Fondant Or Gumpaste -- How Do You Decide?
Decorating By tobycat Updated 9 Jun 2007 , 2:26pm by Wendoger
I've used both fondant and gumpaste, for accents and the like, but how do you know which one to use for your project?
I just saw a cake on the home page that had a gumpaste figure that was pretty prominent on the cake design. As no one would eat gumpaste, I'm just curious if there's a time and place when gumpaste is better than fondant.
I do know that for structural reasons, gumpaste might be better for taller things, and fondant only covers a cake, so I'm not talking about these situations. But for accents that people might actually like to eat -- how do you decide.
TIA -- S.
For something soft that you want to be able to cut and serve along with the cake, diamonds on the side, pearls on the side or as borders, fondant.
For something strong that you want to save as a keepsake or have stand erect on a cake a bow, a flower, a plaque, gumpaste.
S. I have wondered about this too. I try not to put too much on my cake that can't directly be eaten (I know gumpaste is edible and safe, just a bit on the crunchy side for me!!!). I think they just scrape it all off! Many places take a cake aside to serve it and I think they might even just go around and cut the sides of the icing off thinly (if you know what I mean) and remove everything. 
I have seen many cakes decorated all over with those diamonte (sp?) things, but not the edible ones, the real jewels. I think they have to stand there and pick them all off, or just cut/scrape off the icing.
You are speaking of cakes like Sylvia Weinstock makes with hundreds of flowers on them? I'll bet the people who cut those for serving swear every time they have to cut one. My guess is, to be classy they remove each flower and probably each served piece of cake gets a flower alongside the slice. Unless the bride has specifically asked that the flowers be saved. And if you have ever seen her on television when the cakes have been set up and she adds the finishing touches of flowers, they are all on wire and stuck directly into the cakes.
Even 50/50 flowers are going to get a bit firm, they can't be rolled as thin as pure gumpaste, so the flowers don't look as natural or fragile as gumpaste and they don't taste that good because the gumpaste has Tylose powder in it and that stuff is just yucky. It is bitter and when it gets in your mouth it turns to glue, awful stuff. But I would never work without it in gumpaste, you need that help in drying the fragile flowers so they look as close to the real thing as possible.
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