Hello all,

 I am brand new to forum, a first time poster, and a very amateur cake decorator.  I made a batch of Tylose gum paste 2-3 days ago and am having problems with it.

  The Whole batch seems WAY too stiff to work with and I don't know how to soften it.  Kneading and adding Crisco doesn't seem to help.

  When rolling into balls or "sausages" it separates where the folded layers have been kneaded in., and  it cracks Everywhere.  It also gets elephant skin very quickly.

Any suggestions?  I am frustrated beyond belief and don't know if my Old mixer can handle making another batch.

Christie

I don't know what recipe you used, but I find that I can't use fondant that I've mixed with tylose after any length of time. I have to use it then, or it dries and cracks like you describe. Working extra fondant back into it can make it pliable again, sometimes, but then you've lost the drying-hard quality.

I add a few drops of Tylose glue(1/2 tsp Tylose + 15 tsp water) and knead it to a small batch of gumpaste, it's going to get a little sticky, so add a little bit of cornstarch to dry it up a little. It is not a cure-all, if your not careful the consistency of your gumpaste will be off and end up with a wet sticky paste.

It sounds like you added too much tylose. You can add more fondant to correct that.

If you don't have lots of fondant, an ingredient that softens fondant is glucose. I assume you don't have that? If not you can try a teeny bit of corn syrup.

It must be stored in airtight conditions. Something more airtight than a plastic bag. You can use a plastic bag, but place that in an airtight container, that's not too large.

Mcauir...

I used the recipe from the back of the Tylose powder jar, which is also the same given out by Design Me A Cake website. It starts out as a Royal Icing and then converts to Gumpaste with the addition of the powder.  It's just so stiff and I can't even make a ball to make a head for a figurine without it separating.  I followed the recipe EXACTLY, even holding back the last cup or so of powdered sugar.  I am so upset. 

Thanks for responding so quickly!

Christie

A

Thanks mintbelly and Howsweet.  All those ideas sound like worth giving a try.  I will see what I have the energy to try first.

For a quick fix, I put the hard gumpaste in he microwave for 6-8 seconds. It softens it up so at least you can make a ball or a sausage without the wrinkles and separations.

AI find that microwaving it only works for as long as the paste is warm. Adding white fat can lengthen the life if paste and prevent that cracking you get as it dries. Keeping what you are not actual lying handling well wrapped in plastic and an air tight container works best. When it gets to the cracking stage it is time to throw it out. I know it is a waste ;( so that is why I keep my paste well away from air drying.

I tried this exact same recipe & had the same results. It uses 12 teaspoons of tylo, which seems like an awful lot to me. Anyway, it says use 4 large egg whites but if you read to the end it tells you to use extra large eggs or 5 large eggs. I think that may be the key to the problem. It is a lovely white paste, but you need to get it right!  UK

Hi there,

I don't know what recipe you used but it could be that you added to much tylose powder which can make it a little dry. You could try working in some trex as that may help to soften it.

Best of luck :)