I'm glad I found this forum!

My daughter and son-in-law are planning on making their own wedding cake, and she and I have been saving some photo ideas on Pinterest.  

We've decided on fondant covering rather than buttercream, and I have ordered a couple of lace molds to experiment with for decorations.  

The vegetarian fondant recipes I've found substitute agar for the gelatin and Crisco for the butter, but I need advice on what to add to the fondant to make the decorations dry more quickly - specifically something for the lace molds and making flowers, because I need to make multiples rather quickly.  

Can I add some kind of gum like guar gum powder to make the decorations hold together and dry more quickly?  We are planning to make some relatively large roses and the molded lace.

Thanks for your help and advice!

 I use 2tsp Tylose per pound of fondant. Because I always have fondant on hand I knead in tne Tylose. I use MFF so I'm not sure how the Tylose will work with your fondant, try it out and see how it works. You can add more Tylose or less to suit your needs. I have made large peonies, flower buds, leaves, plaques with this gumpaste. It dries well. HTH.

Also let the gumpaste set overnight. 

Thanks!  Can I use the  guar gum instead of Tylose?  Tylose is a type of gum correct?  I have some guar gum from some gluten free baking we have done.  Would I use that in the same ratio?

Flowers are time consuming, the buds/petals have to dry, so give yourself  extra time, in my experience it takes more time than you think. Think mass production, make all your buds, while those are drying cut out all your petals, I keep the petals on a flexible cutting board inside a gallon size ziplock bag, so they don't dry out while I'm thinning out the petals. Try to get apple trays from the produce dept. at a local grocery, they throw these out, it's a money saver. I also use spoons to dry the petals. 

When I'm short on time I dry my pieces in the oven with the oven light on. You can place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure the oven remains off., I put a note on the outside so no one turns on the oven accidentally. The heat from the light bulb is enough to dry them. 

As as for the lace molds, I use fondant, and they pop out nicely. Remember if you are making these ahead of time and they are going on the sides of the cake, to place them on a curved surface to dry. A cake dummy or the side of the cake pan you used is good for this.  Just place on parchment paper attached to the outside of pan with a little shortening.

 I'm just a hobby baker/ decorater so if anything is not clear please  let me know. There are a lot of amazing  professionals on here who are always very helpful. 

Yes the same ratio. 

Thanks so much!  We're going to make a practice cake as soon as I get the lace molds I ordered :)

I have been reading up on the guar gum, I don't think you can use that. I thought it was the same as gum tragacanth which you can use to make gum paste. Don't know if that's GF.

Sorry meant vegetarian not GF

This is from Crafsty the recipe is by 

Emily Lael Aumiller, founder and owner of Lael Cakes, I have not used it but thought it could be useful to you.

Vegan sugar paste recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound organic powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon and ½ teaspoon gum tragacanth (obtained from the sap of middle eastern root)
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup cold water
• 1 ½ teaspoon agar agar
• 1 tablespoon palm shortening
• 3 tablespoons glucose

Step 1:

Combine sugar and gum tragacanth in a large mixer bowl.

Step 2:

Soften agar agar in the cold water in a heatproof glass container.

Allow this to stand for 5-15 minutes. Melt palm shortening and cool a bit. To dissolve agar agar, place glass container with agar agar water mixture in hot water. Stir slightly until mixture becomes clear. It starts out looking like frosted glass and gradually melts to clear. This takes about 1 ½ minutes. Be careful not to overheat. Remove container from water; stir in agar agar and palm shortening.

Step 3:

Combine powdered sugar and gum tragacanth in a large mixing bowl. Add liquid mixture. Mix to combine. At first the mixture will be very soft, beat on medium speed about 5 minutes. The mixture will stiffen up. A plastic scraper helps remove the sticky mixture. The mixture will look like a big marshmallow. If you have used the full amount of water, the mixture will be soft, and likewise the mixture will be firmer with the minimum water added.

Step 4:

Place on a greased surface and knead until the sugar paste comes together. Store in an airtight container.

Seems some of the measurements did not post  correctly so I am reposting the ingredient list only. Hopefully this works

Vegan sugar paste recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound organic powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon and ½ teaspoon gum tragacanth (obtained from the sap of middle eastern root)
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup cold water
• 1 ½ teaspoon agar agar
• 1 tablespoon palm shortening
• 3 tablespoons glucose

Scott Clark Woolley's Gum Paste Recipe - Cakes by Design

www.cakesbydesign.cc/GumPasteRecipe.html

Second recipe is vegetarian. 

Did you end up using the Gum Gar with your MMF?  If so did it work? I'm kind of in the same boat right now.  I made some decorating pieces yesterday and they are still not solid. 

Hi all,

Thanks for your advice, and no we have not tried the Guar Gum yet.  We will be doing "experimenting" mid to late August and will let you know how it all goes!

@sindymom

What  recipe  did you use.? Guar gum cannot be used.

When I'm pressed for time I dry my pieces in the oven, with the oven light on. The heat from the bulb is all the heat you need to dry the pieces. Hth

If you are interested in buying vegetarian fondant, the only one I have ever used is Fondarific. I love working with it and it tastes really good, although it's not vegan, it has dairy. Here are the Fondant ingredients:

Ingredients: Sugar ( sugar cornstarch), partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, non-fat dry milk, soy lecithin (emulsifier), artificial flavor, cane sugar, cornstarch,glucose fructose, water, salt, vanilla, butter flavor, Carboxymethyl cellulose, Gum Arabic, vegetable glycerin.  Containers Soy and milk products.

I definitely recommend Scott Clark Woolley's GP recipe, he is vegan too!!!!! Yay!