I am doing a cake for a friends daughter for this weekend and she loves ballet, so I have been trying to make a ballerina out of gum paste for the past 2 weeks and my biggest problem is that the gum paste is not holding its form. After I've rolled out my pieces (legs, arms, body and head) and they sit for a few minutes they start to lose their shape 
and when I attach arms or legs to the body gravity takes over and stretches them out.
I am using gumpaste i made myself. I have tried using straight gumpaste, a mix of fondant and gum paste and adding powdered sugar to the already made gum paste. What am I doing wrong??
I have the same problem. I figure it must be the way I'm making it because others here do it without issue.
If you figure out what's going on, let me know. I could use the help!
i always recommend nicholas lodge's gumpaste recipe on this site bc i've ahd such great success with it! maybe make a batch (or half batch) today, let it mature over night, and try again tomm =D
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It might be that you need to add some CMC or Tylose Powder to strengthen. I have just started to make my own modelling paste from readymade fondant (1 kilo) (2.2 lb) dividing this into four parts and kneading in about 1 teasp of CMC to each part. HTH 
) what is CMC??
Buy Wilton's pre-made gum paste and you won't have that problem. I get it at Michaels with their 40% off coupon. This stuff dries fast and hard. I used it last week to make tissue paper for a baby shower cake and I could form it and it would hold its shape in no time and dry in an hour or so. (it was rolled very thin too.)
Hi PeggyH, CMC is called Carboxy Methyl Cellulose, as I understand it this is the same as Tylose Powder (which I think you can buy in the USA through Globalsugarart.com), I'm not sure if you can buy CMC there though - this is probably not going to help much for this project. 
can you add flavor to the premade gumpaste? Doesn't it taste bad?
can you add flavor to the premade gumpaste? Doesn't it taste bad?
Gum paste is usually not eaten...it tastes like Necco wafers if you do. I suppose you could add flavor to it if you think it will be eaten. Most gum paste is used to create decor such as flowers or figures that need to dry hard so they can stand upright. It dries much faster and lighter than fondant...and I've used Tylose in fondant and really don't like the texture--plus I can't get it to roll as thin as I can with gum paste.
I ask because many of the cakes I've made and or will make are for my daughter's daycare. And the kids want to eat it all.
I'll probably use gumpaste for my brother and his wife's baby shower so they can keep the cake topper if they want to.
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