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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

What is a Sugar paste, a Gum paste ...

What is a Sugar paste, a Gum paste ...
Sugar paste, also known as gum paste, is used for making all kinds of fancy decorations, such as long-lasting flowers, ribbons, bows, leaves, and just about anything else.
Gum paste is really a pliable "sugar dough", mixed with gums, which makes it easy to shape like modeling clay.
The sugar dough is edible and it can easily change any plain cake or cupcake into a beauty with it's flowers.
Gum paste is a sugar dough which has a most important ingredient added to it that is called ' Gum Tragacanth '. This essential ingredient makes the paste stretchable, elastic and pliable.
This helps one make real life looking petals and flowers. 
Gum Tragacanth powder can be found at cake decorating stores.
Gum Paste cutters helps to make gum paste flowers. 
What exactly is a Gum tragacanth?
Gum tragacanth is a viscous, odorless, tasteless, water-soluble mixture from the sap of the root of the plant and dried. The gum seeps from the plant in twisted ribbons or flakes which can be powdered. It is used in pharmaceuticals and foods as an emulsifier, thickener, stabilizer, and texturant additive.
Why is it used?
Gum tragacanth is also used to make a paste used in floral sugar craft to create lifelike flowers on wires used as decorations for cakes. It makes a paste which air-dries brittle and can take colorings. It enables users to get a very fine, delicate finish to their work. 
Food coloring come in powder, liquid, and paste forms.
Try mixing in these combinations 2 get..
Orange = yellow + red
Purple or violet = blue + red
Aqua or teal = green + blue
Light or lime green = yellow + green.
If you enjoy cake decorating, then boost your knowledge in cake decoration.
Few interesting terms related to cake decorations..
A border of a cake is a continuous thread of icing that embellishes the top, sides, and/or bottom edges of a cake.
A Butter cream is a rich icing that is made by mixing either butter or shortening (or both) together with icing sugar, and beaten until smooth. Butter cream is an all-purpose icing.
Decorating bags are also known as icing bags, frosting bags, or pastry bags. These are filled with icing and used to pipe designs such as icing flowers, borders, and other patterns.
A Fondant is also called sugar paste. Fondant is an icing sugar dough that can be worked just the same way as pie dough.
It can be draped over cakes. 
Ganache is a smooth frosting. Which is made by melting either dark or white chocolate, then mixing it with heavy cream.
Gum paste is used to mold edible flowers and designs. 
A Marzipan is a doughy almond substance which has more sugar, fewer almonds used underneath fondant in cake decorations.
Royal icing is a sweet white icing prepared by whipping icing sugar with either fresh egg whites or dried egg whites and meringue powder generally used as icing borders.
Decorating a cake requires additional skills that can be so easily learnt.

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