Читать книгу Fun and Original Character Cakes - Maisie Parrish - Страница 8

Sugarpaste

All the models in this book are made using sugarpaste (rolled fondant) in one form or another. This firm, sweet paste is also used to cover cakes and boards. Sugarpaste is very soft and pliable and marks very easily, but for modelling it works best if you add CMC (Tylose) or gum tragacanth to it to bulk it up (see Sugarpaste for Modelling, opposite). This section gives you the lowdown on this wonderful medium, revealing everything you need to know for success with sugarpaste.

Ready-Made Sugarpaste

You can purchase sugarpaste in the most amazing array of colours; just take it out of the packet and away you go. Of all the ready-made pastes on the market, the brand leader is Renshaws Regalice (see Suppliers, page 126), which is available in white and 14 other exciting shades. This paste is easy to work with and is of excellent firm quality.

Tip

Very dark colours, such as black, dark blue and brown, are particularly useful to buy ready-coloured, because if you add enough paste food colouring into white to obtain a strong shade, it will alter the consistency of the paste and make it much more difficult to work with.

Ready-made packaged sugarpaste is quick and convenient to use. Well-known brands are high quality and give consistently good results.

Making Your Own

While the ready-made sugarpaste is excellent, you can, of course, make your own at home. The bonus of this is that you can then tint your paste to any colour you like using edible paste food colour (see page 10). This can then be dusted with edible dust food colour to intensify or soften the shade.

Sugarpaste Recipe

* 900g (2lb) sifted icing (confectioners’) sugar

* 120ml (8tbsp) liquid glucose

* 15g (½oz) gelatin

* 15ml (1tbsp) glycerine

* 45ml (3tbsp) cold water

1 Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and allow to ‘sponge’. Place over a bowl of hot water and stir with a wooden spoon until all the gelatin crystals have dissolved. Do not allow the gelatin mixture to boil.

2 Add the glycerine and glucose to the gelatin and stir until melted.

3 Add the liquid mixture to the sifted icing (confectioners’) sugar and mix thoroughly until combined.

4 Dust the work surface lightly with icing (confectioners’) sugar, then turn out the paste and knead to a soft consistency until smooth and free of cracks.

5 Wrap the sugarpaste completely in cling film or store in an airtight polythene bag. If the paste is too soft and sticky to handle, work in a little more icing (confectioners’) sugar.

Quick Sugarpaste Recipe

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

* 1 egg white

* 30ml (2tbsp) liquid glucose

1 Place the egg white and liquid glucose in a clean bowl. Add the icing (confectioners’) sugar and mix together with a wooden spoon, then use your hands to bring the mixture into a ball.

2 Follow steps 4 and 5 of the above recipe for kneading and storage.

Sugarpaste is such a versatile modelling medium, it can be used to create an almost endless variety of cute characters.

Sugarpaste for Modelling

To convert sugarpaste into modelling paste, all you need to do is add CMC (Tylose) powder or gum tragacanth (see page 25) to the basic recipe. The quantity needed will vary according to the temperature and humidity of the room, so you may need to experiment to get the right mix depending on the conditions you are working in. As a guide, add roughly 5ml (1tsp) of gum tragacanth or CMC (Tylose) to 225g (8oz) of sugarpaste and knead well. Place inside a polythene bag and allow the CMC/gum to do its work for at least two hours. Knead the paste before use to warm it up with your hands; this will make it more pliable and easier to use.

Throughout this book I have used the combination of sugarpaste and CMC (Tylose) powder, and find it works very well. I personally prefer it to gum tragacanth. If you do add too much CMC (Tylose) to the paste it will begin to crack, which is not desirable. Should this happen, add a little white vegetable fat (shortening) to soften it and make it pliable again.

Colouring Sugarpaste

Whether you choose to make your own, or to buy ready-made sugarpaste, the white variety of both forms can be coloured with paste food colourings to provide a wonderful spectrum of colours.

Solid Colours

1 Roll the sugarpaste to be coloured into a smooth ball and run your palm over the top. Take a cocktail stick or toothpick and dip it into the paste food colour. Apply the colour over the surface of the sugarpaste. Do not add too much at first, as you can always add more if required.

2 Dip your finger into some cool boiled water, shaking off any excess and run it over the top of the colour. This will allow the colour to disperse much more quickly into the sugarpaste.

3 Dust the work surface with icing (confectioners’) sugar and knead the colour evenly into the paste.

4 The colour will deepen slightly as it stands. If you want to darken it even more, just add more paste colour and knead again.

Marbled Effect

1 Apply the paste food colour to the sugarpaste as directed above, but instead of working it until the colour is evenly dispersed, knead it for a shorter time to give a marbled effect.

2 You can also marble two or more colours into a sausage shape, twist them together and then roll into a ball. Again, do not blend them together too much. Cakes and boards look particularly nice when covered with marbled paste.

Tip

When colouring white sugarpaste, do not use liquid food colour as it will make the paste too sticky.

Edible food colours come in a wide variety of forms – liquid, paste, dust and even pens – all of which can be used to add colour and life to your sugarpaste models.

The cheeks of this hippo were dusted with pink dust food colour and a cosmetics brush to give her a nice healthy glow.

Painting on Sugarpaste

There are various different ways of painting on to sugarpaste. The most common way is to use paste food colour diluted with some cooled boiled water, or you can use liquid food colours and gels. There are also some food colour pens available, but these tend to work better on harder surfaces. Another way is to dilute dust food colour with clear alcohol; this is particularly useful if you want it to dry quickly. Just wash your paintbrush in clean water when you have finished.

Food colour pens can be used to add quick and simple embellishments, such as the red dots on this bear’s dress. They are cleaner and easier to use than liquid food colours.

Brushes

In terms of brushes, to paint facial features I use No.00 or 000 sable paintbrushes. The finer and better quality the brush the better job you will make of it. To dust the cheeks of my figures I use a cosmetics brush, which has a sponge at one end and a brush at the other. For more detailed work, you can use a variety of sable brushes in different widths.

For a quick effect, eyelashes can be painted on with liquid food colour and a No.00 paintbrush to really bring the character’s expression to life.

Storing Sugarpaste

Sugarpaste will always store best wrapped tightly in a polythene bag, making sure you have removed as much air as possible, and then placed in an airtight container to protect it from atmospheric changes. It should be kept out of the sunlight and away from any humidity, in a cool, dry area at least half a metre (20in) off the ground. If the paste has become too dry to work with, knead in some white vegetable fat (shortening). The main thing to remember with any paste is to keep it dry, cool and sealed from the air, as this will make it dry out and go hard.