Edible Clay

Fondant and Gum Paste and Marzipan... Oh my!

The various edible clay methods, like fondant, gum paste, marzipan, and pastillage, are all related but have critical differences. The subtle ingredient distinctions result in substantially different characteristics... how firm they become, how easy they are to shape and work with, and of course their taste!

I've included the most common edible clay or sugar craft methods here. These are the sugarcraft methods typically used to make edible cake decorations. Of course, these are the same types of edible decorations that can be used to turn a gingerbread house into a work of art.

What is Pastillage?

Pastillage is porous and dries more rigid and faster than the other edible modelling options. Many people confuse pastillage with gum paste but the real difference is that gum paste contains glucose (or gum tragacanth.)

With pastillage, you must work very quickly but the end result is the most sturdy of the sugarcraft mediums. It dries the most rigid of all. It will also take on the least amount of humidity from surrounding features (such as buttercream.)

What is Gum Paste?

Gum Paste is basically pastillage with glucose (or gum tragacanth) added, allowing more time to work before the creation hardens. It dries fairly rigid (less than pastillage but far more than fondant.)

Gum Paste dough is very soft and elastic (far more so than pastillage.) It can be rolled out very thin while pastillage cannot.

What is Fondant?

Fondant is tastier and softer than the other edible clays. It holds its shape well, but will never harden completely. It remains maleable much longer than its counterparts and hardens only to a soft clay consistency.

Fondant is commonly used to cover decorative cakes, such as wedding cakes, or petit fours because of its beautiful, smooth appearance which can be adorned in a number of ways and its bright white appearance that takes colors well.

Fondant CAN be used to make flowers, bows, and even intricate figures, but they do not dry quite as hard or sturdy as gum paste and they lack the finesse and delicacy you can achieve with gumpaste. You can make your fondant act more like gumpaste by kneeding in about a cup of gum paste mix into a pound of rolled fondant. This will make it dry harder than it normally would.

Most professional bakers use fondant for covering cakes and making large decorations that will be eaten, and use gum paste for smaller, more intricate decorations. Fondant is found in the center of many candies, like chocolate buttercream-filled candy or the white part of a chocolate-covered cherry (a reaction with the cherry causes the fondant to liquefy a bit, making it runny.)

What is Sugar Paste?

Sugar Paste is usually assumed to mean gum paste, but there are certainly people who use the term to mean fondant. Since gum paste and fondant have such striking differences, it's best to use these terms to avoid confusion.

What is Marzipan?

Marzipan is a sweet paste made from ground almonds that makes a smooth frosting or decadent filling. Marzipan is pricier than the other edible clays on this page and is considered the tastiest of all. It's considered best for modeling shapes such as fruits and ____ for candies and yummy, edible cake decorations.

The figures in the White House Gingerbread House are done with Marzipan because it is so easy to use and the results are very predictable.

Marzipan is frequently used to cover cakes (for its tastiness) along with a layer of fondant (for its smoothness and crisp, bright white color which is easy to turn into any color you desire) or a layer of chocolate. Marzipan is more porous than fondant or chocolate so it would be likely to dry out and become crusty if not covered with another material.

You can dye marzipan in batches or hand-paint the end result shapes. Since it does not start out bright white, like fondant or gum paste, it does not take color quite as easily as the others.

How Edible is Edible Clay?

While all of these modeling materials are "technically edible," some taste FAR better than others. In fact, some are really not intended to be tasted at all!

Gum Paste is really designed for making intricate decorative items for cakes (or gingerbread houses of course!), but not necessary to be eaten. While it's technically edible, it's not really palatable. You never want to cover a cake with gum paste. Use fondant instead.

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