Sugar flowers are made with a special sugar dough called gumpaste recipe made with edible gums such as Tylose or CMC. These make the petals hard enabling us to roll the paste really thin thus creating lifelike sugar flowers. Making a gum paste recipe at home is a simple, easy and effortless process.
Table of Content
Now whether you call it a gumpaste recipe or gum paste recipe for sugar flowers they both are the same. Gum paste is also referred to as modeling paste, flower paste.
I think in the US it’s often referred to as gum paste while in the UK it’s referred to as flower paste or modeling paste. Often it’s made with either tylose or CMC, which is an edible gum. In Mexico, they have something similar called Mexican paste and it uses Gum Tragacanth.
What is the difference between gum paste and fondant?
- Fondant is used to cover a cake. We prefer fondant to be nice and soft so we can mold it around the cake with ease as well as it’s soft on the pallet to eat.
- Gum paste unlike fondant is similar but had added edible gums in it. This edible gum helps make the paste tough and can even dry rock hard.
- The purpose of gum paste is to use on decoration that can hold their shape. Like in this Frozen theme cake the spikes are made of gum paste because they are hard and can hold their shape.
- You would not be able to use fondant for these spikes as it will not dry hard as this.
- And you can also make sugar flowers, sugar figures and such for cakes using gum paste
- Adding CMC to fondant to strengthen and stiffen the fondant. But flowers are still best made with gum paste.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Egg white or meringue powder - The Nicholas Lodge Gumpaste recipe uses egg whites and I use that almost all the time to make my sugar flowers. Sugar flowers made with wires are not meant to be eaten so they can be made with egg whites.
- Powdered sugar - There are many different brands on the market some made with beet sugar or cane sugar. I always recommend using powdered sugar made with cane sugar for cake decorating. Having said that, for gum paste it really does not matter if you use either. What's important though is that your powdered sugar is fine, not coarse (yeah I get a brand that's not really fine hence the mention).
- CMC / Tylose - This is edible gum and is the MOST IMPORTANT ingredient in this recipe. While there are other gum paste recipes this one uses either CMC or Tylos nothing else. These can be found at any cake decorating store near you or online. It's not really expensive and has a long shelf life.
- Clear vanilla extract - The purpose of the clear vanilla extract is to prevent the gum paste from getting an ivory tint from the vanilla. Having said that, often, I do not have clear vanilla just my homemade vanilla extract. So, I often use rose extract for my gum paste recipe.
The original gumpaste recipe
Personally, I love to use the gumpaste recipe by Nicholas Lodge for my flowers. I use it to make my sugar flowers. It works great in summer and dries really hard too. Honestly, it’s the best gum paste recipe for sugar flowers.
This original recipe for this gum paste is by Nicholas Lodge with my method. I find that with the high humidity my method of not whipping the egg whites into a meringue works better. Having said that, I have shared his video here so you can see how he makes it.
While I use the same recipe the process is slightly different as in, I do not whip it like royal icing. I believe my gum paste is a bit denser and handles this hot and humid weather better.
Watch both the videos and then decided which works best for you and your weather.
How to make gumpaste recipe
- In a bowl mix 2 cups powdered sugar.
- Make space in the center and add egg whites, salt and vanilla extract.
- Mix well until no lumps.
- Add tylose or CMC powder.
- Mix for a minute or two until sticky.
- Now add more powdered sugar – until you are able to form a ball.
- Do not add too much powdered sugar as the gum paste can dry out.
- You can transfer the mix to a working board to mix well.
- Next, knead in the veg shortening.
- You want the mixture to be soft, slightly sticky – you can add more powdered sugar later too.
- Divide the paste into small portions and wrap well in plastic wrap/bag.
- Then, place them all in a ziplock bag and into an airtight box.
- Let rest in the fridge overnight.
- Next day – let rest at room temperature.
- knead with a little veg shortening if needed powdered sugar too.
- Use as needed for any project.
Storage
Like fondant, gum paste too should have a long shelf life if kept properly. Sealed properly, this gum paste can be kept at room temperature for about a month. You can also leave it in the fridge for about three months or even freeze it for a bit longer. Just make sure you bring it to room temperature before you need it.
As a cake decorator, I use my supplies fast. I never store my gumpaste or fondant for long at room temperature. Especially in summer, as the temperature can go up to 45 C. So, use your judgment when it comes to food safety. I portion my gum paste and bring one or two out of the fridge and it is usually used up in a day or week.
More cake decorating recipes
- Korean Buttercream Recipe
- Homemade Edible Fabric - Edible Silk
- Homemade Edible Sugar Lace
- Bean Paste Recipe for Sugar Flowers - Korean Bean Paste
- Best EVER Homemade Fondant
- See all ganache recipes
- Also, see all the Fondant recipes
- See in Frostings recipes
- And see all Fillings recipes
Frequently asked questions
Yes, the ingredients used in gumpaste are all edible including the gums like CMC, tylose, or gum tragacanth. Though not very tasty especially when it gets hard.
Make sure to use pasteurized egg whites if you using them directly on a cake. Or use my edible gum paste for cake decorating recipe.
For many things, yes.
You can use fondant instead of gumpaste in many cake decorating projects. Make a quick modeling paste like I have shown below with CMC added. This can be used for cake toppers and other free-standing cake cutouts. Not recommended for sugar flowers (see next question)
You can but the fondant with CMC does not roll thin so you can't get lifelike flowers and take much longer to dry. Additionally, due to the presence of gelatin and glycerin in fondant it never really dries hard. In hot humid weather, it absorbs moisture so stays much softer.
Place the items in the oven. Keep the oven turned off but leave the light on. The direct heat from the oven light does a great job of drying gumpaste quickly.
With edible gel food colors or edible powdered colors. Never use water-based food colors.
In most cases, gumpaste will dry out in less than 24 hours. When making sugar flowers the individual petals will take just a couple of hours while a bigger item can take longer. In hot humid weather, it can take more than 24 hours too.
To make a quick modeling paste or a substitute for gumpaste would be to add CMC or Tylose to your fondant. A teaspoon of CMC to 250 grams of fondant works great. You can make cake toppers such as animals and this Birdhouse cake with just a simple modeling paste.
If you live in hot humid weather then this gumpaste made with egg whites is the best for sugar flowers and my edible gumpaste would be ideal for other cake projects that may or may not be eaten like kids' cakes.
The presence of egg whites in both these helps dry and keep the projects hard.
Troubleshooting
- My gumpaste is too dry or too hard? It can still be used. Just heat it in the microwave for 5 seconds then knead it really well with some vegetable shortening. Once it's soft and pliable it's ready to use again.
- My gumpaste is too soft? When made fresh gumpaste appears too soft avoid adding extra powdered sugar and let it rest a few hours. If it's still soft after resting then you can add more powdered sugar until it's pliable.
If the gumpaste is too soft because of excess kneading, again just let it rest for a few hours and it will stiffen up again. - Can I put gumpaste in the fridge? No, unfortunately, gumpaste does not like the fridge. The gum tends to break down so when you take it out of the fridge the condensation will melt the gumpaste flowers or gum paste projects.
- How do you attach gumpaste? Unlike fondant, the gum in gumpaste creates a coating that does stick well with just water. It's best to use edible glue made with CMC or Tylose and water.
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Printable Recipe
Gumpaste Recipe for Making Sugar Flowers
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Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
- 4 (120 g) Egg whites ((½ cup) )
- 6 cup (720 g) Powdered sugar/ confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoon (30 g) Tylose powder (or CMC)
- 2 tablespoon Veg shortening (vegetable fat)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Clear vanilla extract
- 125 grams Powdered sugar (for kneading)
Instructions
- In a bowl mix 2 cups powdered sugar
- Make space in the center and add egg whites, salt and vanilla extract.
- Mix well until no lumps
- Add tylose or CMC powder
- Mix for a minute or two until sticky.
- Now add more powder sugar – until you are able to form a ball.
- Do not add too much powder sugar as the gum paste can dry out.
- You can transfer mix to a working board to mix well.
- Next, knead in the veg shortening.
- You want the mixture to be soft, slightly sticky – you can add more powder sugar later too.
- Divide paste into small portions and wrap well in plastic wrap/bag
- Then place them all in a ziplock bag and into an airtight box.
- Let rest in the fridge overnight
- Next day – let rest at room temperature.
- knead with a little veg shortening if needed powder sugar too.
- Use as needed for any project.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Always keep gumpaste wrapped in plastic - Take only what you need and keep the rest covered under plastic away from air.
- Avoid cracks - Use vegetable shortening to knead and make it pliable before rolling, that way you won't have cracks.
- Do not use too much shortening as the shortening combined with tylose makes the gumpaste too rubbery (stretchy but stiff) and you won't be able to roll it very thin.
- Gumpaste dries easily - Avoid using too much cornflour into your gum paste while rolling; it will make it brittle.
- Let it alone - when drying gum paste, do not touch too often wait for them to dry try to switch sides so they dry faster.
- Excess powdered sugar - Delicate flowers and figures can break with over touching or if the paste had excess powder sugar.
- Work in small batches - When coloring gum pastes always use small amounts of gel paste with a toothpick.
- In winter gumpaste can become too stiff - give it a 5-second start in the microwave so you don't work too hard kneading. 5 seconds in the microwave is a lot for gumpaste so don't overheat it.
- In humid conditions it's best to dry gumpaste items in the oven turned off but with the light on
- Brushing the flowers with confectioners' glaze can prevent gumpaste from absorbing too much moisture during rains and humid weather.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Rachel
Hi Veena! I am super excited to try this recipe. I am wondering, what is the purpose of the vanilla extract in the Nicholas Lodge recipe? The egg whites render it inedible anyways, is it just for scent? Or maybe the alcohol content? You also mentioned rose extract as an option. I am just trying to buy as little materials as possible while I experiment. I am a hobby baker just starting out.
Veena Azmanov
Rachel. Yes, the vanilla and rose are to keep the egg smell to a minimum. But of course, you can omit it.
NK
Hi Veena I have made this recipe with egg whites twice( as I am unable to get meringue powder in my area)and the toppers came out beautifully. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe. I had one question though, I noticed when I made figurines few of the pieces had slight crack. it worked well for the makeup toppers though. Should I mix fondant and gumpaste to make figurines. If yes what should be the ratio. I live in an extremely humid climate.TIA
Veena Azmanov
Happy you enjoyed this recipe, NK. It is easy to work with for sure. Yes, next time it is better to mix 50/50 fondant and gumpaste or use CMC added to fondant to make figurines or cake toppers. Having said that if you live in hot and humid conditions using gumpaste is a much better option. But, definitely play around with it and see what works best
Amber
Hi, how long does this last at room temperature in its original form wrapped in plastic wrap? I was told by someone it will mold since it doesn’t have preservatives.
Amber
Nvm I just found it in the post. Thanks
Veena Azmanov
Amber, this dough is high in sugar which is a natural preservative. It will last a few days outside at room temperature. B
Gumpaste usually has a long shelflife. But, it mostly depends on the weather. Here in summer, it will last just about 10 days up to 2 weeks. But, in winter it will keep for over a month.
Tracy
Love your site! I made this gum paste recipe but it has lots of little bumps, some bigger than others. Any ideas on how to get rid of them and what to do in a future batch to avoid?
Veena Azmanov
Tracy, by bumps you mean dry pieces of dough? That could be if the dough was not wrapped well and the outside become crusty. This when kneaded in the dough can become very bumpy. Always wrap the gumpaste well in plastic first then in a ziplock back. Alternatively, also make sure that the powdered sugar does not have any lumps, as this can cause the gumpaste to be lumpy too.
TinaRichell
Thank you so much for this recipe. I just finished making my third batch and every time it has come out beautifully. This is the only gum paste recipe I will use from now on. I love the elasticity and how thinly it will roll out.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Tina. I am so happy to hear that.
Epcibha
Hi Veena
Thank you for the recipe..I just want to know whether this recipe will be suitable to make , makeup accents like brush , lipstick etc..
Veena Azmanov
Yes, you can use this recipe to make other decorations as well. It will of course become hard when dried.