant lemon meringue, if it’s good, I will take it!

Even though I love cooking and baking, I never actually made any desserts that take more than 2 hours. Well, maybe just one – canelé, see photo below. I made them for my mom as a Mother’s Day gift this year since she absolutely loves them. They turned really well with a crusty skin and a custardy center but the amount of work I put into making those little canelés is mind blowing (2 days of work! ). So my conclusion is, let the professionals do their thing and I will stick to what I am good at .

One thing that I think I am good at is making crafts. These dessert magnets took me about 3 hours to make including decorating them with acrylic paint. The whole project is inspired by my sister’s refrigerator. Her refrigerator door is completely covered from top to bottom with holiday postcards and yet she has only 10-ish magnets to hold them up. So for Christmas, I decided to give her my handmade magnets. One of her favorite desserts is the Kouign Amann from b Pattiserie, but I opted for the almond croissant instead because I don’t think I have the skills to make Kouign Amann look tasty with clay. But I did make the brioche knot that she loves from Arizmendi bakery.

I didn’t really take photos while I was molding the clay but check out this marbled ring dish post for all the tools and supplies you need. You can make anything you want and just stick a magnet onto the back with strong glue like E3000.

Here are the canelés I made with silicon mold: