What is gum paste? It's a sugary dough which has one special ingredient mixed in, gum tragacanth. This important ingredient constructs the stretchy, elastic, and flexible paste which resembles a gum. You can roll the gum paste into different shapes, sizes, and dimensions. It can be as thick or as thin as you like to prepare real-life replicas of petals and flowers. Another plus point of gum paste is that it hardens really quickly and can be stored for longer period of time. These simple recipes are basically used to decorate cakes and give them unique appearances.
Homemade Recipes for Gum Paste
Why spend extra money in store-bought gum paste? Make gorgeous, sugary gum paste from the comforts of your home and take all the credit for yourself! Here are few of the best gum paste recipes you'd like to try the next time you're decorating a cake.
Recipe with Gum Tragacanth
Ingredients
- 1 large egg white
- Two cup confectioner's sugar
- cup corn flour
- 2 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
- 2 teaspoon glucose
- 3 teaspoon shortening
- 3 teaspoon gum tragacanth
- 5 teaspoon cold water
In an electric blender, mix in corn flour and confectioner's sugar. Blend it properly and slowly add the gum tragacanth in it. Take a bowl and place it on top of a pan with boiling water. On top of the double boiler, add water and gelatin, and allow the mixture to turn soft for about 4-5 minutes. Keep the double boiler simmering, add glucose and shortening in the gelatin mix. Stir everything properly till the shortening has melted properly. Now bring the gelatin mix and egg white to pour in the confectioner's sugar mixture. Blend the ingredients on low speed till you get them combined properly. Turn the speed to high for about 10 minutes or till you get a stringy dough mix. Keep the paste in refrigerator for about 24 hours to let it rest. The next day, bring the paste out and let it return to room temperature. Take some shortening in your fingertips and knead the dough once again.
Recipe with Tylose
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites
- 4 teaspoons shortening
- 12 teaspoons Tylose
- 2 lb bag of 10X powdered sugar
Tylose is a substitute product of gum tragacanth which can be used for making gum paste. It's less expensive, easy to make, comes white in color, and holds better in high humidity. To make the paste with Tylose, take a blender and add the egg white in. Break the egg whites by turning the blender on for about 10 seconds. Keep cup of sugar aside and slowly add the rest of it in the blender. At this moment, reduce the speed of the blender to one and make a soft, smooth icing. Once you get this consistency, turn the blender to two and measure out Tylose in a bowl. Add it slowly to the blender when the icing looks shiny and smooth. For the next few seconds, turn the speed back up and blend properly. Stop the blender and scrap everything off the sides and bottom. The sugar that we set aside goes on the surface of your workstation. Place the mixture on top of the sugar, take the shortening in your hands, and start kneading the paste. You need to make a soft and not sticky dough. Pinch with your fingers to check the consistency. If the dough comes off and doesn't stick to you, then it's ready. Bring couple of plastic bags and double pack the gum paste in it. Keep the paste in refrigerator for about 24 hours to let it rest. The next day, bring the paste out and let it return to room temperature. Take some shortening in your fingertips and knead the dough once again.
Always store your finished gum paste in Ziploc plastic bags with good seal and inside the refrigerator. If you follow the correct directions, you can preserve and reuse the paste for approximately 6 months. You can also keep it in the freezer after it has been left in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Once in the freezer, you can use the paste for about 2-3 years without any issues. Always use paste food coloring to tint the gum paste. A small amount can be applied with the help of a Q-tip or toothpick.
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