Working with edible glue.

A lot of people ask me all the time about Edible glue. So here is some information on it. Edible Glue is basically used to glue Fondant, Gumpaste, or Pastillaje.

Is it right to use water as glue? The answer is yes. Certain details can be glued with a brush and water, but you have to keep in mind that water is not alcohol based, so it doesn't dry as fast. If you put too much, you will have a real slippery mess.

So, the question is how much is needed? Think about when you clean a table with a moist towel. That's about how much water is needed. Small details like stripes, dots and other things like that
will be fine to glue with water.

Another glue that is very common is your basic extracts. Extracts are alcohol based, so it gives you moisture, but it will dry more than water will.

Next we go to Edible Glue with a little bit of more substance. Why would you need it? Maybe a heavier piece, or a more intricate detail. For example a small swag on a cake or some fondant swirls. And this type of glue is used for making gumpaste flowers as well.

For Edible Glue I start by breaking small pieces of gumpaste into warm water, and letting them dissolve for 15 minutes. You can decide how thick you want your gumpaste to be by how much gumpaste you add to the water. Or if it's too thick, just add more water.

Click here to get Tylose

The other type of glue is based on Tylose powder. For
this one, you can take a 1/2 cup of hot water and add a
1/4 teaspoon of Tylose to the water. Mix it well and
let it rest so it can cool down and dissolve.
If you want a thicker consistency, add more Tylose.
If you want it more thin, add more water. This is my
favorite gum glue ever. It will last for a long time in
the bottle with no refrigeration.

Both of these you can store in an airtight container, like a small Tupperware or a baby food jar. For a longer shelf life store them in the refrigerator if you want. They can last from 30 to up to 60 days.

Some people will use egg whites for gumpaste flowers as a glue. But if you are not comfortable with raw egg whites, just know you have other options.

Hope this helps!

Until next blog..ta ta!

Edna :)

Ideas for Stargazer Lilies

Hope you had a great New Year day! As I promised, here are some photos 

of Stargazer Lilies on some cakes that I have done through the years. 

This first photo shows what a typical Stargazer Lily looks like. But some 

brides like to bring the colors of their weddings in the color of the flowers

 that they want on the cake.

The first time I ever attempted to do a Stargazer Lily, the Bride

wanted to have it in a purple tone. I thought it might be different

and pretty, plus I was so ready to try one of these flowers.

If you notice, the center was not done right. I was studying a

photo and confused a natural coloration on the flower, for what

I thought it was part of the flower. But I did learn from this.

Still, I fell in love with the flower.

 The brides loved the look of the cake and it was sold constantly.

Stargazer Lilies in fantasy colors can be just as beautiful as the real ones.

Finally, one day, a bride decided she wanted a navy blue

Stargazer Lily. Imagine how difficult the task was. If I do the whole 

flower in navy blue, I would loose all the beautiful details of the flower. 

Plus, it would not look as delicate. Keep in mind, this is a big flower!

So finally, I decided to do the flower in white, add some blue petal dust, 

and then do the dots in blue. The final result was a lot better than I expected.

Here is another style. Airbrushed colors. 

And here is one done in Christmas season. In this cake I used pre-bought

stargazer lilies.

 So here you have it, a few cakes done with stargazer lilies. Some

in the same style but with different colors of the same type of  flower. 

There are so many designs where you can use Stargazer Lilies on cakes.

The flower is pretty easy to learn and a great way to get started 

learning gumpaste flowers. 

Until the next post...ta ta!

Edna :)