| Your Most Asked Fondant/Gumpaste Questions |
I receive many questions and there are certain questions that I get asked all the time,
so I thought I would address some of the most asked questions that I receive and
hopefully this will help you when creating figurines and cakes with fondant and or
gumpaste.
1.What is Fondant?
Fondant is a sugary substance and when cooked certain ways can take on many different forms such as a
dough that is rolled, a operable form, and even candy centers. Those awesome little chocolates with a
creme center that come in those pretty valentine heart boxes is one form of fondant. The gooey juice that
gushes out of the middle of a chocolate covered cherry that most of us love to eat is yet another form of
fondant in addition fondant is used as a traditional topping on French petits fours and then finally one of the
most popular forms is called rolled fondant and is the smooth silky covering that is seen on many of the
wedding and specialty cakes that have become very popular over the past several years. Fondant, as you
can see, is used in many of the sweets we have grown to love.
2. How do I attach fondant pieces to fondant, such as when making a figurine how should I attach things to
the body?
When attaching any fondant pieces including when making figurines I use just plain water and I apply with a
clean paintbrush. If you prefer you can also use Gum Glue which is very simple to make at home.
3. How do I attach fondant to my cake board?
Piping Gel is a great way to attach fondant to your cake board. Piping gel is a multi-purpose transparent gel
that adds shimmering accents, colorful highlights, and sparkle to cakes. It can also be used for applying
decorations to fondant cakes and holding the fondant secure to the sides of a cake. I use Piping Gel to write
on my cakes for a different look, the great thing is that it can be colored just like regular icing. You can find
piping gel at many different cake supply stores locally and online. I usually purchase piping gel at
www.fondantsource.com if you are interested in giving it a try. You can also use Royal Icing to attach
fondant to fondant and I also use it to attach sugar roses to my cakes.
4. Why do I get soo many cracks on my Gumpaste?
Gumpaste is made with gum ingredients as well as others to get it to dry quicker and harder and this can
cause cracks in your pieces. Another reason for cracks can be caused from not kneading your paste enough
especially when you purchase it pre-made, it needs to go through the process of kneading to get it to a
pliable state. It does help somewhat if you use shortening when you are working with gumpaste to keep it
pliable. When creating figurines with fondant or gumpaste you really need to roll the paste in your cupped
hands with some pressure and this will help work out some of the cracks. If you having alot of cracks in your
pieces you can mix equal amounts of fondant and gumpaste together and this seems to give you a much
better consistency for working with figurines, bows and other objects than just gumpaste.
5. What is the difference in Gumpaste and Fondant?
Gumpaste has gum ingredients in it such as gum tragacanth, gum tex or tylose powder. It dries much harder
than fondant does. Both gum paste and fondant can be molded, rolled, and sculpted but fondant taste much
better than gum paste does and is not usually used to cover a cake. Because of the gum pastes ability to be
rolled very thin it is widely used to create sugar flowers. Fondant is used to create borders and different
designs on cakes. If you need to create something for a cake that will retain its shape it may be best to use a
form of gumpaste instead of just fondant which is much softer.
6. What is Tylose Powder used for?
Tylose Powder is gum ingredient that is used in making gumpaste. I use tylose powder on a regular basis. I
use the tylose powder and add it to my fondant to create a sort of instant gumpaste I guess you could say. I
do not really measure how much tylose powder that I put into my fondant, so I will give you an example of
what I do. If I am creating a figurine, I use Wilton or satin ice fondant. I start will the ball size of fondant that I
will be needing to create my figurine then I add a small amount of tylose to the paste. Once I start kneading
the fondant I can tell if I used enough tylose powder, If I did not I will add a little at a time till I get the
consistency that I am looking for. There have been times that I have added way too much it can make the
paste too dry, so in that case I just add a little more fondant. To make a quick version of gumpaste just add
2-3 teaspoons of Tylose powder to 1lb of fondant. In areas with dry humidity use less Tylose, in areas with
high humidity use more.
7. Where can I purchase Tylose Powder?
I purchase tylose powder online, it is available at most of the cake decorating supply stores as well as
online. Here is a link to a site that I purchase it here Fondant Source.com
8. How should I store my unused fondant or gumpaste?
Any unused portion of fondant/gumpaste that you would like to save should be wrapped very well in saran
wrap and then placed inside of a ziplock baggie. If you just use a ziplock baggie only the air will still get to it
and dry it out.
9. How do I store my sugar flowers and how long will they last?
Sugar flowers should be stored in an air tight container. I use a plastic container with a lid and store them on
a shelf in my pantry closet. You can keep sugar flowers indefinitely, I have sugar flowers that I have had for
over a year and they look like I just created them. Since sugar flowers do not do well with moisture keep
them away from water
10. Is there anything I can do if my fondant has hardened up?
Yes there is. If the fondant is not too hard just try adding some shortening to the paste and see if that will
take care of it, if not then use some glycerin but only add a little bit at a time until it becomes pliable.
11. Can I store my fondant after it has been tinted or colored, and then re-use again at a later date?
Yes, you would store it the same way that I described in question #5 above.
12. Can I use Fondant to make figurines, and other objects?
You can, however things made with fondant seem to want to stay soft or they sag alot, this is another reason
I add the tylose powder it strengthens the fondant.
13. What should I use to keep my fondant from sticking to my work surface when rolling out?
This is one of those questions that can have many answers. I will share with you what works best for me
since there are many people who do it different ways.
I was told in the beginning to use corn starch to cover my work surface, however my fondant never seemed
to roll out like others did. It was so dry and I had all kinds of tears and rips. Then I was told to use powder
sugar, and that worked but not every time so I decided to just cover my work surface with shortening, why
not fondant has shortening in it. This seemed to be perfect for my fondant, it did not dry out and rip or
become brittle. So I have done this ever since. Now there are times depending on the weather that it is
better to use the powder sugar to cover my work surface, but I will not use the corn starch, it makes the
fondant too dry and brittle causing rips and many other issues that I do not need.
14. Can I use marshmallow fondant to make figurines?
I have tried this, but it was not a pretty sight, lol my figurines looked like a melting snowman. So I only use
the marshmallow fondant to cover cakes and thats it, really it should only go on cake since it tastes soo
great!!!
Hopefully this helps answer some of your questions, there are soo many variables in dealing with
fondant/gumpaste so it can be tough to answer every different situation. I wish you all the best as you
venture into the awesome world of fondant.
so I thought I would address some of the most asked questions that I receive and
hopefully this will help you when creating figurines and cakes with fondant and or
gumpaste.
1.What is Fondant?
Fondant is a sugary substance and when cooked certain ways can take on many different forms such as a
dough that is rolled, a operable form, and even candy centers. Those awesome little chocolates with a
creme center that come in those pretty valentine heart boxes is one form of fondant. The gooey juice that
gushes out of the middle of a chocolate covered cherry that most of us love to eat is yet another form of
fondant in addition fondant is used as a traditional topping on French petits fours and then finally one of the
most popular forms is called rolled fondant and is the smooth silky covering that is seen on many of the
wedding and specialty cakes that have become very popular over the past several years. Fondant, as you
can see, is used in many of the sweets we have grown to love.
2. How do I attach fondant pieces to fondant, such as when making a figurine how should I attach things to
the body?
When attaching any fondant pieces including when making figurines I use just plain water and I apply with a
clean paintbrush. If you prefer you can also use Gum Glue which is very simple to make at home.
3. How do I attach fondant to my cake board?
Piping Gel is a great way to attach fondant to your cake board. Piping gel is a multi-purpose transparent gel
that adds shimmering accents, colorful highlights, and sparkle to cakes. It can also be used for applying
decorations to fondant cakes and holding the fondant secure to the sides of a cake. I use Piping Gel to write
on my cakes for a different look, the great thing is that it can be colored just like regular icing. You can find
piping gel at many different cake supply stores locally and online. I usually purchase piping gel at
www.fondantsource.com if you are interested in giving it a try. You can also use Royal Icing to attach
fondant to fondant and I also use it to attach sugar roses to my cakes.
4. Why do I get soo many cracks on my Gumpaste?
Gumpaste is made with gum ingredients as well as others to get it to dry quicker and harder and this can
cause cracks in your pieces. Another reason for cracks can be caused from not kneading your paste enough
especially when you purchase it pre-made, it needs to go through the process of kneading to get it to a
pliable state. It does help somewhat if you use shortening when you are working with gumpaste to keep it
pliable. When creating figurines with fondant or gumpaste you really need to roll the paste in your cupped
hands with some pressure and this will help work out some of the cracks. If you having alot of cracks in your
pieces you can mix equal amounts of fondant and gumpaste together and this seems to give you a much
better consistency for working with figurines, bows and other objects than just gumpaste.
5. What is the difference in Gumpaste and Fondant?
Gumpaste has gum ingredients in it such as gum tragacanth, gum tex or tylose powder. It dries much harder
than fondant does. Both gum paste and fondant can be molded, rolled, and sculpted but fondant taste much
better than gum paste does and is not usually used to cover a cake. Because of the gum pastes ability to be
rolled very thin it is widely used to create sugar flowers. Fondant is used to create borders and different
designs on cakes. If you need to create something for a cake that will retain its shape it may be best to use a
form of gumpaste instead of just fondant which is much softer.
6. What is Tylose Powder used for?
Tylose Powder is gum ingredient that is used in making gumpaste. I use tylose powder on a regular basis. I
use the tylose powder and add it to my fondant to create a sort of instant gumpaste I guess you could say. I
do not really measure how much tylose powder that I put into my fondant, so I will give you an example of
what I do. If I am creating a figurine, I use Wilton or satin ice fondant. I start will the ball size of fondant that I
will be needing to create my figurine then I add a small amount of tylose to the paste. Once I start kneading
the fondant I can tell if I used enough tylose powder, If I did not I will add a little at a time till I get the
consistency that I am looking for. There have been times that I have added way too much it can make the
paste too dry, so in that case I just add a little more fondant. To make a quick version of gumpaste just add
2-3 teaspoons of Tylose powder to 1lb of fondant. In areas with dry humidity use less Tylose, in areas with
high humidity use more.
7. Where can I purchase Tylose Powder?
I purchase tylose powder online, it is available at most of the cake decorating supply stores as well as
online. Here is a link to a site that I purchase it here Fondant Source.com
8. How should I store my unused fondant or gumpaste?
Any unused portion of fondant/gumpaste that you would like to save should be wrapped very well in saran
wrap and then placed inside of a ziplock baggie. If you just use a ziplock baggie only the air will still get to it
and dry it out.
9. How do I store my sugar flowers and how long will they last?
Sugar flowers should be stored in an air tight container. I use a plastic container with a lid and store them on
a shelf in my pantry closet. You can keep sugar flowers indefinitely, I have sugar flowers that I have had for
over a year and they look like I just created them. Since sugar flowers do not do well with moisture keep
them away from water
10. Is there anything I can do if my fondant has hardened up?
Yes there is. If the fondant is not too hard just try adding some shortening to the paste and see if that will
take care of it, if not then use some glycerin but only add a little bit at a time until it becomes pliable.
11. Can I store my fondant after it has been tinted or colored, and then re-use again at a later date?
Yes, you would store it the same way that I described in question #5 above.
12. Can I use Fondant to make figurines, and other objects?
You can, however things made with fondant seem to want to stay soft or they sag alot, this is another reason
I add the tylose powder it strengthens the fondant.
13. What should I use to keep my fondant from sticking to my work surface when rolling out?
This is one of those questions that can have many answers. I will share with you what works best for me
since there are many people who do it different ways.
I was told in the beginning to use corn starch to cover my work surface, however my fondant never seemed
to roll out like others did. It was so dry and I had all kinds of tears and rips. Then I was told to use powder
sugar, and that worked but not every time so I decided to just cover my work surface with shortening, why
not fondant has shortening in it. This seemed to be perfect for my fondant, it did not dry out and rip or
become brittle. So I have done this ever since. Now there are times depending on the weather that it is
better to use the powder sugar to cover my work surface, but I will not use the corn starch, it makes the
fondant too dry and brittle causing rips and many other issues that I do not need.
14. Can I use marshmallow fondant to make figurines?
I have tried this, but it was not a pretty sight, lol my figurines looked like a melting snowman. So I only use
the marshmallow fondant to cover cakes and thats it, really it should only go on cake since it tastes soo
great!!!
Hopefully this helps answer some of your questions, there are soo many variables in dealing with
fondant/gumpaste so it can be tough to answer every different situation. I wish you all the best as you
venture into the awesome world of fondant.
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