It’s hard to believe that fall will be here in less than a month (September 22nd to be exact). If you’re still holding onto summer, now is the time to squeeze in last minute summer projects. This Berry & Rhubarb Crumble Soap was inspired by the delicious summer dessert. A mixture of Magenta Mica and Brick Red Oxide Pigment create a red berry base. The “crumble” is made by adding walnut shells and rolled oats to the soap batter and placing it on top. Dollops of white “whipped cream” soap give these bars the finishing touch.
These bars are scented with the new Red Berry Rhubarb Fragrance Oil. It’s a delicious blend of red currant, tart rhubarb and juicy berry notes. It will make your mouth water! If you’re looking for more dessert-inspired projects, check out the Lemon Cold Process Soap Cupcakes Tutorial or the Sparkling Champagne Soap Cupcakes on Soap Queen TV. Both of those projects involve making separate batches of cold process soap frosting. The “whipped cream” on this soap is made from the same batch. The soap is allowed to thicken in the container until it reaches a thick, spoonable consistency. If you’re a little nervous to make soap frosting, this technique is a great alternative!
What You’ll Need:
Silicone Cake Pan Mold
16.4 oz. Olive Oil
12.2 oz. Distilled Water
10.3 oz. Coconut Oil
8.2 oz. Palm Oil
5.7 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
4.1 oz. Apricot Kernel Oil
2.1 oz. Castor Oil
2.5 oz. Red Berry Rhubarb Fragrance Oil
2.5 oz. Rolled Oats
Magenta Mica
Brick Red Oxide Pigment
Titanium Dioxide Pigment
Walnut Shells
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SEVEN: To the final container of soap, add all the dispersed titanium dioxide and use a spoon or whisk to fully mix in the colorant. If the soap is still thin, stick blend it to a thick trace. You want the soap to hold its shape when spooned onto the soap. If the soap is not becoming thick enough with stick blending, leave the soap in the container for about 5 minutes. As the soap sits in the container, it will begin to thicken.
EIGHT: Once the white soap has become quite thick, place eight dollops along the outside of the mold. The dollops should be placed in the center of what will become slices once cut. Depending on how large you make the dollops of white soap, you may have some soap leftover. Transfer any leftover soap into a small, individual cavity mold.
- Silicone Cake Pan Mold
- 16.4 oz. Olive Oil
- 12.2 oz. Distilled Water
- 10.3 oz. Coconut Oil
- 8.2 oz. Palm Oil
- 5.7 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
- 4.1 oz. Apricot Kernel Oil
- 2.1 oz. Castor Oil
- 2.5 oz. Red Berry Rhubarb Fragrance Oil
- 2.5 oz. Rolled Oats
- Magenta Mica
- Brick Red Oxide Pigment
- Titanium Dioxide Pigment
- Walnut Shells
- Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.
- Melt and combine the apricot kernel oil, castor oil, coconut oil, olive oil and palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 3 teaspoons sodium lactate.
- Once you reach a thin trace, add the Red Berry Rhubarb Fragrance Oil into the soap, and use the stick blender to pulse and stir the fragrance oil into the soap.
- FOUR: Split off two containers with about 400 mL of soap each. Set aside. To the remaining large batch of soap, add all the dispersed Magenta Mica and ¼ teaspoon of dispersed Brick Red Oxide Pigment. Use the stick blender to fully mix in the colorants, and continue stick blending until you reach a medium trace.
- Pour the red soap into the Cake Pan Silicone Mold. Tap on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles. To one of the small containers of soap, add 2 tablespoons of walnut shells and 2.5 ounces of oatmeal. Use a spoon or whisk to fully mix in the walnut shells and oatmeal.
- Carefully spoon the oatmeal soap onto the red soap in the mold. Use a spoon to spread it evenly across the mold, and sprinkle a little extra oatmeal on top.
- To the final container of soap, add all the dispersed titanium dioxide and use a spoon or whisk to fully mix in the colorant. If the soap is still thin, stick blend it to a thick trace. You want the soap to hold its shape when spooned onto the soap. If the soap is not becoming thick enough with stick blending, leave the soap in the container for about 5 minutes. As the soap sits in the container, it will begin to thicken.
- Once the white soap has become quite thick, place eight dollops along the outside of the mold. The dollops should be placed in the center of what will become slices once cut. Depending on how large you make the dollops of white soap, you may have some soap leftover. Transfer any leftover soap into a small, individual cavity mold.
- Spritz the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to avoid soda ash. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for about 2 days to harden. Remove from the mold, and cut into eight slices. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks, and enjoy!
I made and cut this, but with a twist: I needed more bars so I poured it into the BB 10″ mold and made a “pound cake.” I had to reduce the recipe by 25%, but is basically the same. I didn’t have walnut shells for the top so I used my free sample of BB pumpkin and brown sugar scent (thank you, Brambleberry!!) to brown it and I drizzled icing on top instead of whipped cream plopped on top. Even though I made a cake instead, the idea and recipe were inspired from this post so thanks. The making and cutting are on youtube.com under theorgelmeister aka the soapman.
Oh yum, that drizzle sounds like such a cute touch! Can’t wait to check it out. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Pumpkin and Brown Sugar Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pumpkin-and-Brown-Sugar-Fragrance-Oil-P6123.aspx
I agree with the disclaimer. Do not eat! Bathe! Wonderful tutorial by the way. Thanks for the recipe can’t wait to try it and review.
A disclaimer would definitely be a good idea! Have fun making this soap. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Forget soap😊! This post inspires me to head straight to the kitchen and make a yummy rhubarb crisp! I’m hungry just looking at this- lol! On a side note: I think I’ll have to try out the rhubarb fragrance oil at some point. Thanks for the great post!
Best,
Anna
Ha, it does look pretty delicious! Thanks for your sweet comment Anna. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
this should come with a “do not eat” disclaimer! it looked beautiful. I really want to try it!
Ha, absolutely! It smells really yummy too. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
These are supper cute! With the rolled oats in the soap it really looks more like food than soap. The dollops of soap cream turned out just right 🙂
Thank you so much Margaret! We were really happy with the way it turned out. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Very creative! I noticed the “crisp” top looks rather tan while it is being spooned on, but the finished soap looks as though it has been put into the oven and browned. Is there a darkening ingredient in it?
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure why that top darkens like that! It may be the walnut shells showing through more as the soap hardens. We love the finished effect though, it looks like a golden brown crumble on top. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry