Sugar Paste Techniques

Learn the techniques of creating sugar paste to make your own flowers.

Sugar paste, also referred to as gum paste, is completely edible and has a consistency of modeling clay. It is molded into shapes, such as flowers and ribbon and left to dry. The paste can be painted, dusted or tinted and used for decoration on baked goods.

Painting Sugar Paste

Sugar paste is painted by using a mixture of paste coloring and water or liquor. Some artists prefer liquor because it evaporates more quickly than water, preserving the sugar paste from becoming more pasty. The sugar paste can be painted when it is wet or can be left to dry first.

Dusting Sugar Paste

Dusting sugar paste is done with edible food dusts. They are a powdery substance that is spread on dried sugar paste using a small paint brush. Decorating dusts come in many varieties, including matte finished dusts, shimmery dusts and pearl dusts.

Tinting Sugar Paste

Sugar paste is usually white in color when prepared because of the use of egg whites and flour. Tinting the sugar paste takes place while creating the mixture, not after the flower or decoration is formed. Create a tinted sugar paste by simply adding food coloring to the mixture before dividing and creating your decorations.

References

• Baking 911: Sugar Paste
• Sugar Paste: Recipes