ALMOND PASTE FOR MODELING
Ingredients
- ½ Kg of marzipan
- ¼ Kg of confectioner´s sugar
Procedure
Knead marzipan with sugar; the amount of sugar is approximately and depends on the quality of the marzipan. If the paste is too soft, add more sugar; if too stiff, add more marzipan without sugar. Once it´s needed, store in plastic bags, taking all air out and keep it in an airtight glass container. If desired, color paste with paste food coloring.
Secrets
- Since marzipan is a creamy color, it is impossible to obtain white paste.
- If marzipan is of poor quality, it is generally hard and oily.
- Once the model item is done, brush over it with egg white.
- To attach marzipan pieces together, use egg white or water.
BIZCOCHUELO (SPONGE CAKE)
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 cup of flour 0000
Mix the eggs and the sugar until creamy with a consistency. The right consistency is when you can write with this mixture. Add to this mixture the flour previously sifted with folding movements from bottom to top.
Pour into mold. Bake at 350 for 40 or 60 minutes.
- If not enough flour, the bizcochuelo will sink.
- If has too much, will rise in the center.
- Do not use self rising flour.
- Let it cool for 5 minutes before removing from mold or tin.
- Remove over rack.
- All ingredients should be at room temperature.
- If you wish to add cocoa or coconut to the bizcochuelo, take away 2 tbs. of flour and add two of desired flavor.
CAKE FOR CARVING OR SHAPING
(Basic formula or recipe)
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 200 g of shortening
- 3 eggs
- 1 measure of cognac
- 350 g of flour (not self rising)
- 1 tbs. (dessert size) of baking powder
Place in a bowl shortening, sugar and mix well until creamy. Add eggs one at time while mixing, add cognac and finally, add the flour previously sifted with baking powder in a folding way.
Pour mixture over a tin or baking pan. Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Place wax paper on bottom of baking pan.
- Bake in clean cans of tomatoes or peaches according to the necessary shape. Or use a commercial one.
- If the cake shaping is simple add try fruits or currants for tastier cake.
- The mixture should reach the middle of the pan.
- If taller cake is needed, grease pan and put inside and around a wax paper. This paper should be 4 in above tin height to
avoid spillage.
- It is convenient to leave it by itself, for at least three or four days, before shaping and this way be easier to shape.
CHOCOLATE CAKE
INGREDIENT
- 5 1/3 oz. Butter
- 5 1/3 oz. Sugar
- 3 ½ oz. Dulce de leche (Secrets: Dulce de Leche for this cake and others... if you do not get it at the supermarket you make
it by yourself, it is very easy: view recipe below)
- 4 chocolate bars
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 7 oz. all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
PROCEDURE
In large bowl, cream butter (20°C) and sugar with electric mixer until you get a cream.
Add yolks, dulce de leche and chocolate, previously diluted with milk.
Sift all dry ingredients and add slowly to the bowl.
Finally beat the egg whites until stiff and add everything to the bowl
Pour all in a round baking pan of 9 ½ in. diameter (previously splay with vegetable pan spray or put some batter and then cover with flour).
Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on cooling rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan.
Filled with chocolate mousse
TIPS
- The butter mixture can be prepared for 3 hours, add the egg whites just before baking. If all ingredients are on the bowl instead, can be prepared for only one hour and a half (in a place with no draft)
- Use Whisky or cognac on the preparation, the cake can be on the fridge for a month. If you use milk instead, the cake will last on the fridge only a week.
- Do not fill the cake until is totally cool.
DULCE DE LECHE
- Place a close can of condensed milk in a saucepan.
- Cover it with water ¾ more high than the can
- Take it to lower fire for three hours.
- Once this is finished you will have your dulce de leche.
- Open the can, mix with a wooden spoon and DONE! (you will see that the mixture will take a dark brown color)
- Let it go cold and then use it on preparations or fillings (the cool will give consistency)
Tips:
- It is important stirring the can each hour to integrat the mixture and for a well cooking.
- Preserve on the fridge
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
- 7 oz. sugar
- 6 eggs
- 10 ½ oz. chocolate
- 1/3 oz. unflavored gelatin
- ½ cup of strong coffee
- 14 oz. sour cream
In large bowl, beat yolks with the sugar. Add melted chocolate and keep on beating.
Hydrate the unflavored gelatin with the coffee and put on the fire for few second. Add it to the bowl.
Then add the cream, previously beat, and mix everything in a smooth way.
Take it to the fridge for two hours.
- You can use it as filling for cakes or put it in glasses.
- The chocolate should be warm (not hot)
- You can use chocolate for cups
- The coffee should be very strong
- 1/3 oz. of gelatin is the same as one envelope and a half.
- If you add more gelatin the mousse will be very dense and gummy.
TEMPERATE CHOCOLATE
Important: We should know chocolates ingredients very well to use it correctly, they are: cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar and lecithin.
MELTING
Cut the chocolate in little pieces, place them in a bowl and melt them with the bain-marie (water bath) technique; remember the water shouldn´t boil; mix with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is melted. At this point the chocolate shouldn´t hotter than 45°C (113°F), calculate this using a candy thermometer. Take it out from the fire. Once the chocolate is melted the temperature should fall to 20°C (68°F) (to know the right temperature, taste it in your lower lip and it should be cold), to add the other ingredients.
TEMPERATE
There are many options, choose the one you prefer.
1. Inverse Bain-marie (water bath)
Place the bowl with the preparation in other bowl with cold water mixing it until the temperature get to 20°C (68°F).
Temper temperature: the chocolate temperature is lower than the temper one, it will be necessary to heat it again with the bain-marie technique for 30 or 40 seconds, until it get the right temperature.
Once the temperature is reached, remove from the fire, mix for few seconds and use it.
The right temper temperature for chocolate should be 29/31°C (84.2/87.8°F) for winter and 27/29°C (80.6/84.2°F) for summer.
The right temper temperature for white chocolate should be 27/29°C (80.6/84.2°F) for winter and 25/27°C (77/80.6°F) for summer.
2. Sowing
Add chopped or grated chocolate to the preparation to make the temperature goes down. Then take it to the temper temperature.
3. Spatulating
Take 2/3 of the melted preparation and place it over a table, mix very well using a spatula until it starts getting thicker.
Then place it again in the bowl, mix and take it to the temper temperature.
- The bain-marie pan should be smaller than the bowl because neither water nor water vapour should be in the preparation.
- Chocolate pieces shouldn´t be placed in the freezer because the contraction because of the cold temperature will make that the chocolate be broken.
- Do not melt the chocolate straight on the fire.
- If the preparation doesn´t shine that means that the temper temperature is below to the indicated one.
- If the preparation was not mixed correctly, it will have lumpy consistency
- If the preparation doesn´t become tough, it means the temper temperature is too high.
- If white spots appear on the preparation that means it was not well mixed and the cocoa butter was separated from the other ingredients.
- Cover the pieces with cellophane to keep the sheen.
- If you don´t have a candy thermometer to know the right temperature, taste it in your lower lip and it should be warm.
- Note: there is a fantasy Bain (bath) in the market that gets temper very easily. Dissolve it until you feel this hot with your lower lip and then low down the temperature making the inverse bain-marie (water bath) until you feel it cold with your lower lip.
ROLLED FONDANT
(Basic recipe or formula)
-1 kg of confectioner´s sugar.
-5 ½ tbs. of water at room temperature.
-1½ tbs. of unflavored gelatin.
-1 tbs. of glycerin (omit in humid days).
-240 g of glucose.
-3 tbs. of vegetable oil (do not use margarine or shortening). Mesure it while melted.
-1 tbs. of the flavor of your choice.
Put the water in a small pan, sprinkle the gelatin on top of water, and let it rest for few minutes (mix it).
Place this pan into another recipient with warm water, in low temperature until the gelatin is dissolved. At this point add glucose, the vegetable oil and the glycerin, mixing well every time you add each ingredient.
Remove the container from burner and add flavor. Place the sugar (sifted) over the table in a crown shape and put the liquid still warm in the center. Using a wood spoon mix it slowly, until you can´t do it anymore; then proceed to knead this mixture. Slowly, add the rest of the sugar.
When paste is at its point:
When paste is elastic, flexible. When finger prints does not show on paste.
- You can color this paste with food coloring, first color a small quantity and then add the rest of the paste. In this way, it will
have an even color.
- If paste is too soft is because needs confectioner´s sugar. If too hard, add warm water.
- When the cake is too humid, you must spread with apricot marmalade or desired flavor and press it with a fork. Let it dry
before placing the paste.
EASTER ROLL
INGREDIENTS
Previous foam
- 1 ounce of brewer's yeast
- 1/5 cup of water
- 4/5 ounce of flour
- 1/2 little spoon of sugar
Dough
- 10 ½ ounce of flour
- ¼ tea spoons of salt
- 1 ¾ ounce of soft butter
- 2 ¼ ounce of sugar
- 1 full little spoon of milk powder
- 2 eggs
- ½ tea spoons of malt extract
- ½ tea spoon of lemon essence
- ½ tea spoon of vanilla essence
Decotation
- Pastry cream, necessary quantity
- Cherry, candied figs and bulk sugar, as you wish.
View "EASTER ROLL" on "FREE Tutorials" section
EASTER STUFFED ROLL
- ½ little spoon of sugar.
Filled
- 10 ½ ounce of almond paste
- 3 spoons of confectioners sugar
- 1 white of the egg
- 1 spoon of rhum
- 1 spoon of pastry cream.
- Icing, necessary quantity
- Cherry and condied figs
View "EASTER STUFFED ROLL" on "FREE Tutorials" section
- Leaven to the double covering it with nylon.
- When you paint the roll with egg, leave it to air, otherwise the cream will slide.
- The dough should be smooth, thin.
- The filled would be better to place it in a decorating bag with a wide tip.
- Cook in the oven with a moderate temperature; on the ovens base place a container with water for the roll to be wetter.
DULCE DE LECHE - Very easy!
* Place a close can of condensed milk in a saucepan.
* Cover it with water ¾ more high than the can
* Take it to lower fire for three hours.
* Once this is finished you will have your dulce de leche.
* Open the can, mix with a wooden spoon and DONE! (you will see that the mixture will take a dark brown color)
* Let it go cold and then use it on preparations or fillings (the cool will give consistency)
- it is important stirring the can each hour to integrat the mixture and for a well cooking.
- preserve on the fridge
GUM PASTE
- 250 g of confectioner´s sugar.
- 1 tbs. (soup size) full of CMC (carboximetil cellulose) or tragacanth.
- 1 tbs. (nut size) of glucose.
- 3 tbs. (soup size) of water.
Sift confectioner´s sugar with the CMC or tragacanth and mix it well.
In a bowl dissolve glucose with water.
If water is warm this dissolves faster.
Place confectioner´s sugars in a crown shape and in the center add the gelatin mixture.
When this is absorbed knead for approximately 15 minutes. The consistency of this paste should be kind of hard. But if it is too hard soften it with hot water; if too soft add confectioner´s sugar.
Once kneaded you should stretch the paste few times. To store, wrap the paste in plastic and keep in tightly glass container. Clearly marked containers with name of paste and date that was made. It can last even one year.
This paste can be used for modeling figures, flowers, clothes, etc., once prepared and rested.
- Gum paste is colored with vegetable food coloring.
- You can flavor it with the flavor of your choice.
- For molding figures use freshly made paste; otherwise it can broke.
- For clothes and flowers use older paste, the older the better.
BUTTER ICING 1
- 3 ½ ounce of butter or margarine
- 17 ½ ounce of sifted confectioners sugar
- 50 cm3 freezing water
- Essence of your choice.
Melt the butter and add little by little the sugar and the water, always mixing with a wooden spoon. Then add the essence and the coloring; mix well. Finally place it in an electric mixer and mix for 5 minutes. It is important that you don´t use the mixer very fast; it should be slowly.
- During the incorporation of the ingredient to the preparation, you should intercalate the water and the sugar.
- This icing can be tougher with sugar and softer with water.
- It is necessary to keep it covered, otherwise it will get dry.
- It is better to make the icing in the moment that is going to be used.
- The butter icing is perfect to cover cakes with the star technique, because it gets tough on the outside and soft in the inside; this allows cutting the cake without the icing explode.
BUTTER ICING 2
- 35 ¼ ounce of sifted confectioners sugar
- 1 small cup of water
- 2 cups of vegetable butter
- Fruits or vanilla essence of your choice
Put the sugar, a bit of melted vegetable butter, the water and the essence. Then mix with an electric mixer slowly for 5 minutes. After that time; mix for 3 more minutes but fast (high velocity).
- This preparation is perfect to make works that need a big amount of cream.
- This kind of icing is perfect to make figures with a piping pressure system.
- In this recipe the used of vegetable butter instead of butter is because the final preparation gets whiter and the works become more firm.
ROYAL ICING
-1/4 kg of confectioner´s sugar.
-1 egg white (30 g) room temperature.
-1 tsp. (coffee size) of lemon juice
Place egg white in a bowl and add 2 tbs. of confectioner´s sugar and mix well until absorbed. Continue pouring remaining sugar while still mixing and add lemon juice. This procedure is used when you mix by hand or with a hand mixer. For stronger mix, put all the ingredients together and mix it for 10 minutes.
Consistency of Royal Icing: Consistency is right when a sharp and smooth peak forms and holds when the spatula is lifted out of the mixture this consistency is good for flower borders and leaves (soft and creamy). There are different consistencies of Royal icing; this varies according to the project.
- If the icing mixture is too soft, add confectioner´s sugar. If too stiff, add lemon juice.
- Medium egg, egg white weighs approximately 30 g.
- Every time you use royal icing, mix in first.
- While working cover royal icing with a damp cloth, because it dries quickly.
- To store, use a plastic or glass airtight container.
ROYAL ICING ROCKS
- 2,2 lb of sugar
- Water, the amount you need to cover the sugar
- 2 spoons of royal icing ( 1 spoon of white royal icing and other one of the color you wish for the sugar cubes)
Put the sugar and the water in a cooper bowl (if it is possible) and take it to the fire until you get syrup (150° degrees).
Once the syrup is done add the two spoons of icing and mix quickly using a wooden spoon; not too much to get different tones.
Put everything on a deep box quickly. The box should be covered with aluminum paper or high density polyethylene paper very resistant.
Few second later the preparation will start increasing very fast and will eliminate the hot air from the inside; you will get a stone appearance. Let it dries before using it.
- To know when the syrup is ready, if you dont have a thermometer, you can make a wire hoop, insert it in the syrup y and blow; when the syrup is ready you get a big firm bubble.
- If the preparation do not increase fast in the box this means it is not ready.
- The royal icing should be done in the moment of using it and not very tough.
- To get grey stones, add a spoon of white icing and other of black icing.
- To get brown stones, add a spoon of white icing and other of brown icing.
RUN-OUT ICING
(Ideal to fill drawings)
- Royal icing
- Water or lemon juice
We call run-out icing to the royal icing that gets softer with water or pour lemon juice. You get the right icing when you place a little spoon of icing in a little plate and over this you add a bit more; both icings should be together when you finish counting till 10. If both icings come together very fast, it means the icing is very liquid. You can give a solution to it by adding more icing. If it takes too long in coming together, you should add more water.
- Before adding water to the icing you should dye it of the color you wish.
- If there is too much humidity, the fluid icing will lose brightness
- If the icing that will be softer is made using a mixer, you should let it rest for 2 hours because the air bubbles would ruin the work.
SYRUP PASTILLAGE (Basic recipe or formula)
- 1 kg = (+2 lbs 2 oz) of confectioner´s sugar
- 150 g = (½ cup) of granulated sugar.
- 120 cc of water
- 1 ½ tbs. of unflavored gelatine.
Pour water into a bowl and sprinkle gelatine. Leave to sponge. Put the granulated sugar into a pot with enough water to cover the sugar.
Mix and clean the slides with a brush before boiling it; this should make a 2,5 cm long (1) thread when pulled between the fingers. Once the syrup is ready add the dissolved gelatin. Place this back onto burner and keep mixing it for 1 minute. In a bowl put the confectioner´s sugar, add the syrup and mix well with a wooden spoon.
When the paste is ready to be lifted from the bowl with a wooden spoon, pour this paste over the table and knead until pliable. If store in a plastic bag and kept inside a glass container, it will last up to 2 weeks without refrigeration.
Pastillage is good when:
Paste does not stick to hands, is very white and barely moist.
You can color this pastillage with paste food coloring and you can flavor it with fruit extracts.
How to work with this paste:
For structural works, flowers, letters, etc.; take equal amounts of cornflour and confectioner´s sugar and dust rolling surface.
Place spacers of the right thickness on either side to ensure uniformity.
- This pastillage is used for structural works and large pieces.
- Thickness chart for pastillage:
3 mm: used mostly for flowers, small constructions and decorations.
5 mm: for larger structural works, plaques and cake dividers.
1 cm: ideal for the base of structural works.
- While rolling and cutting pastillage, the paste that is not being used should be wrapped with plastic.
- This paste dries quickly, so have mold or template ready. Do not waste time.
- Two pieces of dry pastillage will glue together with fresh royal icing.
- 2 pieces of fresh pastillage will glue with fresh water.
- Let piece dry for at least 12 hours on one side; then tur piece over to the other side for 12 hours also.
- To cut pastillage use exact knife or cutter. If windows or other opening cut them out first, then cut the outer edges.
PASTILLAGE FOR MOLDING (Basic recipe or formula)
- 1kg of confectioners sugar (2 ¼ lb)
- 5 soup spoons of water
- 4 soup spoons of lemon juice
- 2 tea spoons of glucose
- 5 tea spoons of unflavored gelatin
Put the water into a mixing bowl; add the lemon juice and drizzle the unflavored gelatin.
Take the bowl into a water bath mixing with a wood spoon till the gelatin is solved.
Then add the glucose mixing it till is solved.
Retire from the fire.
Put the sugar in other bowl; make a hole in the center and add the solved ingredients there.
Take the sugar slowly with a wood spoon; when you can´t mix with this anymore, start kneading it, taking the sugar slowly till you get the Philippine pastillage consistence.
At this point, keep it in a nylon bag and put in the fridge.
Secrets (tips)
- This paste is ideal for modeling, it allows you working as if you were doing a sculpture.
- Each time the paste is used, you should knead it to have it in right conditions.
- It is great to make constructions, consider that the drying will take more time than the Philippine pastillage.
PRESSED SUGAR
- 1 cup of sugar castor sugar
- 2 tea spoons of water
- ½ spoon of gum arabic powder
- Few tears of fruits essence
Put in a bowl the sugar and the gum Arabic and in other bowl dissolve the coloring (if it is not white, see secrets) mixing with water and with the essence. Mix little by little the first preparation with the second one very well. It should be a consistency similar to wet sand.
- Use white refined sugar and good quality.
- Use 2,2 lb of common sugar and the white of one egg if the weather is wet.
- The gum Arabic is important to avoid the work be damage.
- When the remained sugar is taken out from the inside, you should get a very thin layer for a more delicate work.
- The essence should be same color as the used coloring. If the work is white you should use transparent essence.
- It can be dyed with food coloring.
Note: eggs done with this sugar are ideal for those people that cant eat chocolate.
COLD PORCELAIN FOR MOLDING (NOT EDIBLE)
- ½ coffee cup of hot water
- 3 coffee cups of vinyl glue (adhesive)
- 3 coffee spoons of emulsified baby oil
- 1 coffee spoon of glycerin
- ½ tea spoon sodium benzoate
- 2 tea spoons of rice starch
- ½ tea spoon of citric acid
- 3 coffee cups of corn starch.
- 1 tea spoon of formalin 40%
Put the water, the vinyl glue (adhesive), the oil, the glycerin, the sodium benzoate, the rice starch and the citric acid in a bowl; finally add the corn starch. The order can be change if you wish.
Than it can be cooked in different ways:
1) In a glass bowl with a bain-marie (water bath), mixing constantly with a wooden spoon until the preparation change into an homogeneous paste and when youll touch it cant be sticky to the fingers. Two hours of cooking approximately.
2) It can be cooked in a teflon saucepan straight to a very low fire, mixing constantly with a wooden spoon. 35 minutes of cooking approximately.
3) Place the preparation in the microwave in a special container for it; cook it in maximum power for 1 minute and mix it with a wooden spoon; cook it again for 1 more minute; repeat this procedure if it is necessary until there is no more liquid. The cooking time can be different according to the temperature of each microwave.
Once the porcelain paste is cooked, it has to be kneaded for 20 minutes, until it gets cold (a bit of starch can be add if the paste is too sticky).
After the paste is kneaded and cold, add the formalin.
- It can be painted with oils, acrylics or enamels. This resists any kind of coloration.
- When the paste gets to the right point; do not mix anymore
- DO NOT NEVER COOK THE FORMALIN
- All the tools used in this preparation should be in hot water for one day to clean them easily.
- Once the paste is done place it in nylon bag and into a bottle; glue a label with the typo of paste and the date of elaboration. The next day change the nylon bag.
COLD PORCELAIN FOR FLOWERS (NOT EDIBLE)
- ½ tea cup of hot water
- 2 tea spoons of hand cream without silicone
- 1 tea spoon of baby oil
- 3 tea cups of corn starch
- 3 tea cups of vinyl glue (adhesive)
- 2 tea spoons of formalin 40%
Put vinyl glue (adhesive), water, the cream and the oil in a bowl; mix very well; finally add the corn starch.
Mix very well, there shouldnt be any lump, if this happens it can be liquefied.
- The formalin is toxic; put it out from the childrens reach. While using it; make it in an air place because the smell is very strong.
- While the paste is being cooked, few lumps can appear and then it gets a unique paste slowly.
- When the paste gets to the right point; do not mix anymore.
- The paste can be dyed if you wish.
SPONGE CAKE
Mix the eggs and the sugar until creamy with a consistency. The right consistency is when you can write with this mixture.
Add to this mixture the flour previously sifted with folding movements from bottom to top.
SUGAR ROCKS (ROYAL ICING ROCKS)
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