How Do You Make Sugar Paste Flowers?
Sugar paste, also known as gum paste, pastillage or sugar gum, is a sugar-based edible dough. It’s a popular material for cake decoration because it’s sturdy, easy to use and can be molded into almost any shape. Look for sugar paste at your local craft shop, cake-decorating shop or gourmet store, then learn to shape sugar paste into beautiful flowers—perfect for topping cakes, cupcakes and other treats. Add food coloring to the sugar paste and knead on a smooth work surface until the color is evenly distributed throughout the paste. You’ll need only a few drops of food coloring to create pale flowers such as light pink roses, but you might need many drops for intensely colored flowers such as bright yellow daffodils. Place your sugar paste on a smooth counter you’ve greased with a thin layer of solid vegetable shortening. Using your rolling pin, roll the paste out to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Pick up the sugar paste, give it a quarter turn, and roll it out again. Repeat two or three t
