![]() ![]() If you are working in a professioal kitchen with a proof box that is also a good place to pop the pastillage for a moment or two to moisten. If you have a large freezer with some space you can slip the sheet of rolled pastillage into the freezer for a few minutes. A quick roll with the French pin should smooth it right out.įor large or intricate pieces that require detailed cutting you may encounter problems with skin forming. Using a large white sheet of posterboard slide under the rolled pastillage then slide the pastillage off onto your work surface. Most sheeters have a textured surface on the pads that will be transferred to the pastillage. This is especially handy for very large pieces. ![]() You can use a sheeter to roll out the pastillage – but it needs to be cleaned really well of any loitering flour. When it matters though - you can use guides. I have to admit – I really never go to any particular lengths to ensure this – just go by feel – and run my hand over the surface to test for smooth evenness. It is important to roll the pastillage out consistently/evenly (minimize hills and valleys – and try to roll out all pieces to the same thickness/thinness. If you are working with the pastillage the second day or after thawing frozen pastillage it will take several minutes for it to respond to the kneading and soften up. I cut off a chunk and knead it up (yes – every time) then roll out. I tried getting a picture - but its just very hard to capture. ![]() This is actually a really nice recipe and will last qite a while without suffering from cutting wrinkles but will still wrinkle when curved. You need to give yourself lead time when working with pastillage since the drying takes about 12 hours – sometimes more depending on humidity, thickness of the dough, and moisture content (the more water you introduce in making it – the more has to dry away).ĭon’t roll out too much pastillage since it will form a skin and start surface drying immediately – this will result in wrinkling when you cut it and especially if you are planning to form it, so start off with the least you can possibly get away with and don’t plan on doing too many pieces at once until you get comfortable and know how much time you can have. I made a little bag out of cheesecloth that I fill with cornstarch to dust with while working. It is also handy to have a dusting pouch. ![]() Glass of cold water - to clean knives and to add to pastillage if needed I like a small roller for small pieces.ĭepending on what you are doing – you might want other tools and texturizers (limitless really) Working with pastillage (rolling, cutting, forming, drying)įrench rolling pin or a clean length of PVC pipe for large pieces. Just keep your spares and unused pieces safe in a box someplace. I prefer gumpaste because it is lighter and nicer, but pastillage is good too - if you need a quick special cake you just grab a bag of royal and pipe a message - embellish with some piping or add a flower and voila! Another good item to just keep around are placques - flat rectangular pieces. I have swirly tendrils, demi spheres, circles, plans, ribbon loops, curved planks, flat planks, butterfly wings, random shapes, chunks that I have microwaved so they look sort of like coral. Mold off a couple of solid demispheres and keep those handy, too, as legs. Nickel and dime size flat circles or even thicker aspirin-sized circes are the best. I always cut out rounds, and demi-circles, cut out circles with holes in the center and keep them on hand. All those spare extra pieces or rejects can be used later. As long as you don't break it and keep it clean it is always there for you. One of the great things about pastillage is its simple durability. Afterward, I stored that stupid spare wagon for months because it was so darn cute but it isn't exactly your run of the mill decoration in high demand so I recently threw it out. I did make 3 complete wagons just to make sure that some delivery disaster didn't leave me without my most important decor. Painting and assembling went pretty easily, too. I used a wood grain roller to texturize the pastillage. I did take the time to cut out pieces of cardboard to test the size and ensure fit, but it was pretty simple cutting the pieces. In my baby shower cake with the covered wagon you can see how that single element totally 'made' the cake and really it hardly took any time at all. What I am trying to show is some of the facilitators and planning that can really make pastillage work for you. Now, there certainly doesn't have to be this much involved in planning and as you know - a lot of this pre-decision stuff just sort of automatically goes clicking around in your head anyway. As you may be starting to see - there is some prep involved. I was just thinking that "I don't want to" is the best reason not to. ![]()
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