I'm going to spray the wedding cake with pearl dust and using vodka to mix it with. Are you sure the alcohol in it will evaperate out??? I just a little nervous because these are very religous people and I don't want to do anything against that.
I looked at using a pure extract but I read that it needs to be more than 70% alcohol and the only one I found was like lemon or mint and I don't want that taste in the cake.
Some advice please..
Missy
it'll be fine....the alcohol will evaporate. the wetness that remains for a while is due to the water that is in vodka
(unless alcohol is 200 proof -- ie nothing but alcohol and the closest to that is Everclear at 195 proof -- there is some amount of water in it. the lower the proof number, the more water 70 proof = 35% alcohol, the rest other liquids, mostly water)
i use everclear -- dries very fast (sometimes too fast if trying to blend)
biggest caution on spraying any higher proof alcohol -- NO open flames near the spray or it's blowtorch time! (of course, if trying for a creme brulee cake ....
)
You could also use lemon or vanilla (clear) extract........any of it will evaporate quickly (and like Doug said, sometimes too quick and you have to reconstitute)..........I did two entire tiers with the super gold this past weekend, you can taste the liquid you use because of the evaporation.........good luck and post pics when you are done!
I mix my luster dust with either lemon juice (the fake stuff), which you said you don't want, or cear vanilla extract. My household doesn't drink, so keeping liquor around for the occasional cake is a waste of money for me. Plus, I do worry about any alchohol remnants either in taste or smell.
Mickig 
I mix my with either lemon juice (the fake stuff), which you said you don't want, or cear vanilla extract. My household doesn't drink, so keeping liquor around for the occasional cake is a waste of money for me. Plus, I do worry about any alchohol remnants either in taste or smell.
Mickig
a good quality plain vodka or everclear is tasteless and once evaporated, odorless.
trick I learned when I worked in a pharmacy to pay for college:
rinse freshly washed glassware in everclear -- dries spotless and perfectly clean! tho' that's one pricey way to rinse the dishes (but excellent if doing labware and need it clean w/ NO residue)
As Doug stated, the alcohol all evaporates. I also use Everclear and it leaves no smell and no taste. I was worried about that too so I put some on a small plate and left it out. Pretty soon, it was all gone and no smell or taste left behind.
Great tip Doug..........you crack me up! I can't keep Everclear in the house, or I am afraid I will consume it...........it's great mixed with fruit punch and fresh strawberries and kiwi..............hmmmmm.
i like to use it to make hard lemonade! -- so this summer drinking tea.
'Scuse me for being dumb
but if vodka is tasteless then what's the point in drinking it???Mickig
It's tasteless but there is a bite to it from the alcohol. It's used for mixed drinks because it doesn't have a flavor so it works well with many cocktails. You can tell there's alchocol in the drinks made with it but it doesn't alter the flavor the way say whiskey would.
I want the hard lemonade recipe Doug. 
I keep everclear just for cakes but wouldn't mind another use for it (when I had my husband pick it up the first time he thought I had some drink I wanted to make). 
Also if you don't have a problem keeping alcohol in the house for use with cakes it is worth it. Just buy a smaller bottle and keep it in your cake supplies, I've had the same bottle of everclear for almost two years and I don't share it, my brother came to visit and I told him what we had in the house and told him that the everclear was off limits.
'Scuse me for being dumb
but if vodka is tasteless then what's the point in drinking it???Mickig
it may be tasteless, but it still packs a punch.
it's the effect most people are after.
and most drink it mixed into other things --
for example -- mixed w/ fruit juices it doesn't change the taste, just adds some zing.
I was using some pearl dust and I didn't have anything but cranberry vodka(couldn't tell you how old it is) and Padron (I think it's taquilla) anyways its clear, so I used it and it did a good job once it dried it had almost no smell and no taste. I know I have to get myself some vodka or everclear but the other stuff worked in a pinch.
But my friend uses lemon extract.
C.C.C.
If you keep extracts in your home, then you keep "alcohol" in your home.
In order to make extracts, most things have to be combined/steeped/suspended with alcohol.
Good lemon extract is about 83%+ alcohol (that's 166 proof) and the minimum for vanilla extract is 35% (70 proof). Gin and vodka run about 80-90 proof, or 40-50% alcohol. Listerine mouthwash runs about 50 proof.
If you don't want the flavoring of the extract left behind, then vodka or Everclear are your best bet--no real flavor (like gin or vanilla), no oil (like lemon), and high alcohol content for rapid evaporation.
For painting with dusts, I like lemon extract because the oil helps keep the "paint" from streaking and gives a bit of extra work time. For spraying, no oil is very, very important because it helps keep the airbrush from clogging.
HTH
Rae
Although the alcohol does evaporate I would think it might be a good idea to check with the recipients of this cake if using alcohol would be okay. Some are steadfast in their beliefs and even using it might not be okay with them. Chances are it will be fine however I know some LDS's that will not have anything to do with alcohol in any way, shape or form. Okay, they may be considered extreme by some but it does happen.
I know everyone says that it evaporates but I just can't shake the vision in my head of little children staggering around a birthday party, one passed out cold under the cake table and another trying to hit the pinata from across the room with one eye closed so that he only has one target. So because of this, I use almond
this may be a dumb question - but when you say you are going to spray the luster/pearl dust onto your cake, what are you spraying it with? I have painted onto fondant and stuff but what do you "spray" with? thanks
ccwkg...your response has me rolling with laughter with my eyes tearing up!!!! Too funny, because I can so vividly see that picture in my head!
Okay folks. First there are studies that suggest that cooking or air exsposure do not remove "all" of the alcohol. The essance will still be there and to those who religiously hold the no alcohol rule this will matter. I would not eat a cake which had been painted with vodka. While I may not be able to see, taste, or smell it I would not want to eat it. Before I knew enough to ask about such I would have been upset to find out something I ate was washed in alcohol. It is possible to have a alcohol free home. Medicines and extracts can be alcohol free. As far as vanilla goes you have several options. There are good extracts made with a vegetable glyserine base. Spicery Shoppe, KCJ, and Frontier are a few I have liked. You can purchase vanilla powder. You still will have to check lables. Some powders are made with alcohol based vanilla. My personal option is to keep dried vanilla beans in my baking sugar. I just omit the extract from the recipe. I have heard you can also dilute the essential oil with glyserine but I have not personally used this method.
As far as luster dust...I either use one of the above extracts or I mix the dust with 1 pint of glyserine and 11 oz of distilled water.
If you think to wonder if the alcohol is okay just ask. I don't use alcohol can mean a lot of different things. 
I know everyone says that it evaporates but I just can't shake the vision in my head of little children staggering around a birthday party, one passed out cold under the cake table and another trying to hit the pinata from across the room with one eye closed so that he only has one target. So because of this, I use almond
LOL
hmmm so you took photos of me at the last party I attended?!?!? ---- I swear I was only drinking the punch!
simple test -- once painted on -- is it dry???? if so -- no alcohol -- it evaporates just like water does, just faster -- so once dry -- all gone
now if it's sticky -- could be oils from the extract -- those don't evaporate! (or its yet another high humidity day and everything is sticky!)
hehehe sometimes I wish I could turn some of my cakes into blow torches...lol
jennifer7777, I am glad I could paint you such a wonderful picture to carry around with you.
Doug, only because I trust you, I will try it next time.. But, don't hate me if I hide in a corner just to see what happens. 
And as for the pictures, don't worry, I only have from the legs down. The rest is hidden with the table cloth. No one would even know it's you.
...I've had the same bottle of everclear for almost two years and I don't share it, my brother came to visit and I told him what we had in the house and told him that the everclear was off limits.
That is how it is in my house. The everclear is just for cakes, not for drinking. Not that I have anything against drinking, I just keep alot of other alcohol for that. The everclear works great for airbrushing the dusts and painting.
jennifer7777, I am glad I could paint you such a wonderful picture to carry around with you.
Doug, only because I trust you, I will try it next time.. But, don't hate me if I hide in a corner just to see what happens.
And as for the pictures, don't worry, I only have from the legs down. The rest is hidden with the table cloth. No one would even know it's you.
Boy! I'm glad Doug got that straightened out. I was afraid Carrie Nations was coming back with her ax! My brother told me once that not a drop of alcohol had ever passed over his lips (understandable--our father was an alcoholic who abandoned him as a child). I didn't have the heart to ask him how much vanilla, etc. he had consumed in his life.
So many dishes are cooked with wine and other spirits and people just don't realize it. Trust Doug..........it evaporates.
Diane
I've never had vodka ( I don't drink very often), so I don't have any in the house. Instead, I use the clear, flavored rums I bought on my last cruise. It's great because it's a nice smell to work with when I'm using luster dust, either vanilla, raspberry, mango, pineapple or coconut. I found it works really well.
Not that I have anything against drinking, I just keep alot of other alcohol for that.
Me too, my husband has a habit of bringing home something because he feels like a specific drink and having one or two drinks of it before moving on.
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