I made a batch of gum paste from Nicholas Lodge's recipe. I went to make some flowers (following him in one of his DVD's, so I was definitely working fast enough). And all of the edges of my flowers were cracked and dry looking. I did cut in some shortening. I had it sit overnight in the fridge. The next day, I colored some but forgot to put that small amount back in the fridge for 18 or so hours. Do you think that is the cause? I have ton left and even bought 3 bottles of tylose because I was assuming it would have to be better than the Wilton stuff I was using. According to the rave reviews the recipe got, I am assuming it is something I did. Any thoughts????? Thanks!!!

Did you knead it well? You can knead in some water if you have to as well. It sounds like there was too much powdered sugar or it wasn't kneaded enough. I leave mine out all the time and never have this issue.

It is possible that you may have added too much sugar when making the gumpaste....or....when you cut the petals out, do not cut too many at one time, and keep unused petals covered at all times. If I am doing a rose for example, I would cut no more than 5 petals at a time, place four under an overturned glass, and balltool the fifth petal. The air will dry the petals quickly, so get to know your speed, so you can work with it.
Its the best recipe for gumpaste that you will ever find, so it just takes a little practice to know how much sugar is enough, and how much 'working time' you have with your gumpaste....
happy flower-making....
Angie

I didn't even think of that. Did you have them covered at all? If not that was definitely the problem. It dries REALLY fast and once that skin forms there's no going back. I cut out the petals and put a piece of plastic wrap over them to keep the ones I am not working on from drying out.

Leaving it out of the fridge won't cause any problems really, it just lengthens the life of the gumpaste. It sounds way to dry to me.. go over the recipe in your head again and make sure you followed the amounts correctly. For this batch, try kneading in some egg white and see if that helps. I use his recipe all the time, and it should never be that dry. Perhaps you didn't knead it enough the first time... I am just trying to think of possibilities... don't give up though.. his recipe is the best...

I did have the petals covered. No more than 4 at a time. It doesnt feel or look dry when I roll it out. It could be a possibility that I didnt knead it enough the first time. Cant remember how long I did it for. How long should I have kneaded it for? I used exactly the amount the recipe called for.... 1 2lb bag. You dont think this batch is a waste do you? You mentioned egg white kneaded in. Should I try this or more shortening? Thanks for the responses!

What is the texture right now? Is it crumbly? Is it hard, or nice and pliable?

i would knead a little longer and add dab of water sounds dry to me.i dont know about egg white.

What are you rolling it out on? Cornstarch, powdered sugar, or shortening?

Theresa

Sometimes you have to not add all of the powdered sugar.. the royal icing you start with should be soft and a bit loose and not really stiff. Sometimes if I add too much powdered sugar I'll add some extra eggwhites or some water to get it looser. I bet you added too much powdered sugar.. put some crisco on your hands and knead in some water in small batches or as you need it. That should make it work just fine.

thanks for the tips. It seems pliable now. Definitely not crumbly. I do roll it out in cornstarch though. Should I not do this?

I roll my pastes on shortening, then cut them on cornstarch. Then I use a very soft sable brush to remove the excess cornstarch from the back and edges before forming the petal.

Theresa

The corn starch could be part of the problem. I use shortening to roll it out. Do you have a CelBoard (or other non-stick board) to roll it out on? I really don't need much of anything to roll it out and have it not stick.. it doesn't stick to the board. Then I leave them on the board and cover it with plastic wrap and it seals it like a vaccum because it sticks to the light film of shortening. I don't like usinf cornstarch or powdered sugar to roll out gumpaste.. it dries out so fast and I don't want anything to expedite that process.

Also.. if the petals don't want to come off easy (and when I say that it's not that they stick) I use my craft knife/exacto knife to lift up a side and peel it off.

First: Sorry for my bad english....!
I posted the recipe of the gumpaste from Rosemary Watson - I love the recipe!
It works very well, is very pliable and dries not too fast!
I took daffodils, roses and leaves out of this paste and all are very good!

Gumpaste recipe:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-7006-0-Rosemary-Watsons-Gumpaste.html

pippilotta -

First let me say that it is nice to see a member come out of hiding and start posting, so welcome to this side of the forums.

Second, please do not feel that you must apologize for your written English. I see that you are in Germany. We welcome everyone here, from all over Earth, and accept that there may be some communications breakdowns.

Personally, I speak 5 foreign languages, and I am very flattered to read that so many people in the world value the English language to learn and use it.

So, please let me conclude by saying to you

Willkommen und wir sind glücklich, Sie hier zu sehen.

Theresa

Thanks Theresa

thank you all for your feedback. Id like to report I gave the paste a REALLY good kneading with extra shortening and it is amazing!! Thank you so much!

I recently had a problem with making this recipe (I've used it lots of times before & was fine), however I think mine didn't turn out because my egg whites were rather small. That could be the problem...eggs are so expensive and seem to be getting smaller and smaller.