Gum Paste Recipe

This gum paste recipe creates an edible modeling dough that dries more rigid than fondant. It's most commonly used for detailed accessories on fancy cakes... gum paste flowers, bows, and other decorations that need to hold their shape well, such as the gum paste roses on the cake to the right. Note: the cake itself is covered in pink fondant with gum paste flowers.

It's easy to learn how to make gumpaste. The hardest part is finding the ingredients (in particular gum tragacanth.)

What is gum tragacanth? Wikipedia says that Tragacanth is "a natural gum obtained from the dried sap of several species of Middle Eastern legumes of the genus Astragalus..., but I prefer to remember it as the ingredient that allows gum paste to remain maleable longer than pastillage (although not as long as fondant. It can be found at specialty cake decorating supply shops or online.

Once you have the "gum trag" it's really not very difficult to make your own gum paste. Here's the recipe I find the easiest and most consistent:

Gum Paste Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Confectioners' Sugar, sifted (reserve 1 cup for later)
• 1 Tablespoon Gum Tragacanth (or Gum Tex)
• 1 Tablespoon Liquid Glucose
• 4 Tablespoons Warm Water (or 3 Tbs warm water + 1 Tbs lemon juice)

Steps (how to make gum paste):

1. Pour the water in a large bowl and add gelatin (glucose) slowly.
2. Stir until gelatin is dissolved in the water. You may need to microwave 20-30 seconds or heat on the stove with a double-boiler to get glucose to melt.
3. Add confectioners' sugar and gum tragacanth.
4. Mix well.
5. You'll end up with a soft, sticky dough. Store dough in a well-sealed plastic bag at room temperature overnight (if possible) for it to set.
6. Knead in the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar and it will become soft and pliable - no longer sticky. Add more powdered sugar if it continues to feel sticky.

Gum Paste Tips:

• Store your gum paste recipe mixture in a large ziplock bag while working with smaller pieces of it (or keep in bowl and cover gum paste surface with a wet towel.) This will help keep it from forming a crust. If you DO get a crust, don't worry, knead in a little confectioners' sugar.

For some inspiration on what to make out of gum paste, check out this fondant and gum paste photos page!!

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