Help.
I live in a dry and usually cool/cold climate. I make the majority of my cakes in the winter. I am trying to make a cake with some gumpaste figures. One figure I made over a month ago, and between the rain and the current warm temps it is still soft. I made another figure last week and the very small arms are still as soft as the day I made them. I have the figures in my basement which is cooler. I have tried refrigeration to help me mold them, (it was still too soft to assemble nicely), If I don't get a solution the cake is going to be quite naked. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Humidity and moisture are not a friend to gumpaste when wanting it to dry, putting the gumpaste pieces in the fridge won't help them dry, and your basement may have to much moisture in the air as well, in hot humid weather I put my gumpaste pieces in my oven with the oven light on, the heat from the oven light helps to dry out the pieces, just remember to post a sign letting others know not to turn the oven (i didn't do this once and hubby turned it on, it wasn't a pretty picture). Last summer I had to make loopy bows for a wedding cake and 2 days before the wedding the bow pieces were still soft, I put them into the oven with the light on and they were good to go when needed. Hope this helps.

I dry different things in the oven on 150 F NIck Lodges says to do this and also Scott woolley. hth

I also put my pieces in the oven with the light on. It works very well, but if you do that, make sure you do put a sign on the oven so no one turns it on, as mallorymaid suggested.

mallorymaid, I also put a bow in the oven to dry 2 days before my daughter's wedding this past April, but forgot to put the note on the oven! Yup, hubby "cooked" it the day before and called to break the news while I was out enjoying mani/pedi time with my daughter and her girls. I freaked out but then had to scramble to fashion another and luckily, it dried enough to sit nicely on the cake the next day!

Lesson learned...and it's a good thing...youngest daughter is getting married in October this year. I now have a laminated sign made that I put on top of the stove covering the dials!!

Good luck shannonBridges...hope this helps.

I read somewhere (probably on CC) that you can dry gumpaste pieces in a dehydrator. The ones we use to make apple chips etc. I haven't tried it yet but it's on my list of things to do...