Hi guys,

Just checking in to address a few SugarVeil posts. Here are a few tips:

1. To beat SugarVeil, use an electric mixer. By hand really doesn't cut it. Beat four minutes on high speed. The mixture will be very white and glossy. If you are using it over a long period of time, beat it every few hours or so to make sure it remains in this white glossy stage.
2. Consistency - For anything I'm doing - piping, combing, or using in the Icing Dispenser) I use 1/3 c. plus 2 Tbl. boiling water to 1 cup SugarVeil. If I want a stiffer/higher profile line, I refrigerate SugarVeil for a short time (30 min or so) in the piping bag. Refrigerating a short time is also a good trick for very perfect, combed lines when you are using the Confectionery Comb.
3. SugarVeil goes thru three stages - "Wet": the beaten mixture, "Set": Decorations are smooth and do not stick to the finger at all when touched. At this stage SugarVeil is flexible and may be tied in knots, wrapped around a cake, or formed into bows. If decorations are for a later use, this is the stage you want to place them in an air-tight container on fresh parchment. If I have smoothed SugarVeil into paper-thin sheets, I buy those 2.5 gallon Ziplock bags and put 3-4 layers of SugarVeil into each one, separated by sheets of fresh parchment. I peel them from the silicone mat, and place them face down on the parchment, allowing the reverse side to be exposed a bit to the air to make sure the sheet is completely set, and then I place the sheets into the bags. After the "Set" stage, if allowed to air-dry, SugarVeil will eventually move toward the "Dry" stage. At this stage it is eggshell fragile (it does not dry into a break-your-tooth royal icing hard), as it is intended to be eaten along with the rest of the cake or other dessert. If dry decorations are desired, you can place SugarVeil decorations into a food dehydrator to dry.
3. On buttercream and whipped cream icings, SugarVeil decorations will remain soft from the contact of fat in the buttercream. If you are making bows, be sure to keep the 3D by using wafer paper behind the SugarVeil, or paint the inside of the bow with white chocolate. On cookies, SugarVeil will become dry, as well as when placed on royal icing or a fondant surface.
4. Although you can color SugarVeil with any food coloring, if I want a very dark, intense color I will usually airbrush it on the surface of SugarVeil. This gives an especially nice effect for twisted ribbons, cause you see the underlying white surface.
5. Here's a photo (the "Floating Cake") that uses a damask stencil with SugarVeil: http://www.sugarveil.com/gallery/avant_garde.htm
6. Here are complete, detailed SugarVeil instructions: http://www.sugarveil.com/confectionery_icing/icing_instructions.htm

If you are in the Kansas City area, Whole Foods will be presenting a two hour SugarVeil class in their Cooking Studio (which is next to their store on Metcalf), Wednesday August 20 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Full details aren't available yet, but Michele will be demoing many different SugarVeil techniques, and participants will make a bow to take home at the end of the class. If you want to sign up, I think you can call Customer Service at Whole Foods to find out more/or even reserve a place in the class in advance 913 652 9633 (Chris Clarke is the person who schedules the classes).

Please contact us by phone or email at [email protected] if you ever have any questions at all - we are happy to help you, and are pretty good at keeping up with replies on a timely basis.

Kind Regards,
Emily at SugarVeil