Hi,

I've been experimenting with edible lace lately.  I'm using a homemade recipe (Veena's) and after I put it into the mold I let it air dry.  I'm finding that the edges are drying faster than the middle of the mold and this makes it hard to remove.  Should I wait until the entire lace is dry or how do I keep the edges from drying out too much that they break easily?  Anyone else had this problem and solved it?

Thanks for your help! :)

When I use any lace I let it dry over night for the best results.  If your putting it in the oven: I do one coat for the recommended time, then remove and add another coat, back to the oven, then cool completely for several hours before removing to cool.  Play with it, it will get easier to work with.

I have used that same recipe Veena has, but the best results I get is from Claire Bowmen Cake Lace.  I am in the US but order it from the UK!  It is way, way cheaper and I get the 500g which is $9 where in US is almost $32.  

Thanks, TruCake!  I have only air dried my lace.  The first time I made it I air dried it too much, I think, about 20 hours.  The second time I watched it all day and after 8 hours the edges were very dry and the middle was still stretchy so I didn't know what to do.  I ended up removing it, but I don't know if that was the best choice or should I have left it some more.  I'm in Wisconsin, btw, so it's not really humid.

I'll look into the Claire Bowmen lace.  I did buy some SugarVeil lace mix but haven't tried it yet.

Any other tips or suggestions are welcome! :)

You can air dry for ever if you want.  That should not affect the lace.  It should be very pliable.  SugarVeil works, I think it states to bake at 170 (I think) for 17 min or so.  I think you will like the Claire Bowmen if you going to use much of it.  Again, all lace should stay good if you wrap it in parchment paper or even way paper.

Most of your problems will be due to being to thin or not dried.  Drying over night works great, however the "quick bake" saves you time.  Either way with the CBL turns out perfect every time.

! other thing I can think of that might help...the mats are all different.  Some are deeper than others.  Make sure all the bubbles are out and the mat is filled.  It is sometimes hard to tell till dried.  Once dried you can see why you may need to add another layer.  Also, everyone is different....but i only use the white.  If i want it a color I will air brush it and put a fan on it or leave over night to dry or hand paint ( if you hand paint make sure you don't get to wet . If wet takes much longer to dry).   I have found with the pre-mix colors it gets to brittle and not pliable as I like.  When I add gel (Americolor which I think is best) it is still to wet for me, just does something to the mixture I dont like.

Hope that helps.  Again, this is only my opinion and others may have a way that works for them you can try as well.  Try the SugarViel it works well, I just like the other better! 

Good Luck!

I use Claire Bowman too. I have used white, black and and I have also coloured it gold and red as you can see on my pictures. The pearl ready make dries more stiff than the non pearl. You can do a layer of each if you wan5 it more pliable. I have used the lace and dried  inthr oven and air dried it. I always complete two layers. I agree the mat is important. I tried some cheaper ones that have been too deep and thelace does not work as well in these. I would suggest when you have mixed your lace you try oven and air drying and see which works best for your project. For instance with the black air drying was best. But when I did the gold which I mixed myself the oven was preferable.  I do recommend the Claire Bowman - I find it relatively easy to use. 

Thanks so much, everyone!   After a lot of trial and error, I finally got it to work using the homemade recipe. Whew!  :)