Which Is The Best Icing To Use For This?????

Decorating By w8kko Updated 22 Jun 2008 , 10:04pm by Malakin

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w8kko Posted 22 Jun 2008 , 11:04am
post #1 of 10

Hello all,

I am a new to cake making, but I am already totaly hooked! I have been asked by my sister to do a birthday cake for my niece, she is wanting icing figures on top of the cake (toppers), one of the characters will be standing up, so what I need to know is, which is the best icing to use for this? ie: fondant, Royal, also what is gumpaste and sugarpaste? I have seen alot on here about it but I don't quite know what it is best used for, I think I am going to have a go at making my own, so any good tips will be greatly accepted.

9 replies
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doublecz1103 Posted 22 Jun 2008 , 11:38am
post #2 of 10

by icing figures do u mean like using the technic of figure piping??

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debster Posted 22 Jun 2008 , 11:40am
post #3 of 10

You can pipe animals and clowns with buttercream. You didn't say exactly what your doing. Fondant is a sugar clay type of stuff , recipes on here. Also royal has egg white or meranque powder and dries to a HARD finish like candy. Hope this helps some. What type of figures are you doing?

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gottabakenow Posted 22 Jun 2008 , 11:40am
post #4 of 10

welcome to CC!

fondant and sugarpaste are the same thing. it's a sweet, edible dough used for covering cakes, decorations, things like that.

gumpaste is also technically edible, i guess, but usually people don't eat it. it dries stiffer than fondant so it's used to model figures, etc.

royal icing is an icing that can be used to decorate cookies, do detailed piping, etc.

for making a figure, you can mix gumpaste and fondant 50/50 and model it out of that.

HTH

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regymusic Posted 22 Jun 2008 , 11:44am
post #5 of 10

Typically gumpaste is used for figures. It has a hardening agent in it "some form of gum" that makes it moldable. Royal icing is used more for piping, fondant for covering cakes. HTH

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w8kko Posted 22 Jun 2008 , 12:11pm
post #6 of 10

Hi thanks for your replys, by figures I mean molded ones, like the ones you would make with clay, (if that makes sense). 2 of the figures will be sat down and 1 stood up. the characters I will be doing are from The Midnight Garden, Upsy Daisy, Macca Pacca, & Iggle Piggle. I hope that explains it a bit better.

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gottabakenow Posted 22 Jun 2008 , 12:13pm
post #7 of 10

yes, that's what I'm talking about. you can use a mixture of gumpaste and fondant for that. i've never actually done it, maybe you can use only gumpaste...? not sure.

good luck, can't wait to see pics! icon_smile.gif

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debster Posted 22 Jun 2008 , 12:50pm
post #8 of 10

Yep 50/50 fondant and gumpaste. I like both from Toba Garett , they are listed in the recipe section here. Have fun and do post.

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Juds2323 Posted 22 Jun 2008 , 6:36pm
post #9 of 10

You want to make sure you do these well in advance so they can dry. Also, you may want either pick up a clay book or something for ideas about proportions. Aine2 from cc has great tutorials for people. I just did one adapting her to what I wanted to look like so she would come out proportionate.

Judi

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Malakin Posted 22 Jun 2008 , 10:04pm
post #10 of 10

In my pics, I did the donkey, frog prince, and ducky out of 50/50, 50% fondant and 50% gumpaste. If you are new and want to save time, Wilton premade gumpaste is a good item to start with. Gumpaste is very light and fine when dry, but breaks easier. Fondant stays too soft and the forms don't hold very well and droop after time. I would give some of the bigger peices at least 48 to 72 hours to dry completely before planning to use and turn them occasionally.

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