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Other Recipes

Now you have your sugarpaste (see pages 8-9) and your cakes (see pages 18-21) ready and waiting, there are a few other recipes you will need in order to complete the projects in this book.

Pastillage

Pastillage is a form of sugarpaste that dries very hard, so is wonderful for building things like tables and chairs, houses and so on (see the baby carriage on page 84, for example). For the best results you have to give it 12 hours to dry on one side, and then turn it over for another 12 hours. You can colour it with paste food colour while it is still pliable, or spray colour on to it once it has dried. I have also painted it with liquid food colour to great success. As an alternative to using dry spaghetti to support your models (see page 14), you can make sugar sticks by rolling lengths of pastillage and cutting them up. You can buy pastillage powder from sugarcraft shops – just add water, following the instructions on the packet – but it is not difficult to make your own from this recipe.

Ingredients

To make 350g (12oz) of pastillage

* 1 egg white (or the equivalent made up from dried egg albumen)

* 280g (10oz) sifted icing (confectioners’) sugar

* 10ml (2tsp) gum tragacanth

Method

1 Place the egg white in a large mixing bowl and gradually add enough icing (confectioners’) sugar to make a very stiff paste. Mix in the gum tragacanth and then turn the paste out on to the work surface and knead it into a smooth paste.

2 Store the pastillage in a polythene bag and then place it into a plastic airtight container. It can be kept in the fridge or frozen for up to a month.

For delicate models that need to stand up, it is best to use pastillage instead of regular sugarpaste, as it is stiffer and dries to a harder finish.

Tip

Dry pastillage pieces cannot be stuck together with edible glue (see opposite) alone. You need a much stronger paste, so mix together some edible glue and pastillage and work it into a creamy paste with a palette knife. Apply the strong glue to your pieces and leave them to dry completely.

Sugar Flower Paste

This is a good strong paste that can be rolled very thinly. It is ideal for making delicate objects such as facial details and flowers (see pages 49 and 111 for examples).

Ingredients

* 25ml (5tsp) cold water

* 10ml (2tsp) powdered gelatin

* 500g (1lb 1½oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar

* 10ml (2tsp) liquid glucose

* 15ml (1tbsp) gum tragacanth

* 10ml (2tsp) white vegetable fat (shortening)

* 1 egg white (or the equivalent made up from dried egg albumen)

This hippo’s glamorous long eyelashes are made from sugar flower paste, which can be rolled out much thinner than sugarpaste and dries hard so that they don’t flop over.

Method

1 Mix the water and gelatin in a small heatproof bowl and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Then sift the icing (confectioners’) sugar and gum tragacanth into the bowl of an electric mixer and fit the bowl to the machine.

2 Place the bowl with the gelatin mixture over a saucepan of hot water. Stir until all the ingredients have melted.

3 Add the dissolved gelatin mixture to the icing (confectioners’) sugar with the egg white. Turn the machine on at its lowest speed. Beat until mixed and then increase the speed to maximum and continue beating until the paste is white and stringy.

4 Empty the paste out, then roll tightly in a polythene bag. Store it in an airtight container until required. It will keep for several weeks if stored correctly.

Edible Glue

This is the glue that holds sugarpaste pieces together, used in every project in this book. Always make sure your glue is edible before applying it to your cake.

Tip

Should you require stronger glue, use gum tragacanth as the base. Mix 5ml (1tsp) gum tragacanth powder with a few drops of water to make a thick paste. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Ingredients

* 1.25ml (¼tsp) CMC (Tylose) powder

* 30ml (2tbsp) boiled water, still warm

* A few drops of white vinegar

Method

1 Mix the CMC (Tylose) powder with the warm boiled water and leave it to stand until the powder has fully dissolved. The glue should be smooth and to a dropping consistency. If the glue thickens after a few days, add a few more drops of warm water.

2 To prevent contamination or mould, add a few drops of white vinegar.

3 Store the glue in an airtight container in the fridge and use within one week.

Buttercream

A generous coating of buttercream precedes the covering of sugarpaste on all sponge cakes. The classic version is flavoured with a few drops of vanilla essence, but you could substitute this for cocoa powder or grated lemon/orange zest to suit your particular taste.

Ingredients

To make 480g (1lb) of buttercream

* 110g (4oz) butter

* 30ml (2tbsp) milk

* 350g (12oz) sifted icing (confectioners’) sugar

Method

1 Place the butter into a mixing bowl and add the milk and any flavouring required.

2 Sift the icing (confectioners’) sugar into a bowl a little at a time. Beat it after each addition until all the sugar has been incorporated. The buttercream should be light and creamy in texture.

3 Store in an airtight container for no more than one week.

Sweet and delicious, buttercream is simple to make and is the ideal covering for both large and mini sponge cakes before they are covered in sugarpaste.

Gum tragacanth, CMC (Tylose) powder, apricot glaze and confectioners’ glaze are essential products that you will need to purchase before you begin sugarcrafting (see Suppliers, pages 126–7).

Essential Purchases

A visit to your local cake decorating or sugarcraft shop is a must – not only can you buy all the necessary products there, you will also come away very inspired! These products cannot be made at home with any great ease, and therefore need to be purchased.

* Gum tragacanth This is a natural gum, which comes in the form of fine white powder used for thickening and strengthening sugarpaste for modelling (see page 9).

* CMC (Tylose) powder Carboxymethylcellulose is a synthetic and less expensive substitute for gum tragacanth. It is used as a thickening agent when added to sugarpaste, and also used for edible glue.

* Apricot glaze This glaze is painted on to fruit cakes before adding a layer of marzipan (see page 28). It is made from apricot jam, water and lemon juice, which is boiled then sieved. Although it would be possible to make your own, I don’t know anyone who does, as it is so easy to use straight from the jar.

* Confectioners’ glaze This product is used to highlight the eyes, shoes, or anything you want to shine on your model. It is particularly useful if you want to photograph your cake, as it will really add sparkle. Apply a thin coat and let it dry, then apply a second and even a third to give a really deep shine. It is best kept in a small bottle with brush on the lid – this way the brush is submerged in the glaze and doesn’t go hard. If you use your paintbrush to apply it, then you will have to clean it with special glaze cleaner.