Last night i finished my red and pink and white ruffle flower cake. I always brush my flowers with left over gum paste water to make them shiney and stand out.it looked perfect last night. I got up this morning to prepare it for delerivery and they are dry. What happened? This has always worked in the past. The cake is due by ten oclock. Should i brush them again? I dont want it to be sticky and im worried the red will run onto the white cake. How to i keep them shiney? What do you use to brush them with to keep the shiney look??????

What about pearl dust?

I have some but i have never used it. I came in a kit .thank you ill try that next time

I use it w clear vanilla extract and mix it w the dust. Another thing you can try is using a paint brush and applying vodka on your gumpaste piece. I used the vodka on fondant and it stayed shiny for a long time. Plus the alcohol evaporates.

This is a good question and one I've had myself. I've done the vodka over the flowers, cake etc, and it is shiny...until the alcohol evaporates, then it goes back to a "matted" finish. It never holds it's shine. Also have done the alcohol mixed with luster dusts, but once again once the alcohol dries it's back to the "matte" finish...but because of the luster dust, it does have a bit of a "sparkle".

I have heard of people steaming their decorations to give them a shine, but that's nothing I have any experience with.

Wow! Really? The vodka hasn t failed me yet! Yes I heard about the steaming but I can t afford a steamer right now.

I mix vodka with corn syrup - it dries shiny and not sticky.

I m curious to try that! Vodka and corn syrup. I ll try it!

For flowers to stay shiny, you must use edible glaze diluted with alcohol to the right shininess. It dries shiny.

You could also mix piping gel with alcohol for a homemade version.

thank you for the advice.im gonna try some of these ideas on a practice cake. i ended up just leaving them matte finish.i guess it didnt look to bad the ladies seem to like it anyways.

Cool! I m glad they liked it.

You can steam your flowers, prior to putting them on the cake, just by having a pan of simmering water on your stovetop. Hold the flowers in the steam, swirling back and forth, until you get the shine you desire. Don't hold too close to the water, as you don't want droplets forming on the sugarpaste.

This will help set any dusts you've used and give them a bit of shine. And no special equipment required.