Hello All!

I've been coming to this site for a lot of help, but I finally signed up today. I figured I may as well, since I am on the site all the time!  lol

So, I took on the crazy task of making 4... yes 4 cakes for this weekend.  I'm still new to cake making and they are all very simple cakes, but 4.  haha  This only proves how crazy I am.  :)

My problem is this, I use marshmallow fondant, only because that's what I learned how to use first.  That and Tylose powder is found nowhere near me.  I'm planning on ordering some, but it won't be here in time for these.  I found out the hard way, that making decorations is almost impossible with MMF.  So after some reading, I found that I can use gumpaste.  Being that I never made it before, I figured I would start making my pieces today, to give them time to dry by Friday and Saturday.

I made the gumpaste last night, by using Wilton Gum-tex and followed the directions on the back.  I didn't have glucose, but read that you can use corn syrup in place of it.  I sealed it tight in a ziploc bag, no air in there and sat it on the counter.  Everything was great until..... I woke up this morning and sat down to start sculpting.  My gumpaste was a brick.  I could pull off pieces, but it would just break.  I read you could microwave it 5 seconds at a time, until soft.  I did a total of 10 and it was almost there.  After 5 more seconds, it crumbled.  O_o  Now I am left with a crumbled mess.

Where did I go wrong?  Can I revive it?  Or should I just mix MMF with gum-tex and use that?  I have now wasted a day.... tomorrow I will baking 11 cakes, so I won't have much time to sculpt tomorrow.  But, if I have to make gumpaste again, I guess I have no other choice. 

Thanks!

Lor

What's your recipe?

You may find that if you keep at it, it will eventually knead into something usable.  If necessary, you might add just the teeniest amount of corn syrup and see if that helps - or even water. Teeny, teeny bit.

A couple of things:

In my experience you'll be much happier in the future with the tylose fondant style "gumpaste".

And Wilton does sell a premade gumpaste - it's in a bag, I believe, not a tub or can like you might expect.

If you are going to be using recipes that call for glucose in the future, get some, as glucose and corn syrup are not really interchangeable.

AI used the recipe on the gum-tex can. That stuff is stinky! I'm going to be getting tylose powder, since it seems I will be making more cakes. Plus, my boyfriend said that we can start making cakes more often, just for practice. I'm a cupcake baker, so this is all new to me. I'm used to just using frosting and toppings. lol. I've now made 4 cakes and I know it will take practice..... but it's frustrating.

If you need something in a hurry, I would purchase the Wilton (ready made) gumpaste.  I use that a lot because it is readily available.  Usually mix it with some marshmallow fondant which gives me more time to work with it before it dries.