Poured Sugar Discs

• Sugar that has been cooked to 305 degrees Fahrenheit can be poured onto a nonstick, heatproof silicone mat and allowed to harden. Simply pour small amounts of cooked sugar onto the mat a few inches apart. If you wish, place a few drops of food coloring onto each poured sugar disc and gently swirl the color with a toothpick. Allow the discs to cool completely before you use them to garnish the dessert.

Piped Sugar

• Allow sugar that has been cooked to 310 F to cool slightly. To color the sugar, add liquid food coloring when the sugar reaches 265 F. When the syrup has the consistency of molasses, pour it into a piping bag made from a double layer of parchment paper. Wrap a towel around the piping bag to protect your hands from the heat. Snip a tint opening in the end of the bag before piping the sugar onto a nonstick, heatproof silicone mat into lines, spirals or zigzags. If you don't have the tools to make a parchment paper piping bag, you can also pour sugar into the desired shape from the end of a teaspoon in a slow, thin stream. Allow the sugar to cool completely before removing it from the silicone mat.

Spun Sugar

• To make fine strands of sugar, you’ll need a metal whisk that’s had the round end removed, leaving only straight metal strands sticking out from the handle. Allow sugar that has been cooked to 310 F to cool slightly. If you want to color the sugar, add the coloring when the sugar reaches 265 F. When the syrup has the consistency of molasses, dip the whisk 1/2 inch into the syrup, move it up and down a few times to shake of any excess syrup, then flick the whisk back and forth over a nonstick, heatproof silicone mat to make strands. Allow the strands to cool completely before you use them to garnish the dessert.

Bubble Sugar

• Cut pieces of parchment paper to approximately 8- by 12-inch rectangles. Brush the surface of the paper with a clear liquor, then pour a straight line of sugar, cooked to 315 F, across the short side of the paper. Gently lift the short side of the paper so the sugar runs down the surface of the paper and over the alcohol. You will see bubbles all over the surface of the sugar. Allow the sugar to cool completely before removing it from the parchment paper.

Caramel Corkscrews

• Drop a spoonful of sugar that has been cooked to 315 F, then cooled until thick, onto the handle of a well-oiled, long-handled wooden spoon. Rotate the spoon so the sugar wraps around it in a spiral shape. Allow the corkscrew to cool completely before removing it from the handle of the spoon.