Ann Reardon

Giant m&m and hospital story

10 kilo (22.05 pounds) m&m

Update: We are home! We got back from hospital late last night after nearly four weeks. Technically James is still a patient of the hospital. We have a nurse coming to our house every day to give him IV antibiotics, which he’ll need for the next month. I was overwhelmed by the number of lovely comments last week and so many people from all over the world praying for James. Things got a bit scary there. He went into pre-sepsis during the second surgery but I believe all the prayers helped him pull through and he is now on the mend. So thank you for the team effort.

Some how through the middle of all that I have a giant m&m video for you. Please excuse low audio quality and glitches. I was filming just outside the hospital on my phone.

The finished m&m weighed in at 5kg (11.02 pounds) which surely must be a world record.

To make your own giant m&m you will need:

Pastillage:
900g (31.75 ounces) icing sugar
10 tablespoons water
pinch of cream of tartar (tartaric acid)
2 tablespoons powdered gelatine
2 tablespoons glucose syrup

cornflour or cornstarch to line the mold

4550g (160.5 ounces) of quality milk chocolate to fill the m&m
aerosol spray can of food colouring

contact or sticky book cover for the ‘m’ stencil
m logo template

Two bowls that when put together make an m&m shape. Each of my bowls were 25.5cm (10.04 inches) in diameter and 4.6cm (1.81 inches) in height.

Usually I write out all the instructions for you here. But on this occasion I am hoping you will forgive me for not getting that done. The video needs to be up in a few minutes. All the instructions are in the video so watch that and thanks again for all your love and support over the last few weeks.

My Cookbook

ann reardon crazy sweet creations cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country: http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.

26 Comments View Comments

  1. Rating: 4.5

    Hi Ann,
    I came across your giant m&m recently, when I decided to do a m&m cake for my son.
    Just wondering if pastillage need a whole week to dry? Also thinking of filling inside with layered cake and ganache as filling, will this be an issue? I’m worried about cutting the end product, cos haven’t heard anyone cover the whole cake with pastillage.
    But I thought it’s the only way to get the true m&m effect. Any help would be appreciated.

  2. Rating: 5

    I have a question,Ann. Could you use corn syrup instead of glucose syrup? I am thinking about making one. I would greatly appreciate it if you could get back with me, please? Love you, Ann. You are awesome. I am sorry about your son getting sick but at least he is much better now. You and your lovely family are strong and courageous and that is what helps us get through these hard times.

  3. Rating: 5

    Hi, just seeing this now in snowy Ottawa, Canada. I’m sure by now your son is back to his healthy self and you and your family’s life is back to normal. Thank you for sharing your story. You have an amazing family and I’m so happy that your son made a full recovery. all the best, Suzanne

    • Thanks Suzanne, he is still on 9 antibiotic tablets a day, so not quite back to normal. But he is coping well and need complains.

  4. Rating: 5

    Best wishes to you all!
    This cake just looks amazing!

    • Thanks Alexandra.

  5. Rating: 5

    WHOOT WHOOT THANK THE LORD HE IS DOING SO WELL Prayers to you and your I know you must still be on edge a bit

  6. Rating: 5

    Bendiciones para ti y tu hijo me encanta todo lo q haces es hermoso lastima q es en ingles pero me guio por tus paso a paso gracias por compartir. Desde Venezuela

    • Gracias Carmen!

  7. Rating: 5

    Dear Ann (or helper)
    Soooo glad to hear James is getting better! Prayers still coming from me to you!

    Now for my question;
    What is pastillage? What does it taste of and what is it like?

  8. Rating: 4.5

    So good to hear your son is on the mend

  9. Rating: 5

    So thankful your son is on the mend. I hope he will be fully recovered soon. What a scary ordeal! You are such a delightful person, and I love how you love your family. Love your show and your sweet personality. I was praying for you, your son, and your family.

    • Thank you for your prayers.

  10. Rating: 5

    so happy everything is well. thank G-d

  11. Rating: 5

    Glad your little man is home with you and we hope he gets better and recovers soon

    • Thanks everybody for your kind thoughts for Ann, James and her family.

  12. Rating: 5

    Glad to hear that all is well and your son is on the mend. Best wishes to your family

  13. Rating: 5

    Thank you for sharing your recent journey with your son James. Your strength and resilience is an amazing testimony of your faith. Thinking of you and your family, praying and trusting for a total recovery for your son. Many blessings x

    • Thanks Marion.

  14. Rating: 5

    Ann,
    Thank you for letting your fans and friends in on what has been happening with your son. I am so glad he is home and recovering. You are right, life is messy…..but so worth it it! It is wonderful that hat you have such a terrific husband and friends to support you. You are in my prayers .
    Over Christmas I tried your ice drops. I made enough for my 10 dinner guests. They completely blew my friends away! Thankfully it was below freezing outside (not a common occurrence in Atlanta, Georgia) and I was able to sit them on my deck until time to serve. As a time saver for so many servings, I had to switch to layers of lemon curd, crispy meringue, and whipped cream for the dessert inside. I was unable to get edible flowers so I substituted edible rice paper ones instead. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!

    • Rating: 5

      That looks amazing. I’m unable to find that link and would like to try it. Thanks.

    • That is awesome Nilha. Well done!

  15. Rating: 5

    Dear Ann, that’s so scary, all the best wishes for James and his recovery. Life is so precious, and Your videos always celebrate the beauty of it, and the love between people, keeping that in mind is so important, so, thank You for Your work and Love to You and Your family.

    • Thanks Sabine.

  16. Rating: 5

    I don’t know you but I just cried with you. As a mother I can understand your pain but I’m so glad that everything looks like it’s going well now. So happy to see your son sitting up and smiling. I wish you all the very best and hope you have been through the worst of it all. Best wishes x

    • Thanks so much Kelly-Anne.

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