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Gumpaste... why do you hate me so?

post #1 of 12
4/12/12 at 7:23pm
Thread Starter 
Hi everyone!

I've been lurking on here for a little while, reading and trying to absorb from the wealth of knowledge that everyone contributes. I feel I'm backed into a corner. I'm making my first "sold" cake, for delivery this Sunday morning (I'm a cupcake gal, so this is a big deal for me). I'm attempting to make cartoonish gumpaste flowers (daisies, pansies, small filler flowers, etc). I purchased a premade gumpaste called "Bakels". I made leaves on Tuesday night and they are still not dry today. I'm panicking at this point because I need this cake to be fully decorated and ready to go by Saturday night. A couple of questions:

1.)What would be the best brand of premade gumpaste (or gumpaste mix) to use?
2.)This brand, will it dry in enough time to decorate the cake?
3.)Even though the Bakels brand is not drying, I'm also having a very difficult time trying to work with it. I can't seem to get it to cut cleanly (it sticks to my cell board, even with the use of shortening). What am I doing wrong?!

Extremely frustrated and thinking I'm in over my head. icon_cry.gif

~Trishelle~
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post #2 of 12
4/12/12 at 8:55pm
I've never used that brand of gumpaste so I can't tell you if it will dry in time or not. Wilton's premade gumpaste is good. You can find it at craft stores and Walmart. If you mix it 50/50 with fondant, it's a little easier to work with and still dries hard. Instead of shortening, try using cornstarch or a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar to dust your cell board. When I was taking classes, my instructor gave us a great hint...if you want it to stick to your cake, use shortening; if you want it to dry, use cs/ps. If you use the Wilton, you should be able to make them tomorrow and have them dry enough to put on your cake on Saturday.

HTH!
~Elcee~
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~Elcee~
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post #3 of 12
4/13/12 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
I was hoping to avoid using Wilton (the smell of it is awful), but I think at this point it's my only option. Michael's here I come! Thanks for the help!
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post #4 of 12
4/13/12 at 10:12am
Bakels is the worst I have used. I live in AK where it is terribly dry and I could never get anything to set completely even after days. Total crap. I usually use fondant mixed with tylose now.
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post #5 of 12
4/13/12 at 12:14pm
Oh it's too bad you choose that brand. My experience with it is that it will *NEVER* dry hard icon_sad.gif
Add some vanilla to Wilton to 'mask' the smell. Just knead it in while working it to soften.
Also, for the future, Nic Lodge's recipe for making gp is sooooooo super easy and it is a much better gp to work with. Basically all you do is make some royal icing and add Tylose powder to it and WAH LA you have gp icon_smile.gif
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post #6 of 12
4/13/12 at 12:37pm
I've never tried Bakels.. and I don't care for Wilton, usually I buy Satin Ice Gumpaste (or mix Tylose into Fondant)... but a month or so ago I was out of state with a display cake and needed to make an emergency repair (I smashed the side of my ruffle cake into a door frame!), I had forgotten to bring some gumpaste with me and ran out to Michael's resigned to using Wilton... but I saw Duff's and it was on sale so I grabbed it. The hole incident ended up being the happiest accident of my life because I think Duff's Gumpaste is my new favorite! It's super nice to work with and dries pretty quickly! Even though Duff's fondant isn't the greatest, I would recommend trying his Gumpaste (available at Michael's)...

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post #7 of 12
4/13/12 at 12:40pm
You should go to your local Michael's or JoAnn's crafts and buy the Wilton Course 3 Gum Paste and Fonfant lesson plan book. It's around $5 and has plenty of tips and tricks to make fondant and gum paste flowers. I am in the class right now, and last night we made roses, Calla lillies, and carnations all from gum paste! It was all super easy! And lesson 3 you make daisies and mums. It's a great way to teach yourself. Everything is very step-by-step and easy to keep up with. Several times I have just read the directions in the book and taught myself to make the flowers we were making the next class.
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post #8 of 12
4/13/12 at 4:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyCake10609

but I saw Duff's and it was on sale so I grabbed it. The hole incident ended up being the happiest accident of my life because I think Duff's Gumpaste is my new favorite! It's super nice to work with and dries pretty quickly! Even though Duff's fondant isn't the greatest, I would recommend trying his Gumpaste (available at Michael's)...



Good to know. I'll have to give it a try! I actually really like Duff's fondant icon_smile.gif.
~Elcee~
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~Elcee~
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http://www.icedanddazzle.com
http://beautifullyembellishedcakes.blogspot.com/

Check out Colorado's premier sugar art show on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/SweetTimesintheRockies
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post #9 of 12
4/13/12 at 4:55pm
I always use the wilton gumpaste mix with a tiny amount of clear vanilla, dries very hard quickly and it is a little cheaper. You can even put it in the oven with the light on or sit in front of a small desk fan to speed drying.
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post #10 of 12
4/14/12 at 6:17am
Thread Starter 
So I'm wondering if the area I live in doesn't carry the Duff brand of fondant. I ended up getting the Wilton premade and so far it's worked like a charm. This morning I'll be coloring the gumpaste and usually this is where it starts to become iffy. I use the Wilton gel colors and I feel like it changes the texture of he gumpaste. Any thoughts or suggestions?

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post #11 of 12
4/14/12 at 6:55am
Hmmm... I'm not sure about the distribution of the Duff gumpaste, I was in CT at the time and it was the first time I've seen it... so maybe it's a new product and slowly making it's way onto shelves?

If you feel like your Wilton gumpaste is changing texture when you add color, are you coloring it very dark? A lot of color, even gel paste will change the consistency of the gumpaste, it will get really soft and sticky. If you have tylose powder or can get it quickly enough it will help tremendously, bringing it back to where it should be.

Also, all the kneading to color the gumpaste can make it extra soft, from the friction and heat in your hands... so it might just need to "rest" a little.

When I need gumpaste to be a dark color, I usually use colored fondant and add tylose to it, instead of using a ton of gel color. But tylose isn't available at the craft store (in my experience) so I order it online, it's not very expensive and very handy to have in my cake decorating kit!

http://www.happycakesbyrenee.com

http://happycakesbakes.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/HappyCakesBakes

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Baby Shower
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Children's Birthday Cakes
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http://www.happycakesbyrenee.com

http://happycakesbakes.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/HappyCakesBakes

https://twitter.com/HappyCakesbyRen

Bridal Shower
(3 photos)
Baby Shower
(6 photos)
Children's Birthday Cakes
(4 photos)
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post #12 of 12
4/15/12 at 1:01pm
Thread Starter 
I appreciate everyone's suggestions. Cake was delivered this morning. They wanted buttercream, and I still have to work on getting it smooth as glass, but here was the final result:
LL
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