I was looking through my current issue of Mailbox News this morning, and on pg 19, the top cake, it says that the roses (gumpaste, I think) were dusted with Luster Dust and then steamed. HUH?? Does that 'fix' the color so that it stays, does it make the color more intense? How do you steam it? Is it something that you have to do when you use Luster Dust? I've not used LD yet, so I'm curious. Thanks to anyone who can shed some light on this for me.

thsi is from Cakes by George:

http://www.cakesbygeorge.com/how_i_bake/index2.htm

HOW AND WHY I STEAM GUMPASTE FLOWERS


Steaming gumpaste flowers, leaves, etc. gives them a natural luster. Dusting with luster dust or super pearl dust and then steaming gives the flowers and leaves more sheen and helps them to stand out on a cake and receive admiration from admirers.


I almost always dust my dried gumpaste flowers, leaves, etc. with colored luster dust or super pearl dust. Then, I steam them over the teakettle, being careful to hold them by the edges so as not to smudge them while they are wet.


To steam, I hold each flower over the steaming teakettle, moving in a circular motion 3 or 4 times, until the flower has a slightly wet appearance. Experience will enable you to know just how long to hold the flower over the steam. Usually a little longer for larger flowers and less time for leaves and small flowers.

If you have many flowers and leaves to steam, it will take you a few minutes but the results are well worth the time.

When using a gumpaste/fondant mixture, it will take less steaming time. A couple of circular motions over the steam will usually be sufficient.

When I have a plaque or larger item to steam and it would be difficult to hold over the teakettle, I use my steam iron. I move the iron in a circular motion over the item being steamed 3 or 4 times careful not to hold the iron too close to the object being steamedjust close enough for the steam to make contact with the item being steamed.

I tried this once, and it worked great! I needed to add a sheen to some gum paste "records" I made, and they came out great! Just be sure not to oversteam or they will get sticky and might droop.

I use a portable travel steamer that plugs in. I find it easier then a tea kettle because the steam is concentrated. Also they are pretty inexpensive to find.

I use a teakettle....but I don't steam them long enough for them to "shine"......I just want to set the dust. This is achieved by passing them thru the steam very, very minimally. Leaves a matte finish rather than gloss.

I have done the shine thing and think it's pretty too.....I just prefer the matte look.

Wow! Thanks everyone. This is why I love this site so much. There's always *someone* out there who knows the answer!

Yes, steaming is great. And you can control the amount of sheen you get. It's easy to get too much, though, so take it slow at first.

Now, here's a revolutionary concept....try dipping the whole flower...yes, DIPPING the whole flower...in the boiling water. For just a nanosecond. You will get something that looks like ceramic. It takes another day for it to dry, but it is amazing. You wouldn't want to do that every time, but for a special effect, it's pretty cool. I also poured boiling water over a batch of pearls that I had resting on a piece of coarse netting...held in an embroidery hoop. Made them really shiny. When I added the pearl dust, they really looked like pearls. Kind of a pain, though....

Steaming dusted flowers intensifies and adjusts the colour. It produces a more natural-coloured flower with a clear shine.

This is an old technique. Originally, before commercial dusts, flowers were chalked with non-toxic chalks, then steamed.

I understand, although I have not got acess to it, that Wilton "Bridal Cakes" book makes reference to steaming.

Chalk with cornstarch is applied to the flower as required - the cornstarch allows the chalk to be applied evenly - is applied to the flower as required. [The cornstarch is optional.] Gauge the amount of cornstarch according to the strength of color required.

TWO things: steam burns [you] and steam dissolves [the flower]. Very short bursts are preferable rather than one long steam. You can steam some more, but you can't fix it if it dissolves.

Be careful - very careful - until you get the hang of it. Steam burns are very painful.