Luster Dust/fondant

Decorating By Peachez Updated 9 Feb 2005 , 3:59pm by Peachez

Peachez Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Peachez Posted 6 Feb 2005 , 12:14am
post #1 of 5

Hello All!
I'm kinda new here and all of the suggestions/ information on this site has been amazing thumbs_up.gif . My hope is that some of the aficionados here will be able to shed some light on my "situation". I'm in the process of making a fontant bow for a birthday cake that I'm working on. I'm so excited to use some luster dust that I just got! Only problem is that I don't know if I'm supposed to brush it on the fondant when its freshly rolled out or wait until it has some time to dry. Am I supposed to mix the luster dust with something to make it stick? Also, when using fondant molds, should I leave the fondant in the mold to set up or take it out right away? Any suggestions would be very helpful.

Thank you in advance!

4 replies
Ladycake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Ladycake Posted 6 Feb 2005 , 12:41am
post #2 of 5

You need to let the fondant dry..... Then your going to dump a bit out on to a paper plate or something your going to take either Vodka or Vanilla dip your brush in it a bit dont soaking and then in to the dust and then paint it on .. Depending on the kinda dust you have you may be able to also dry brush it depending on what you want it to look like. Hope that helps you ..

mommykicksbutt Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
mommykicksbutt Posted 6 Feb 2005 , 2:29am
post #3 of 5

Peachez,

I've had my best success doing bows and flowers that are made with fondant dusting them with luster or petal dusts while still a little soft. I use a very soft, appropriate sized, artists (paint) brush. I use the vodka and dust mix only when I want a very heavy "painted" look. I find brushing the dust on dry onto still soft fondant gives a much more natural look and I can graduate different colors and blend them easily. You can also try using a sponge daubber (like what is used for stenciling crafts). If you have found that the fondant has already started to dry out you can still brush luster dust on dry, it just wont stick as well, mixing it with a liquid will give you that "I just opened up a box of my kid's water colors and painted this on" look. Experiment first if in doubt!

My cake, "time out for tea", under the 3-D cakes (a dragon having tea with a knight), uses both the wet and dry methods of applying luster dust. The knight and the gold coins I "painted" the luster dust + vodka mix on the figurines. The dragon I used the dry method of daubing and brushing the dusts on and was able to graduate the colors on his scales, you can't do that with the wet stuff. icon_biggrin.gif

Good luck!

SquirrellyCakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
SquirrellyCakes Posted 7 Feb 2005 , 5:40am
post #4 of 5

In addition to the wonderful advice you got, I just wanted to add this. If you want more of a paint to work with, you are best off using the oil based flavourings like you flavour candy with, than using the alcohol based vanilla, or vodka or another type of alcohol. This will mix like a paint so if you want to do a design on your bow for instance, or paint flowers or vines or swirls, this works well. However if you want more of a wash, the vodka or vanilla works well. You can also dip a never been used, washed and dried makeup - blush brush in a dish that you have placed lustre dusts in. You can then either blow it on wearing a disposable mask to avoid germs contaminating your work, or you can just brush on directly. Of course you can use a decorator's brush or an artist brush, again new and washed and dried.
Personally I use it both on air-dried fondant or fresh fondant, but normally like to dry pieces for about 4 hours first. Sometimes I do a combination of both a wet brush and then later on a dry brush. Or you may want to do a few coats. It all depends on the look you are going for and what your preferences are. You may also want to follow with a pearl dust afterwards.
I would take a couple of scrap pieces of fondant to experiment with, both fresh and air dried to see what you think, rather than take a chance on your finished work.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Peachez Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Peachez Posted 9 Feb 2005 , 3:59pm
post #5 of 5

Thank you so much for your replies! I'm going to do a little experimenting as was suggested, this weekend. This site is great!

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%