How to use the Wilton Fondant (or) Gum paste Tool set

Working with fondant is something that I have started to like over the past few months of handling it and of course gum paste has become a favorite once I learned the art of making sugar flowers.

I have almost all the tools from Wilton used for working with fondant and gum paste. Quite recently my attention fell upon the 10 piece Fondant and gum paste tool set. Exploring all the tools in the set made me realize that I did not know the exact purpose of each tool. If I really wanted to master fondant, I should at least know what each tool is and what it does. I started exploring and here are the results! :)

Lets start from the left.

1. Palette Knife - This is used to cut shapes of your decoration out of the gum paste and fondant. It also can be used for easy lifting of large decorations.  It helps you position flowers in tight areas.

2. Thick and thin modeling sticks - These are the blue sticks with thin and thick points, used for frilling and ruffling petals and leaves; also use as small rolling pins for small amounts of gum paste. You can also wrap pieces of gum paste around the modeling sticks to form tubes or curved flowers.

3. Veining tool with large tip and small tip - This tool adds detail to gum paste leaves and flowers. It acts like a pen to carve into the surface of the decorations. It can also be used to make thin or wide veins on leaves and flowers.

4. Shell tool with knife on opposite end - The shell tool is used to make impressions on borders and to add texture to your gum paste decorations. The knife can be used to trim petals and leaves.

5. Dog bone tool with large tip and small tip - This is used to cup flower centers for a more open look and is used to shape and soften flower petals (like filler flowers). Also used to shape and create flowers, soften the petal edges by pressing the rounded end of the dog bone tool around the petal shape.

6.  Wheel tool with quilting wheel tip and cutting wheel tip - The quilting tip makes quilt stitches on fondant. It makes a pretty pattern on the gum paste petals. The cutting wheel is great for cutting stripes of gum paste or fondant with.

7. Umbrella tool with 6-division side and 5-division side - This tool is used to add detail to flower throats and tops of buds. You can also create flower petals by spearing the desired side of tool (5-sided or 6-sided end) into top of fondant bud on florist wire. Use knife tool to cut desired amount of petals.

8. Cone tool with serrated on opposite end - The cone tool helps you hollow out flower centers for your stamen placement and tops of buds. After petals have been formed on flowers, spear center of flower with serrated side of tool to create natural-looking centers. Use cone side to create larger well in center of flower. The serrated end is used to emboss a star pattern or mark divisions in tubular flowers. It also adds veining and dot details.

9. Ball tool with large tip and small tip - This tool is great for cupping and smoothing any size gum paste or fondant petal with out tearing. It thins the edges of gum paste leaves and petals.

As I find more uses for the above tool, I will keep updating here. Hope this post is useful for all fondant tool set users.

Tip of the week - Icing Bullet

For me, the worst part about baking and cake decorating is the cleaning. I hate to use the dishwasher for all the cake deco items and so I end up with almost an hour of cleaning the mess that I created! So when I got to know this tip from a friend, I was excited and so sharing on the tip to all others in the baking world!

This is called an icing bullet which helps to avoid cleaning the icing bags.

Necessary Items:

Icing bag
Couplers
Tips (as needed)
Plastic wrap
Required icing

Steps:

1. Cut the required length of plastic wrap and place it flat on the kitchen counter.

2. Place the icing on the plastic wrap as shown.

3. Roll the plastic wrap over the icing until fully covered.

4. Hold the ends of the wrap and twist it until both the ends are twisted tight. This is called the icing bullet and can also be stored as such in the refrigerator for later use.

5. Insert the coupler on one end of the twisted wrap.

6. Now insert this bullet with the coupler end into the icing bag as shown in the picture below.

7. The extra wrap that comes out through the coupler should be cut and the coupler along with the tips is fitted to the bag.

8. The other end of the wrap is knotted to avoid the icing coming out through this end.

9. The icing bag is now ready for cake decorating. The icing will not touch the bag and so there is no cleaning to be done. Only the coupler and tips will have to be washed.

Hope this tip serves useful to all readers. :) Meet you soon with yet another tip!

How to test baking powder or soda?

Read this important tip somewhere!
Both baking powder and baking soda can lose their potency over time. So here's a tip to test them for freshness.

Baking powder:

Place a few tablespoons warn water in a small bowl. Add a teaspoon of baking powder. It should fizz and bubble - the more bubbles the better.

Baking soda:

Instead of water, use white vinegar. The baking soda should bubble up and foam.

Hope this helps!

Better Homes and Gardens - May 2012 - Review

Talking of inspirations for cake recipes and decorations, this month surprised me when I found out loads of cake recipes and tips from an unexpected source - "Better Homes and Gardens" magazine!

I loved the colored pictures of the delicious cakes and their recipes.

As I browsed thru this magazine, I also discovered many new tips and tricks that would surely help me past my baking mishaps.
Click on the below link for more details:
BHG.com/cakedecorating 

This issue has been a treasure for all cake artists and I hope BHG publishes more of such articles!

Something to ponder:

Meet you again with yet another informational book review!