Alright - I am making my daughter's birthday cake, which isn't for another two weeks. I am going to ice the cake with buttercream icing and would like to use a gum paste bow and gum paste accents. I practiced making the accents tonight and am wondering, if they turn out well, if I can store them for a couple of weeks before using them. If so, what is the best means of storage?

Also, when placing the gum paste accents on the buttercream icing, what is the best method to ensure they will be secure and will not slip? Does buttercream icing soften the gum paste?

Thank you so much, in advance, to anyone who can offer their expertise! It is soooooooooo appreciated!

Shanna

You can make them now and use for a cake later, as long as you store them away from humidity.

Buttercream will act as the glue to hold the gumpaste items on your cake.

Store the gumpaste in a cardboard box, which helps to absorb the humidity. Humidity after all, is gumpaste's worst enemy (besides ants and cockroaches that is)! If you live in a very humid climate, store the box in a wooden cupboard with some DampRid.

you can use a dolup of frosting, corn syrup, or piping gel as a glue for your accents if it does not hold on to the cake itself.

I have not worked with gumpaste in this fashion, but when I want to keep something dry I make sure I place it in a airtight container that is square and I put a sugar cube in eash corners of the container. The humidity tends to go to the corners and it you have sugar cubes in the corners, they will absord the humity and eventually crumble. Then you change the cubes outs.

On the oposite end of the sprectrum, if you have cookies that are rock hard, you place them in a round air tight container. The humidity has nowhere else to go but back into the cookies.

HTH

Good Luck.

Also, an awesome advice given to me by Superstar is to throw some silica gel packets in the container you keep the gumpaste decorations.

Thank you all so much for your replies! You've all given me such great advice. I'm going to print out this thread and file it away in my "cake folder" for future reference.

Thanks again!

Shanna