I've never worked with gumpaste before, but I've been watching a lot of videos on youtube, and it seemed fairly straightforward. Unfortunately, I really seem to be doing something wrong.

I was running short on time, so I bought a pack of the Wilton premade gumpaste to work with. As per Aine2's video, I prepared it by adding some Tylose powder to it, and then I started to color it. Along the way, I had to keep using shortening to keep it from drying out completely. Now, the gumpaste texture seems to be way off. I can make it into a ball or sausage, but it doesn't seem to mush into itself like I would think it should, so it's full of deep cracks.

What did I do wrong? Can it be saved so I can use it to make the figures I was hoping to? Help, please!

- Leisel

Do the cracks smooth out when you knead it and then shape it? I use Nicholas Lodge's recipe so I'm probably not much help with the Wilton stuff, but when my gumpaste is the right texture, it's soft and stretchy and feels kind of satiny.

You want to add tylose to fondant not gp. Adding the tylose to the fondant makes it sort of like gp. If you have some fondant I'd add that to your gumpaste (atleast 50/50 of each).

I think your problem is you added tylose to gumpaste. That will make it SUPER quick to dry. (as the above poster said, you add tylose to FONDANT to make it like gumpaste - you don't add tylose to gumpaste.)

I think you may have added too much tylose. My scratch gumpaste recipe calls for tylose. So I think adding it to pre-made gumpaste will only make it dry much, much more quickly and make it hard to manipulate. I don't have a solution on how to save it, as I have not had this happen to me. (I'm sorry.)

However, what xstitcher suggested may work.

Good luck!

I always work with the Wilton gumpaste and mix it 50/50 with fondant (as suggested by another cc'er). You do have to keep adding crisco to your hands to keep it from sticking and if it gets too goey, I just add a bit more of fondant and gumpaste.

Depending on how much color you add and how much you have to knead it too, that can also change the texture. I try to paint it (as opposed to kneading color in) whenever I can. Good luck!

anine2 is adding tylose to fondant .. not gum paste. this is your problem.. i use wilton g/p or make nick lodges. wilton g/p alone is great. makes beautiful flowers.. you don,t add anything else to it. just some shortening on your hands.. hth

I would guess to much tylose, too.

Jen