Lindy's Cakes Ltd

Bringing world-class sugarcraft into your kitchen

How do I make Sugarpaste?

by

“Lindy, do you have a sugarpaste recipe?” This is a question I am always being asked by my students. Sugarpaste also referred to as rolled fondant or ready roll icing, is available from supermarkets and cake decorating suppliers in many countries of the world. However, not everyone likes what is available to them and many countries new to the craft of cake decorating do not have a ready source of sugarpaste, so I understand why I am often asked how is it made.

We are very lucky here in the UK we have a number of different brands to choose from, however, it hasn’t always been the case. When I attended my very first sugarcraft course back in 1991, the whole of the first lesson was spent making our own sugarpaste! I then continued to make my own for quite a number of years.

ADVERTISEMENT

Even if sugarpaste is easily accessible to you, I actually think it’s a good exercise to have a go at making your own – you’ll see how easy it really is and be able to appreciate what goes into the icing itself.

Here is the recipe that I have always used; it’s also the one that I often include in the cake decorating books that I write. Check your bookshelves, you might already have this sugarpaste recipe at your fingertips!

Sugarpaste Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 1kg (2 1⁄4lb)

  • 60ml (4 tbsp) cold water
  • 20ml (4 tsp / 1 sachet) powdered gelatine (you can use the vegetarian version)
  • 125ml (4fl oz) liquid glucose
  • 15ml (1 tbsp) glycerine
  • 1kg (21⁄4lb) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sieved, plus extra for dusting

Method

  1.  Place the water in a small bowl, sprinkle over the gelatine and soak until spongy. Stand the bowl over a pan of hot but not boiling water and stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Add the glucose and glycerine, stirring until well blended and runny.
  2.  Put the icing sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and slowly pour in the liquid ingredients, stirring constantly. Mix well. Turn out on to a surface dusted with icing sugar and knead until smooth, sprinkling with extra icing sugar if the paste becomes too sticky. The paste can be used immediately or tightly wrapped and stored in a plastic bag until required.
kneadthe sugarpaste until beautifully smooth

Have fun and let me know how you get on

Sweet wishes

Lindy

About Lindy Smith

Award winning, best-selling author and sugarcraft artist, who loves to design beautiful colourful cakes, inspire, teach and supply you with gorgeous products.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Davina says

    Hi

    A while ago i bought some pastello icing from my local sugarcraft shop, which I found very useful when I made a pair of shoes for a christening cake for a friend. When gum trag was added this set the shoes very hard. However, they no longer stock this product and I have tried doing the same with Mexican paste but found this hard to work with as it dries so quickly before you have a chance to fiddle with it. Modelling paste is fine but doesn’t set quite so hard. Do you know what the ingredients for pastello icing is before the gum trag is added? I wanted to make my own and wondered whether this was a 50/50 of mexican and modelling paste? Many Thanks

  2. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Davina
    I’m not familiar with pastello, but perhaps someone else is. I guess its a type of pastillage paste, the recipe I use for pastillage dries quickly but there are other recipes so why not try an internet or book search for pastillage recipes. The pastillage I make is basically a royal icing with gum trag added but other recipes have more ingredients, let us know how you get on.
    Lindy

  3. Caroline says

    Hi Lindy

    Tried out your sugarpaste recipe today and was very impressed with the outcome. It worked out alot cheaper than buying the ready made sugarpaste and it was very easy to make. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    Caroline

  5. Nancy says

    I tried out the sugarpaste recipe last week to make one of Lindy’s cakes. My sugarpaste was dry and crumbly and I couldn’t get it on the cake with out it splitting several times. As far as I know I followed the recipe although their were grainy bits in the finished version which looked like the gelatine ladn’t completely disolved. WOuld that explain the crumbling?

  6. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Nancy
    It sounds as if something isn’t quite right, there soundn’t be grainy bits in the icing. Make sure your scales are measuring correctly and please note that you may not need to incorporate all the icing sugar. I suggest that may be you have another go and please also refer to my blog about why sugarpaste cracks

  7. Nancy says

    Thank you for the advice. I was under the impression I HAD to add ALL the icing sugar. I’ll try again with less icing sugar and more kneading. Maybe also rolling out with white vegetable fat instead of more icing sugar.

  8. Lindy Smith says

    You’re paste shouldn’t contain any lumps so do make sure that everything has been melted correctly and the icing sugar is sieved. Good luck.

  9. Nancy says

    Well, I tried the sugarpaste recipe again. I was really careful making sure the gelatine had completely disolved. Then I used my kenwood chef to knead it all together thoroughly. It worked really well, I even had to add extra icing sugar! So thank you for your reply.
    I used the white vegetable fat instead of icing sugar for rolling out. I was very impressed by that too. It is also much better for my 3 year old daughter when she has some icing to play with as previously the icing sugar would end up all over the floor. Much tidier with the vegetable fat.

  10. sushma says

    Hi Lindy
    Thanks for sharing your recipe! I’m a veggie but not too familiar with using vegetarian gelatine. Can you recommend a couple of tried and tested brands please?
    Thank you.

  11. Raeesa says

    Hi, I noticed that in your recipe it says 1kg of icing sugar is equal to 4 lb. I have a book at home which says 1kg of icing sugar is equal ti 2 lb.Is there a mistake somewhere?

  14. Shauna Mc Fall says

    Hi Lindy
    I’m trying to make ‘Hot’ Pink icing colour, almost Neon tone (roll-out), But I can’t get the right shade at all, I’m using M&B Paste, have you any recommendations? I’m wondering would a hint of blue get me closer to the colour I need, I’m mixing ready coloured icing, would I be better using paste colours?

    Thanks
    Shauna

  15. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Shauna
    What I do is to add paste colour to ready coloured icing. To achieve a really strong fuschia pink I add Squires Kitchen Rose paste colour to M&B pink sugarpaste. Neon pink however is a much harder colour to achieve with the colours that we have in the UK. When I was in Brazil they had a paste colour that would be perfect for you, but as far as I am aware we don’t have anything similar – anyone got any suggestions for Shauna?

  16. Sue D'Arcy says

    Thanks for the great recipe for sugar paste Lindy. Really helped me as I was making a crop of daisies for a nut free cake … definitely worth persevering with the mixing!

  17. Shauna Mc Fall says

    Thanks Lindy
    I ordered the Rose Pink from Squires shortly after I made that post. It arrived today, I didn’t order any of the M&B Pink Paste this time, But I’ll have a play with red and white and the Rose colouring, I’m sure the colour will come out.
    Kind regards and thanks, hope to get over again soon for another course.
    Shauna

  18. carly says

    Hi…. I also use pastello…. it creates a much finer finish than the modelling paste and can be rolled so thinly that you can read through it….. to use it in this way you must knead in 5ml gum trag to 250g pastello but you’re right, the suppliers have stopped doing it. I can get a recipe but trust me on this one, it’s more faff than it’s worth; i think some french sites still do it as it’s the favoured medium for the french pastry chefs…… drat!
    if antbody out there finds some i’d be willing to pay postage or just let me know where from???? ta!

  19. F Ghalib says

    HI,

    Where i live its impossible to find liquid glucose – is there something else I can use as a substitute?

    PLS HELP !

    Thanks

  21. Olivia says

    Hi Lindy,
    Thanks for posting the recipe. I tried making the fondant and it turned out fine except that the consistency is not as elastic as the store bought one. Am I not kneading it enough? Is there something that I can add to make it more elastic? The one I make breaks when I pull them.

    Thanks!
    Olivia

  22. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Olive
    To make your fondant more elastic try adding in a little edible gum – gum tragacanth or CMC, but don’t add too much otherwise the paste will become too hard. Also try warming your paste in a microwave for 10 seconds before kneading as this really helps.
    Lindy

  23. Ann says

    Hello Lindy

    I’m making Red Chillies, and green leaf, as I am making Chilli Choc cupcakes for the RSPCA Cupcake day. I want to know if I make the chillies and leaves beforehand how do I dry them out before painting them to put them on the cupcakes.

    Thanking you
    Ann

  24. Lindy Smith says

    Hello Ann
    I suggest that you add a little CMC or gum tragacanth to your sugarpaste to help dry and harden the paste. Its much easier to paint firmer paste. But why not just colour your paste red, shape the chillies, allow them to dry (somewhere warm and away from any humidity, in the UK I would suggest an airing cupboard!) and then to add a bit of shine, paint them over with edible confectioners glaze or use the cheaper option of white vegetable fat!
    Hope this helps
    Lindy

  25. Rachel Nicholls says

    hi, im attempting to make a cake but im having troubles with the liquid glucose i have powderd glucose but not sure if this will work as i cant find any liquid glucose just wonderd if any one could help
    thanks x

  27. Penny says

    Hi,

    I was wondering how long will your sugarpaste last for wrapped up in clingfilm? I need to colour it, shall I do this when I need to use it or can I store it coloured?

    Thanks

    Penny

  28. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Penny
    Firstly you need to wrap your sugapaste in a strong plastic bag such as a freezer bag to exclude the air – clingfilm still breaths so it will only slow down the drying out process not stop it. Regards storage, you can store you paste right up to the use by date even once you’ve coloured it. You can even feeze your coloured paste to prelong its life still further.
    Lindy

  29. shelley swinney says

    hi lindy,
    have you ever made the chocolate covering before???i know its made using chocolate and glucose?? it just seems really expensive to buy so would like to give it ago myself!
    shelley

    ps have booked to see u on 7th nov!!!!! cant wait!!!

  31. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Christine
    You are after the recipe for flower paste, if you have my Cakes to Inspire and Desire book or my Celebrate with a Cake book the recipe is in there. I will endeavour to add a blog post at some point with the recipe – what this space. NB you will need a robust mixer to make flower paste
    Lindy

  32. Janelle Rizzo says

    Hi i tried your recipe today – very impressed by how easy it is to follow however my mixture remained sticky no matter how much icing sugar kept adding. How do you accurately measure glucose as i believe i have miscalculated it as i could not get an accurate measure.

    Thanks

  33. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Janelle
    To measure the glucose accurately try warming it up so it is easier to pour and than have an accurate measuring container. For measuring small amounts of liquid I use the measure that came with my bread maker. Any good cookshop however should stock a suitable measure. Alternatively use a tablespoon to measure out the glucose – UK and US tablespoons are 15ml, Australian tablespoons are 20ml
    Hope this helps
    Lindy

  34. Rebecca says

    Hi Lindy
    I want to add some CMC to sugarpaste to make cut out decorations. Do you add the powder as it is, or does it need to be added to water? Also, how much would I need to add to 1kg of sugarpaste please?
    And – the stuff I have is Tylo powder – is this the same as CMC?
    Thank you
    Rebecca

  35. Janelle Rizzo says

    Thanks i tried it a few days later it worked like a charm. i’ve now used this recipe 5 times succesfully!!

    Keep the hints and tips going – i also got your cookie book – great hints and tip in there too.

    Janelle

  36. Lindy Smith says

    Hello Rebecca
    If you’re using CMC you should add the powder directly into the sugarpaste – 1tsp to 250g of sugarpaste – and work it in until you can feel the paste becoming a little stiffer. I would not recommend using 1kg to begin with as it goes a long way. Just mix a little at a time you may find you don’t need as much sugarpaste as you think. Tylo is a brand name for CMC

  41. Larry R says

    Thanks for all the tips. I am going to try to make the sugarpaste tonight. To all those people looking for liquid glucose and gelatin…in addition to the places others have noted, you can find it in Tescos in the baking aisle. The gelatin is in ‘packet’ form (in a box)…and the glucose in a small 150ml bottle.

  42. Larry R says

    Sugarpaste was successful. However, like Nancy my sugarpaste ended up being crumbly even though I kept more than 2 cups of the icicing sugar back. At first I thought it was over…then I added a few drops of water…kneaded…a few drops more…kneaded…and it formed into a nice sugarpaste dough. Whew! It did work well as well…rolled nicely into 1/4 inch thick, covered the cake, didn’t crack, etc.

  43. Nick says

    I am planning to use this recipe on my christmas cake this year, but I notice there is nothing like lemon juice or rind in the ingredients. Has anyone tried this sort of addition? Will it work?

  44. Hayley says

    GOSH!! I’m going to sound like a complete novice compared to you guys!! I have just started decorating cakes and have seen a design for a cake with a bow on top (like a rosette). Am i right in thinking that gum trag is added to sugarpaste to make the bow more firm? How much is added and how long is it before the gum trag starts to work? Could I for example addthe gum trag, roll out the icing. shape into loops, leave to stand for a while then shape into a bow?? Any help will be much appreciated

  45. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Hayley
    Yes you are correct, add gum trag to sugarpaste to make it firmer, see our blog post on as this gives the quantities, timing etc.
    hope this helps
    Lindy

  46. Puk says

    Hi Lindy,

    Your books have been incredible helpful for me, but have a question, what can I do to keep purple / lilac colour from turning blueish, it seems to fade and change after a couple of days? think I read somewhere to use glycerin in the sugar paste, is that right? really hope you can help,
    All the best
    Puk

  47. Gillian says

    Hi Lindy,

    I’m making a 2-tier stacked wedding cake for my cousin’s wedding in August. I want to use sugar paste for a lovely, smooth finish, but how do I make it dry or set hard enough to ensure the top tier doesn’t sink into it, whilst at the same time making sure that the icing is not so hard that it makes it difficult to eat?

  48. Emma says

    Hi Lindy

    Do you – or anyone else – have a vegan recipe for flowerpaste please; I didnt really want to use gelatine substitue but wondered if there was anything else. Or perhaps I could buy it somewhere?

  51. vinnie jones says

    hi, just getting into allt his and im stuck, whats the difference between icing sugar and confectioners icing sugar.. and the geletine ive got says one sachet makes 1 pint, so do i make the pint up and then take out from the pint the correct amount i need? because ptherwise it wouldnt set would it? sorry im a bot confused. hope you can help..

  52. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Vinnie
    Icing sugar is a UK term & confectioners sugar is a US term – they are both the same thing. Regards gelatine, for this recipe you use powdered gelatine 4 teaspoons – do not mix it with water first, just follow the recipe and use the powder in the recipe
    Hope that helps
    Lindy

  53. mixky says

    hi i dont no what glucose and glycerine is could you please explane it to me im very young but i still love baking cakes

  55. Jane Dolder says

    Hello,
    Below are explanations of Glucose and Glycerine. Hope these help.

    “Glucose syrup controls the formation of sugar crystals so is particularly useful when making sweets and desserts.
    It is also useful for relaxing icing and to prevent Royal Icing from setting rock hard.”

    “Glycerine is a somewhat viscous clear oily liquid, with a sweet taste.
    Glycerine is hydrophilic (water loving), and is used to keep products such as dried fruits from getting too dry, and to keep the liquid in soft fillings from escaping into crisp crusts, making them soggy.”

    Regards
    Jane

  56. Kirstie says

    Hello,

    I’m making a cake for a vegan friend, and was wondering if the icing would still work if I leave out the gelatine? Or if there would be a suitable replacement?

    Many thanks
    Kirstie

  58. Collette says

    Hi,

    I bought powdered glucose instead of liquid and thought that I could add water and that this would work the same as liquid glucose. Can anyone tell me if it will work in the same way? and if so what quantities of powder to water do I need to make up the 4 floz.

    Many thanks

  60. Tracey says

    Hi there, I made several cakes for children many many years ago and then last year spotted one of your books and it inspired me to make more I have made many now and have orders for 6 at present. My question is i always use your recipe for suger paste but it is off white. I have tried usinf a little xxwhite but not really much different, how can I make it really white? Thank you

  61. Tracey says

    Reply for Collette, I did buy powered glucose when I couldn’t get liquid. I did manage to make it work but it was hard going, sorry don’t remember how much water i put in, I think I just kept adding a bit at a time until it was right consistancy. Hope that helps

  63. Allison says

    Hi Lindy
    Thanks for this recipe! I have been asked to make a birthday cake and was trying to figure out how to get coloured icing. Please can you tell me how to make coloured sugarpaste? Do I replace equal amounts of water with colouring or do I just add the colouring and then perhaps use extra icing sugar if the mix is too runny?
    Many thanks,
    Allison

  64. Lindys Team says

    You can colour sugarpaste very easily using paste colours. Click here for the full range of colours that we now stock.
    Simply add a very small amount of paste colour (literally dip the end of a cocktail stick into the colour to start) and knead this fully into the paste. Add more colour until you have the shade that you require. Also try experimenting with mixing colours to create the exact shades that you want.

  65. Don Fitzgerald says

    Hi. I have bravely/stupidly told my daughter that I will make her wedding cakes for later this year (I’m fine on the cooking side, but icing is a black art to me, so I’ve got to get plenty of practice in beforehand). I want to give the icing a citrus tang, as the base cake is a rosemary cake with a madeira-style texture. Is it ok to mix lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice in with the sugarpaste?

    Thanks

    Don (desperate)

  66. Jan Daniel says

    I am just trying to start a work from home cake making business, baking the cake is not a problem for me but when it comes to using icing, I’m a complete novice. I have stumbled upon your recipe for making sugar paste after a disastrous experience of trying to colour shop bought s/paste with ordinary liquid food colour – waste of time and what a mess. To say the least, it didn’t work – had to go back to the shop to buy the colour I needed. But after reading the questions and answers/suggestions etc on this site, I have to say, my questions were all answered before I even asked them. Thank you ladies for the questions and answers you have posted – most informative. I read them all with great contentment. I shall embark upon making sugar paste for the first time and will revert with my findings.

    JD

  68. Lindys Team says

    Hello desperate Don,

    We would steer clear of adding lemon juice or zest to the sugarpaste as you will end up with a very sticky texture which may be unworkable.
    Try making a lemon sugar syrup and feeding this to the cake, then adding a layer of lemon buttercream between the cake and the sugarpaste.
    This will give you a lovely rich lemony flavour.

    Hope this helps

  69. Lindys Team says

    Hello Brigitte,

    We have no experience of leaving glycerine out of the sugarpaste recipe.
    Try it and see what happens – you may find the paste a little too dry and harder to work with.
    Let us know how you get on.

  70. Lindys Team says

    Hello Jan,

    Good luck making your sugarpaste and thank you for your kind comments.

    Colouring sugarpaste with liquid food colour is messy.
    We stock a full range of colours designed to be used to colour sugarpaste. Here is a link to the colours we stock.
    Just add a small amount (on the end of a cocktail stick) to your sugarpaste and knead in.
    Cover your hands with white vegetable fat first – so you don’t dye your hands as well.
    You can experiment with different colours and always start with a small amount of colour and build it up to the shade you require.

  71. kay Forslöv says

    hi Lindy,
    I am self taught and have been decorating cakes in my free time.I love your website and get a lot of inspiring ideas from it.
    I make my own sugar paste as I cannot get it here in Sweden.The Swedes have a whole different way of decorating cakes .As i am South African we have the British styles.
    I tried your paste and it was amazing to work with.Thank u for a lovely site.
    kay Forslöv-Sweden

  72. Rissa Da Roo says

    hi!

    i was just wondering if the glycerin and gelatin were really necassary? ive seen a lot of recipes and non of them have called for it. so do i need to use them to get good fondant/sugarpaste?

    thanks!

  73. Shelley says

    Hi,

    I’m thinking of trying your receipe for sugarpaste.
    Could I add food colouring to make different colours or would this not work?

    Xx

  74. Jane says

    Hello Rissa,
    Lindy adds glycerine into her paste as it absorbs moisture and helps prevent the paste drying out too quickly. The gelatin helps to hold the paste together. We have found that if you leave both out the paste can become crumbly.
    Jane

  75. Jane says

    Hello Shelley,
    You can add colour if you wish but use edible paste colour not liquid food colouring. If you use liquid colouring it will change the consistency of the paste and it will become sticky.
    Good Luck
    Jane

  76. Annie says

    Dear Lindy,

    I have recently gotten into cake decorating. I note your recipe for sugarpaste calls for powdered gelatine. I cannot find the powdered kind in my local supermarket. Would I be able to find it there or is it a specialised ingredient that I would need to go to a more specialised shop? I am in Northern Ireland.

    Thank you in advance for your assistance.

  78. gemma says

    hi there how do i add the colouring to the sugar paste and is it food colouring have to use gemma

  79. Rissa Da Roo says

    oh. well for my cakes i found this recipe in abook that works really well (in my opinion) and it didnt have any of that in there. but thanks for explaining! 🙂

  80. Annie says

    Dear Lindy,

    Regards my above post I have since found powdered gelatine so im planning on icing a cake this week. Hope it goes well!

  81. billie-jo says

    hiya im new to baking, and want to try this but what is and where can i get the glycerine, gelotene and glucose, other than your website, is it possible to buy it through a local shop? and how long can the paste be stored for?
    also is this the kind of icing you would use on a cake, to cover it?
    many thanks and looking forward to to trying it

  82. Shelley says

    Hi, if I follow your receipe above do I add the edible paste at the begin with the water or shall I knead it in afterwrds? X

  83. Daniel Kent says

    Hey,
    I am planning to use your recipe. However, I would like to make a coloured variety. Do I use normal Food Colouring? If so, when do I add the colouring

  84. Lindys Team says

    Hello Gemma,

    To colour sugarpaste you really need to use a specialist colourant.
    You only need the tiniest amount of colour – start by dipping a cocktail stick into the colour and then kneading this into the sugarpaste.
    You can always add more if needed!
    Smear some white vegetable fat on to your hands before you begin to prevent dying your hands the same colour as the paste.
    It is fun to experiment with mixing colours to get the exact shade that you want.

  87. Annie says

    Dear Lindy,

    The cake went brilliantly. It domed a wee bit in the middle but I just cut that part off. After that I tried the choclate mud cake with chocolate ganache which went down brilliantly!!! can’t wait to get more adventurous.

    Annie

  93. Lindys Team says

    Hello Marcus,

    If your sugarpaste has gone completely dry, I am afraid you have reached the point of no return.
    You need to start again.
    If the paste has just started drying out, try a 10 second burst in the microwave which may bring it back to life.
    Always make sure that stored sugarpaste is well sealed to prevent drying out.

  95. Lindys Team says

    Hello Billie-Jo,

    You should be able to buy gelatine from any decent supermarket and glucose and glycerine can be bought either from the supermarket of the chemist. You do use sugarpaste to cover cakes. It will keep for 3-6 months if it is homemade. You can also buy preprepared sugarpaste which will have a use-by date on the packet. Sugarpaste can be frozen and kept for up to a year.

  96. Lindys Team says

    Hello Shelley,

    Sugarpaste colours should definitely be kneaded in afterwards and remember start with just a little – dip a cocktail stick into the colour – you can always add more if you need it.
    Try mixing different colours and be creative!

  97. Emma says

    Hi,

    I an wanting to decorate my own wedding cake, but I was wondering how far in advance could I make my paste into flowers etc and it still be okay?

    Many thanks
    Emma

  98. Rissa Da Roo says

    i could not find one sadly, so instead me and my mom used frosting. our cake came out looking awesome! 🙂

  100. jayne says

    Hi Lindy.

    i live in Spain and i cannot find anyone who supplies cake decorating products. I am a total beginner so i am not confident at trying to make my own fondants etc.I have searched on the internet but all the suppliers are from the UK
    Do you know of any suppliers in Spain.
    Thank you
    Jayne

  101. Jo says

    With regards to the hot pink colouring which was mentioned ages ago, I’ve found that adding cerise colour dust does the trick brilliantly – you get a really bright, zingy pink without it going too ‘peachy’.

  102. Jane says

    Hello Jayne,
    I’m afraid I don’t know any suppliers in Spain, although we are able to ship products to you in Spain.
    Jane

  103. Charlotte says

    Dear Lindy,

    This recipe is fantastic. It really works well. How long can it be stored without freezing?

    Jayne, there are various online shops here in Spain (I live here too), Many UK shops ship, but the postage can sometimes be a bit expensive.

    Have fun.

    Charlotte

  105. Annie says

    Dear Lindy,

    I have made my own sugarpaste and was just wondering how to store it until I need to use it and also how long does sugarpaste keep for?

    Annie

  106. Izabela says

    Dear Lindy
    Can I use sheets of gelatine rather than powder I’m afraid my local shop does not supply powder gelatine and I live miles away from any supermarkets.
    Izabela

  107. Ralph says

    Hi,
    if i make ur recipe of sugar paste and put it on a cake and kept that cake for a full day out of fridge, will the sugar dry and become hard?
    thanks

  108. Agnes says

    hi lindy, I love ur blog. I’ve been decorating cakes for 6yrs now and know how to make my on sugarpaste but the problem I have is with the colours. E.g red colour, I use wilton paste colour. I’ll have to use almost the whole bottle b4 I can get a sharp red colour. Pls can u advise any colour that is good. Thanks Agnes from Nigeria.

  109. Tilly Smithton-Green says

    Hi Lindy.

    I can’t thank you enough, I used to make all my childrens cakes, friends cakes etc, I am self taught and make great cakes that everyone remembers.

    After several years gap of not making cakes, I became ill and just couldn’t stand there moulding etc.

    Suddenly, I’ve started again, our first little grandson is one and after success with the Bapistism cake, I’m making his 1st Birthday cake. However, its two tier is so many are coming, the sugarpaste and a few extra would have come to about £40 and I had second thoughts, I’m thrilled, made all the paste I needed and in the colours for about £6.00 !!!!!

    Many, many thanks, wow you will save me so much money with this.

  110. Jane says

    Hello Ralph,
    You shouldn’t store your iced cakes in the fridge. When you take then out of the fridge they will get covered in condensation and make the sugarpaste soggy. You should store your covered cakes in a cardboard cake box and then the sugarpaste will dry and crust over.
    Jane

  112. Jane says

    Annie,
    Homemade sugarpaste will last a long time, six months or more. You would store it the same way as sugarpaste you buy in the shops – in an airtight plastic bag.
    Jane

  114. Nichola says

    Hi

    I have been asked to make a 30th birthday cake and they want it fuschia with purple lettering. I have read the comments above about how to make fuschia sugarpaste but have you got any tips on how to make purple?

    Many thanks

    Nic

  115. Andrea says

    Just made my first ever sugarpaste using your recipe Lindy and it was a success,I was doubting myself not your recipe :o)Thank you Andrea x

  116. Tanja says

    Hi Lindy
    I just wondered to colour the sugarpaste, can i just use normal food colouring or do i need special colours for icing?? And if so where would i be able to et hold of those. Thank you xx

  117. Claire Boyd says

    Hi Lindy,

    I’ve just bought and watched your ‘wonky cakes’ dvd which is fantastic. I’m making a 3-tier cake for my friend’s wedding in March and am inspired by your stencils.

    Do I presume correctly that I can only stencil on to a flat surface? For example would I be able to stencil a ‘wallpaper’ like design onto sugarpaste to cover an entire tier? I’m imagining not – I’m guessing the royal icing needs to be scraped onto a flat surface.

    Thanks for your help, was desperate to come to your forthcoming wonky cakes course but it’s on a school day and I’m a teacher so no can do unfortunately.

    Many many thanks for your help and for your inspiring website and products.

    Claire

  118. Squirtie says

    Hi Lindy & the team
    I am loving the site, been making celebration cakes as a hobby for many years & still learning
    I notice you use powdered gelatine, I couldnt get this so I had to buy the 20g packs of fine leaf gelatine
    I have mastered the conversion and I hope this is useful to my fellow cakies
    in a 20g pack there are usually 12 leaves of gelatine
    this is the equivalent of 6 tsp of powdered (approx)
    so
    2 sheets is 1 tsp of powdered gelatine
    I have used this conversion sucessfully to make your sugarpaste and it turns out great.

    Keep asking the questions girls – we can teach each other so much

  119. Squirtie says

    I have osteoporia and my hands do tend to seize up at times so if I have a large batch of sugarpaste to colour in one particular colour I use my kenwood and dough hook……one miserable day it broke (yes my faithful friend Ken Wood let me down)
    soooo
    I threw the paste into the bread maker and added the colour it worked great and got the majority mixed in the final knead by hand was all it took to make sure it had blended well
    as for my friend Ken Wood….he has been restored to his former glory as 2nd chef – next time I will check the fuse first!!

  120. karla says

    Hi, I make sugarpaste/cmc cake toppers but i am never sure how long they will keep for once made. If i kept them in a box would they last a few months and would they still be edible???? Thanks in advance 🙂 xx

  122. Lindys Team says

    Hi Karla,

    The sugarpaste/cmc cake toppers will last forever in a cardboard box in the dark, however the colour will naturally fade over time.
    We wouldn’t suggest eating them after a week though!
    Hope this helps.

    Marina

  125. Lindys Team says

    Hi Squirtie,
    It sounds like you had a stressful time!
    I’m glad to hear that your breadmaker came up trumps for you.
    Well done for thinking outside of the box.
    Maybe others with your dilema can use your advise.
    Thank you for letting us know.
    Marina

  127. Phaedra says

    Hello!
    thanks for the recipe! i have to make my first cake covered in sugarpaste tonight!! i have two really urgent questions. One, using gelatin sheets, you need to soak them in water, wont that affect the consistency of the sugarpaste? And two, can you advise me how to achieve an “airforce” blue colour? adding a bit of black to a baby blue sugarpaste? Finally, and not so urgent, what can i use to give the cake a milk chocolate flavour?? Thank you ssooooo much!!

  128. Lindys Team says

    Hi Phaedra,
    – Lindy only ever uses powdered Gelatin, but either way the gelatin will absorb the water and should not affect the consistency of the sugarpaste. Does anyone else have any experience of working with Gelatin Sheets?
    – To create the Airforce Blue, Lindy would use the M&B Sugarpaste in Navy Blue and add a small amount of black until the correct colour appears. The sugar pastes are available to buy from Lindy’s shop but by collection only as they are heavy: http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/OnlineShop-CollectionofOrders.htm
    – Lindy has experimented over the years with milk chocolate cakes and find that they do not taste very much of the chocolate, hence she uses plain.
    She recommends buying a good quality Milk chocolate say from Green and Blacks with a fairly high cocoa content and see how it turns out.
    I hope it all turns out well for you.

    Marina

  129. Lindys Team says

    Hi Claire,

    Its great to hear you are enjoying the Wonky Cakes DVD!
    You could stencil onto the sugarpaste before covering the cake, however it may distort when you shape the icing onto the cake.
    Has anyone else tried stencilling first on a flat surface then covering the cake?
    Lindy cannot advise on this as she hasn’t done it this way, also she wouldn’t use Royal Icing, she would use White Fat and then edible dusts such as: http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/OnlineShop-Edibles.htm#SKProfessionalDustFoodColour
    Hope this helps and you have great fun practising.

    Marina

  130. phaedra says

    thank you! i used a royal blue and black gel colour on white sugarpaste and came out perfect. also, i really agree on the milk chocolate issue – you cant really taste it, but thought i wasnt doing something right. in any case, i used milk chocolate buttercream but one can also use milk chocolate ganache to fill. thank you!

  131. darrell says

    is the liquid glucose actually 125ml or 125g wherever i see liquid glucose it is only measured in weight not volume

  133. Emma says

    Hi,

    How much food colouring should i add to make the sugar paste coloured?
    And would i be best off to use gel colours?

    Emma.

  135. tam says

    Hi Lindy,

    Thanks for this great, easy recipe that allowed me to make my own sugarpaste in a place where I can’t buy it ready-made (an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where it’s not easy to get lots of things!). Since lots of other users seem to be in places where they have trouble with not being able to find things, here are some observations :

    – I can’t get glycerine here and the recipe worked fine without it, though I did add a couple of teaspoons of warm water to get the consistency I wanted;
    – I couldn’t get white fat so asked my butcher for something I could use and he gave me goose fat, which seemed to do the trick for my hands and my work surface;
    – I can’t buy paste colour here so used liquid by colouring a tiny bit with a drop and then kneading it in. It took a long time to get strong colours, and I had to add icing sugar periodically to keep the consistency right, but it did work.

    Hope this might be helpful to others.

    Cheers!

  137. Lee says

    Hi Lindy, this was the first time I have ever made sugarpaste icing and it has turned out really well, I am making 4kg in total but did a 1kg batch as a trial to make sure I was ok following the recipe, the only problem I had was measuring the liquid glucose (it would not come out the pot!) and when I was trying to bring the icing together I had to add 2 extra teaspoons of water as it just wasn’t coming together but it was fine after that and I have wrapped it up ready to use in a few days! Thanks for the easy to follow recipe!

  138. Geraldine says

    Hi Lindy,
    Can you help me. How do you get your cakes so level.
    I cut mine with the cake leveler and they never end
    up level. Please help!
    Geraldine

  139. alison dockree says

    i want to use your sugarpaste recipe but I only have fine leaf gelatine and not powdered, in 20g sheets. How much do I use, your recipe for 1kg calls for 20ml powdered gelatine. please help?

  140. Lindys Team says

    Hi Alison,
    Lindy only ever uses powdered Gelatin, but either way the gelatin will absorb the water and should not affect the consistency of the sugarpaste.
    Does anyone else have any experience of working with Gelatin Sheets?
    Hopefully someone can help you with the quantity.

    Marina

  142. Zoe Boyce says

    Hi, and thank you for this recipe, it’s great and as a COMPLETE beginner I had no troubles with it at all. Great stuff!
    x

  143. Sandra Hopkins says

    Hi Lindy
    Just looking at your recipe for homemade sugar paste. Please could you tell me how long it lasts once applied to the cake? I have made my daughter’s wedding cakes, I have already applied marzipan and would like to sugar paste this weekend on 29 May. the wedding is in 4 weeks time 25 June 2011 and would like to know if the sugar paste will be still fresh after 4 weeks?

    I have made my own in the past, which I also like working with. However, I use egg powder, glycerine, glucose, icing sugar and and caster sugar but have not used gelatine? What does the gelatine do? Do you think my recipe would last 4 weeks?

    I would really appreciate a response today if at all possible as I say I would like to ice this weekend. Many thanks

    Kind Regards

    Sandra

  144. Malecka says

    Dear Lindy,

    Thank you very much for creating this blog, it’s great to find someone ready to help us to improve.
    I tried the sugarpaste recipe and it works good but everytime I try to cover a cake, the sugarpaste breaks, can you please give me some advices?
    Thank you very much

  145. gaynor says

    I followed instructions for making sugarpaste. It rolls out fine but when i drape it over the cake it just falls apart, what am i doing wrong? please help soon as my daughters birthday is imminent.

  148. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Sandra
    The sugar in sugarpaste acts as a preservative so its self life is quite a few months. Assuming that you are covering fruit cakes, icing them 4 weeks before the wedding should be fine. The secret is storage – place the cakes in cardboard cake boxes and place them somewhere dry and cool.
    I hope the wedding cake all goes to plan
    Good luck
    Lindy

  149. Blogwog says

    These tips are great! Thank you! I am a bit of an amateur and am in serious need of help! I have to make a vegetarian cake and so obviously will not be able to use gelatine. On the vegel (veg gelatine) box it says that measurements must be adjusted because vegel is not as strong as gelatine. Can you please help…am i able to use th same amount of vegeal (1 sachet) as you have stated in your receipe above! Sorry, but i’m frantic!!

    Thank you! 🙂

  150. Isabelle says

    Hello,

    I wonder is genuine maple syrup could do as well as corn syrup or liquid glucose?

    Before finding your recipe here, I tried another one that didn’t use glycerin, but asked for corn syrup. I replaced the corn syrup with maple syrup, but the result, although it tasted wonderful, was somewhat disappointing: the sugarpaste was easy to manipulate, but it dried incredibly fast.

    In this first trial, it didn’t really matter, as I was making a medieval castle (found in one of your books) and I convinced my audience (the kids at my son’s kindergarten) to attribute the little “crumbling” aspect to the fact that it was such and oooooold castle 😉

    I’m not a professional, I just do this for fun, but I would like to have something a bit more workable for the next cake.

    I wonder… did the absence of glycerin cause the dryness, or was it the maple syrup?

    Thanks!

  151. Lindys Team says

    Hi Isabelle,
    The use of the maple syrup in your sugarpaste would have caused the dryness. We don’t recommend substituting the liquid glucose.
    Liquid glucose is know for its anti-crystallinity and therefore suits sugarpaste.
    Wishing you the best,

    Marina

  152. Gemma says

    I was wondering what liquid glucose and glycerine are and can you buy these from any supermarket.?
    Can you cover a whole cake with sugarpaste and also can you make figurines with it to top the cakes..?
    This is going to sound like a stupid question but is the liquid glucose and glycerine edible.
    last thing is the sugarpaste edible too?

  153. Lindys Team says

    Hi Blogwog,

    I’m afraid that we do not have any experience of using Vegel (Vegetarian Gelatine) instead of Gelatine in Sugarpaste.
    Can anyone else on this blog help Blogwog??????
    Wishing you the best,

    Marina

  154. Lindys Team says

    Hi Gemma,

    Many thanks for your questions. Liquid Glucose is a kind of sugar, we sell glucose syrup here at Lindys. . It does not crystallise as sugar does. Glycerine is similar, and is usually used for thickening and keeping moisture in cakes, it can be purchased easily at most supermarkets. Yes, you can use sugar paste to cover whole cakes, to make figurines with your sugar paste you need to add CMC or Gum Tragacanth to your sugarpaste which will help harden it enabling you to use it for modeling etc.

    Best wishes

    Sara

  155. zoey says

    hi
    ive just started getting back into my baking with a paasion…could you tell me which book is best to show me how to use the suagrpaste to make all the decs for my cupcakes please…thank you

  156. Lindys Team says

    Hi Zoey,

    So pleased to hear you are getting back into baking, well done. Lindy has just written a new book called, The Contemporary Cake Decorating Bible, you can pre order this on our website, it’s due beginning of October. This should be perfect for you!

    Let us know how you get on !
    Best wishes
    Sara

  157. Joanne says

    Hi. I am wanting to start my own cake business. Small to begin with, to see if I can manage. I love baking cakes and decorating them but have always bought my icing ready-made. I would to make my own icing/sugarpaste, but was wondering how I add the colour to them. I have tried in the past but it ends up sticky or sloppy. I am wanting to mould the sugarpaste to create character cakes.
    Many thanks.

  158. Charlene says

    Hi, i would like to decorate a minnie mouse themed cake. is this recipe of sugar paste good to make embossed/3d things?. And how do i add color to the sugar paste ?

    Thanks

  160. Lindys Team says

    Hi Joanne,

    To colour the sugarpaste we recommend adding paste colours, not liquid colours, add the paste gradually until you get the colour you like
    When moulding sugarpaste you need to add CMC or Gum Trag to make the paste firm enough.
    If the sugarpaste does become too sticky or sloppy Lindy would recommend add a pinch or two of CMC and leaving the sugarpaste to rest for a while.

    Good luck

    Marina

  161. charlene says

    Hi, to add color, which is the best, the liquid or powdered? And another question, the powdered arabic gum is good to use instead of CMC or Gum Trag? and how much should i use for the recipe above. thanks

  162. Lindys Team says

    Hi Charlene,
    You can ice the cake using sugarpaste without CMC/Gum trag.
    The above ingredients are used for firming sugarpaste to create shapes/figures.
    To colour sugarpaste you should use paste colours not liquid colours as these make the paste too wet. Lindy doesn’t use dust colours to colour her paste, although others do, as specs of dust colour often remain in the paste. Which make of paste colours you use is very much personal choice, Lindy regularily uses both Squires Kitchen and Sugarflair: http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/OnlineShop-Edibles.htm
    Why not take a look at one of Lindy’s books as these will give you lots of ideas and techniques -My personal favourite is Party Animal Cakes – http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/OnlineShop-Books.htm

    Happy baking!
    Marina

  163. Charlene says

    Hi, today i tried to make a figurine with the sugar paste and it came ok for the first time. Now i would like to make more, but i need them for august and i was thinking, since i am a beginner it’s better to start now making the decorations.

    How can i store them so they will stay ok, and then how to stick them on the cake?

    Thanks for your help

  164. Lindys Team says

    Hi Charlene,

    To stick them on the cake use sugar glue and keep them in a cardboard box like a cake box. We recommend adding Gum Trag or CMC to the sugarpaste to give you a firmer paste so it keeps its shape.
    Best wishes

    Marina

  165. Charlene says

    Hi can i use Gum arabic instead of the Gum trag or cmc to the sugarpaste to make it firmer?

    Thanks

  167. mary says

    I am making a wired star cake topper for my cousins 16th birthday, i did a trial run using regal ice with a pinch of cmc but after a day or so the corners snapped off, now i really want to make them today but arent actually needed until next saturday, i was told to use flower paste instead but there isnt anywhere local that sells it, what do you reccomend??

  168. Lindy Smith says

    You could use, modelling paste, flower paste or pastillage however all these sugar mediums are fragile. What I recommend you use is artista soft, this is a non toxic, lightweigh medium which is idea for what you are trying to create, as once dry it is really robust and won’t snap or break. Click the following link for more details: http://lindyscakes.co.uk/OnlineShop-ArtistaSoft.htm As you will see this is a product that we stock and one that I use.
    Good luck with your cake
    Lindy

  169. Fi says

    Hi Lindy
    I offered to make my friend wedding cake for them in Oct as they are on a very tight budget. I’m looking at doing buttons to decorate the cake will i need to add the CMC (not sure if we can get it over here) or should I just let the sugarpaste dry out over a few days before sticking them to the cake? I’m not sure as yet if we’re going to ice the whole cake in sugarpaste or frosting, if I use frosting will it make the buttons go soggy after they are stuck on?

    Also I live in a humid environment (tropical QLD Australia) where else is a good place to store the cake once finished if I cant avoid the humidity?
    Ta
    Fi

  171. terri says

    do you know of a recipe for platinum paste? i’ve searched every where on the internet and came up with nothing. gi’ve heard so much good things about it. can be rolled out so very thin with out braking and is great for modeling.
    terri

  172. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Terri
    Platinum paste is a brand name, so I don’t expect you will find a recipe on the internet!
    Basically, platinum paste is a ready made flower paste which can also be used for fine modelling. I’ve not used it myself but I know fellow sugarcrafters who do.
    If you want to have a go at making your own flower paste, many of my books contain a tried and tested recipe that I find works really well.
    Hope this helps
    Lindy

  173. Joanna says

    Hi
    Just like to know how to add color to the sugar paste? What would i need to use? and when do i put it in the sugar paste?

    Thanks

  175. Selina says

    Hi, I bought some sugarpaste to make some stars and butterflies but the sugarpaste wont go hard enough and it breaks easily. How do I make it hard?

    Thanks,
    Selina

  176. Lindys Team says

    Hi Selina,
    To make shapes out of sugarpaste , CMC or Gum Tragacanth need to be added to it to make modelling paste.
    Gum Tragacanth – A Natural gum that Lindy uses to make the modelling paste for all her cakes. Knead in 1 teaspoon of gum into 225g (8oz) of sugarpaste, the gum needs time to work before the paste is used. You will begin to feel a difference in the paste after an hour or so, but it is best left overnight.
    CMC /Carboxymethylcellulose/ E466/ Cellulose Gum is a synthetic substitute for gum tragacanth but has the advantage that it acts instantly. CMC is known by various names including Tylo Powder and Tylose
    Both of these are available here: http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/OnlineShop-Edibles.htm
    Happy playing and creating!
    Marina

  177. Joanna says

    Hi just wondering could i use food colouring for the sugar paste? or will it make it watery?

    Thanks

  178. Lindy Smith says

    Hi Joanna
    You need to add paste food colour to colour sugarpaste rather than liquid food colour. Liquid food colour will , as you say, make the sugarpaste too watery.
    We sell a range of paste colours via our online shop, click here to see the colours availiable
    Sweet success
    Lindy

  179. Repha says

    Hi Lindy,

    I just tried making sugar paste flowers using the the following ingredients;
    CMC
    Glucose
    Icing sugar
    Vegetable gelatine
    warm water
    The mixture came out fine and i was able to cut flowers out. However my flowers have not hardened and are still soft and soggy after a day. I havent refrigerated them as i read somewhere that i shouldnt refrigerate it. Can you please tell me how i should store my freshly made flowers so that they set?

    Thank you

  180. Repha says

    Hi Lindy,

    I just tried making sugar paste flowers using the the following ingredients;
    CMC
    Glucose
    Icing sugar
    Vegetable gelatine
    warm water
    The mixture came out fine and i was able to cut flowers out. However my flowers have not hardened and are still soft and soggy after a day. I havent refrigerated them as i read somewhere that i shouldnt refrigerate it. Can you please tell me how i should store my freshly made flowers so that they set? or why it may be that my flowers are not hardening?

    Thank You

    Repha

  181. Jane says

    Hello Repha,
    The quickest way to make modelling paste is to add some gum tragacanth to sugarpaste. Your recipe for flower paste is different to the one Lindy has in her books, so this may be the problem. Otherwise it may be just the way you are storing your flowers. You need to store them in a box, and not an airtight container as this will stop them from drying out.
    Jane

  183. Raahima Shayan says

    Hi!
    i wanted to ask you if we packed it tightly and we used it after a while will the sugar paste expire??
    and the recipe is really good!

  185. Yvonne says

    Hi there i am in a very big dilemma !
    My daughter in law has allergy to gluten and glucose is made from wheat
    Can i just use sugar syrup for this recipe will it work just as well? or do you know of an alternative?

    thanks

  187. Lindys Team says

    Hi Yvonne,
    I’m afraid we have not tried to make sugarpaste with sugar syrup.
    Does anyone else know how to make sugarpaste for someone who is allergic to gluten and glucose?
    Onward and Upward!
    Marina

  188. Natalie says

    Hi Lindy,
    I have started experimenting with sugar paste but I am having trouble with it not hardening. I am using Ready To Roll icing with some Tylo Powder added.
    Do you have any advice as to where I may be going wrong?
    Thank you,
    Natalie

  190. heather says

    HI folks
    Can you help? I read that if you use a filling that contains cream or cream cheese e.g ganache you must out the cake in the fridge afterwards until needed, however I also read in a different book that you shouldnt put an iced cake in the fridge, so how do you store a cake that has a ganache filling until you need it ?

    confused please help
    heather

  191. Lindys Team says

    Hi Heather,
    Once the sugarpaste is on the cake it helps protect the inside ingredients.
    We recommend storing the cake once decorated in a cake box so that air can get to it and in a cool place but not in a fridge.
    Happy decorating!
    Marina

  192. Iris alvares says

    Hi Linda..
    Love our site.. Very informative.. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.. Need to know if I can store sugar paste in an airtight box after wrapping it with cling film and then keeping it in the fridge.. I live in india where it is quite warm through the year. Thanks iris

  193. Lindys Team says

    Hello Iris,
    To store sugarpaste in a warm climate Lindy recommends wrapping it in a plastic freezer bag, ensuring you have removed as much air as possible, and then keeping it in an airtight box in the fridge or freezer.
    Cling film breathes and does not suit storing items that need air kept away.
    Enjoy your decorating.
    Marina

  194. Palak says

    hey,
    I am a vegetarian. You said that we can use vegetarian gelatin. Will the measurement be the same for it as well?
    Thank you..!!

  195. Ella Rose says

    hi Lindy,
    I live in Australia and I have never used or heard of sugar paste before,
    and I don’t know if it is a good idea to make sugar paste with that experience that I have
    (none). Do you know if you can buy sugar paste already made. and if you can buy it do you know any places in Perth western Australia?
    thank you
    Ella xx

  196. Jane says

    Hello Ella,

    Lindy always recommends that new (and experienced) sugarcrafters try making their own sugarpaste. It’s a great way to learn about the ingredients, and how they react. I don’t know of any suppliers in Australia – if any of our other bloggers can help please do.

    Jane

  197. jhanwwee says

    hi lindy ,
    this recipe was very useful to me . as i had a cake icing and decorating competition , dont think i am some elder girl . i am just 11 years old i had competition in school . this recipe helped me out to make the cake decoration beautifully

  199. Jane says

    Hello,
    Thank you for your post. We are delighted we could help you with your decorating. Good luck in your future sugarcrafting!
    Jane

  200. Mal says

    Hey Lindy
    Thanks for the EXCELLENT website and blog – I’ve done basic cakes over the years, but am trying something a little more elaborate for my daughters 21st, so I’m going to try your sugarpaste recipe (I dont like the taste or texture of shop bought).

    When gathering ingredients, I accidentally picked up leaf gelatine….could I use this instead of the powdered stuff, and if so, any ideas on quantities?

    thanks again

    Mal

  201. Sharon says

    I just tried your recipe and im so happy with the results, i dont need to buy it anymore, thank you so much for sharing.

    Happy new year 2012 to you and your family.

    xxx

  202. Lindys Team says

    Hi Sharon,
    Thank you for letting us know that Lindy’s recipe for Sugarpaste turned out so well.
    Happy new year to you too.
    Marina

  203. Marina Faria says

    Hi Lindy,

    Can you please tell how long the sugar paste usually lasts for (expiring date)? I will try to make some cake decorations for a cake but I’m not sure how early can I make them.I don’t want them to go off before we get to eat the cake.

    Many thanks,

    Marina

  204. Lindys Team says

    Hi Mal

    Great to hear you’re enjoying the blog.

    Lindy only uses powdered gelatine and therefore cannot help with quantities of leaf gelatine. Can anyone else help?

    Zoe

  205. Helen Donovan says

    Hi Lindy, I have been having a go at making a Lego cake for an 8th birthday. The results I am thrilled with but it cost me a fortune in sugar paste so I am going to have a go at making my own from your recipe. Can I freeze it plain and then add colour as and when I need to use it? Thanks Helen x

  206. Tony says

    Tried your recipe for sugar paste, but found it to be very sticky, no matter how much icing sugar I used to knead the dough with. Can you please give me some advice. Many thanks Tony.

  208. Nan says

    thank you thank you thank you!
    i tried this recipe out for the first time today and it was amazing!!
    i live in india where its not easy to source readymade sugarpaste. let me also tell you that ingredients such as liquid glucose, gelatine and glycerine are not easy to find! took me a few days and a loooot of searching but i managed to find the liquid glucose and gelatine! i didnt use glycerine in my trial and it still turned out absolutely perfect! i in fact added a few extra drops of warm water and it was the perfect texture!
    thank you so much lindy! u made my day!

  209. Lindys Team says

    Hi Nan,
    Its great to hear that you can source the ingredients out in India, and that is turned out so well.
    Lets hope others in India see this and know it can be done.
    Marina

  212. Kiz says

    Hi,

    Im new to all this cake decorating but I really want to get into it. does
    this sugarpaste set to be able to be able to put in the moulds. Does it then
    set hard enough to paint with out leaving marks

    Thanks

  213. Ina says

    Hi Lindy,
    I just bought your “cake decorating bible” and I love it. What a wonderful book. Now I want to try to cover cut out cookies with sugarpaste. How do I store them after they are decorated without the sugarpaste getting to dry to eat? How far in advance can I make them?
    Another question: do you have a good recipe for cut out cookies without eggs? I want to make some for my daughters daycare friends, but there is a child with an egg allergy.
    Thank you for your help.
    Kindest regards
    Ina

  215. Anita says

    Hi lindy,
    I have made some sugar paste flowers and hearts for some cupcakes, but I want to store them for future use. The problem is after a few weeks of drying they are not hard enough and break very easily. Do you have any suggestions on what I can use to make them rock hard but still edible. Can I add something to the sugar paste, if so how much do I add?
    Thank you,
    Anita.

  216. Lindys Team says

    Hi Kiz

    For many moulds the best paste to use is modelling paste. This is sugarpaste with gum tragacanth added, then left overnight. However for highly detailed moulds you may need a softer paste so that the mould is easier to fill completely. The modelling paste will set hard so that you can then paint it.

    Good luck!

    Zoe

  218. Ameli says

    Hallo,

    I just read all the coments and I’m going to try the recipe. I want to make cupcakes with 3d teddies on it, as it shows in the top picture gallery of http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk I felt in love with that teddy the minute I saw it !!!
    Is it corect that I must add 1 tsp of cmc in 225gr of sugarpaste? I want them to dry and keep their heads in place. And if thats corect I must use it after some hours or that is for tylose?

    Thank you in advance
    Ameli

  219. Tiffany says

    Hi Lindy I am only 13 and i am thinking of using your recipie to make some fairly small butterflies. Firstly can I just add normal food colouring to it? Secondly can I paint over it with cake glitter?
    Thanks
    Tiffany

  220. Lindys Team says

    Hi Anita

    I would suggest making your decorations out of modelling paste. This keeps its shape well and dries harder than sugarpaste.
    Add some gum tragacanth to sugarpaste, knead in and wrap in a plastic bag. It is best left overnight before using. If time is short you can use CMC Sugarcel which works straight away.
    Add 5ml (1tsp) of gum tragacanth to 225g (8oz) sugarpaste.

    Good luck with your flowers and hearts.

    Zoe

  221. Lindys Team says

    Hi Tiffany

    You cannot use liquid food colouring in sugarpaste. You must use paste food colouring. You can put cake glitter over it.

    Good luck with your butterflies!

    Zoe

  222. Lindys Team says

    Hi Ameli

    You are correct in adding 1tsp of cmc to 225g sugarpaste. CMC works straight away. If you use gum tragacanth it is best left overnight before using.

    Good luck with your teddies!

    Zoe

  223. Lindys Team says

    Hi Natalie

    CMC added to sugarpaste makes modelling paste. This paste is used to add decoration to cakes and dries harder than sugarpaste.Petal paste (also known as flower or gum paste) is used to make delicate sugar flowers. It can be bought in a variety of colours. You can make your own but it is a time consuming process.

    Regards

    Zoe

  224. Pauline Mann says

    Hi there,
    im attempting to make a tardis cake for a friends son, im going to buy white ready to roll icing and add black n blue gel to it….I was wanting to know if using the rtr icing is advisable and how i add the colour to it, do i mix the 2 colours together then add to the icing, i have no idea lol

    Thanks
    Pauline

  225. Nancy says

    Hello Lindy,

    Thanks for sharing this. The first time I attempted it was a complete disaster because I failed to dissolve the gelatine properly resulting in a dotted sugar paste. The second attempt however was very successful. Thanks so much. I even added half a teaspoon of almond essence to it just perfect!

    Cheers
    Nancy

  228. Tarina says

    Please can anyone help? My daughter wants to make her own flower paste but we cant find a recipe anywhere. Someone told me there was one on here but I dont seem to be able to find it.
    Any elp Most gratefully appreciated! 🙂

  229. Lindys Team says

    Hi Pauline

    To add colour to sugarpaste you need paste colours. You add a little paste colour to the sugarpaste and knead it in. You can add 2 colours.

    Here is a link to navy blue paste colour on our online shop:- ww.lindyscakes.co.uk/shop/Blue-Navy-Blue-Sugarflair-Paste-Colour-25g.html

    Hope this helps and good luck with the tardis cake!

    Zoe

  230. Lauren says

    tarina i was looking for a recipe with flower paste meself and found a recipe on gum paste which i think is the same thing i just wanted to check if the amount of ingredients are right:

    4 large egg whites

    2 lb. bag of 10X powdered sugar

    12 level teaspoons Tylose (#TP100)

    4 teaspoons shortening (Crisco)

    also here is a link for the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAmDI3iQMbc

    i hope this helped tarina

  232. elaine grant says

    Hi, having a problem with some Dr. oetker regalice-when i kneaded it it was far too sticky-i had to colour this for a guitar cake i am making. I’ve finally got it coloured but am worried about when i come to roll it out!!Wouldnt mind but if it doesnt work i’ve wasted a kilo and a half of sugarpaste.I used americolor gels, but it was sticky before i even coloured it.Any suggestions please!!

  233. elaine grant says

    problem solved! just popped it in the fridge for a few minutes then kneaded and rolled out on icing sugar! thank goodness

  234. Buttercream says

    I make marshmallow fondant and it breaks alot. Theres no Gum, tylose, CMC available here.. so what do i use?
    I have a Cake n cupcake boutique and i really need a solution asap.
    I’ll make the gumpaste from your recipe tonight!!

  236. Charlene says

    Hello, can you please tell me how to store sugar paste flower, and figurines please? and for how long they can be stored ?

    Thanks

  238. Lindys Team says

    Hello Charlene

    Sugarpaste flowers and figurines shoud be stored in a cardboard box – not an airtight container. They will keep for a long time.

    Regards

    Zoe

  240. Jane says

    Hello Charlotte,
    It’s on our “To Do” list, in the meantime the recipe is in Lindy’s cake books.
    Jane

  241. sue says

    Hi,

    Does anyone know how to cover a Horseshoe sponge cake, would it be royal icing or sugarpaste I have no idea
    any suggestions would be very grateful.

    thank you

  242. Jane says

    Hello Sue,
    You can cover in royal icing or sugarpaste. When using sugarpaste you would need to cover in sections.
    Jane

  243. rema says

    Hi Lindy, i was wondering is the glycerine you used the same thing we get from the pharmacy or drug store ?

  245. Menka says

    Hello,
    Am planning on trying this sugarpaste recipe.
    Though I have one major concern….I live in India and we are in the middle of the monsoon….how will this sugarpaste hold in the present wet and humid climate?
    Thank you
    Menka

  246. emily says

    Hi there! Was hoping for a little advice! I have made quite a lot of roses for a friends wedding cake over the past couple of weeks using sugarpaste and gum trag. They set beautifully hard but are now softening and starting to flop. I am storing them in flatish stacked cardboard boxes in my dining room! Im really not sure why! The only thing i can think of is the dampness in the air (horrible rainy cornwall!) have borrowed a friends dehumidifier to see if it does the trick! Am i on the right track or is there something else i should be doing!

  247. Jane says

    Hello Menka,
    Damp and humidity is a real problem with sugarpaste. We just had a class last week where there were problems with the paste because the atmosphere was quite damp. You can add CMC to your paste to firm it up a little, and also if it starts to crack when covering you just need to work really quickly on getting the cake covered.
    Sorry not much help I’m afraid.
    Jane

  248. Jane says

    Hello Emily,
    I think you are on the right track – the humidity can really affect your paste. We had a workshop last week when the atmosphere was quite damp and our students had lots of problems with sugarpaste. You could use some of those silica gel packs you get in some packaging to absorb the moisture.
    Jane

  249. Katy says

    Hi Lindy,
    It’s my sister’s 18th coming up and i was thinking of making chocolate sugarpaste. I know you can buy chocolate flavoured sugarpaste in supermarkets and have used it many time however just for a change I’d like to make it from scratch. Would it just be a case of adding some chocolate to the sugarpaste recipe or do I make it in a completly different way?
    Thaks, Katy

  251. Lindys Team says

    Hello Pooja,
    An online conversion site shows us that 125 millilitres = 7.03901304 Imperial tablespoons. So we would say 7 tablespoons is equivalent to 125ml of liquid.
    We hope you enjoy making the sugarpaste.
    Marina

  252. Lindys Team says

    Hi Katy, sorry but we haven’t tried making chocolate sugarpaste from scratch, so can’t really offer any tips. Have you tried looking it up on Google? If you do find a good recipe for it, we would love to hear it.
    Good luck with the cake.
    Susie

  253. junaid says

    hi Lindy.

    can i half the recipe,would i get the same result and i live in karachi pakistani and weather in karachi is always humid so that wont the sugar paste be sticky? please reply me soon ..thanx

  254. Lindys Team says

    Hi Junaid

    You can half the recipe to make a smaller batch, and it will give you the same result. If you live in a hot sticky environment, always try to handle sugarpaste at the coolest part of the day, and don’t handle it too much!

    Good Luck, and let us know how you get on!
    Fiona

  255. junaid says

    hi Lindy

    well thanx it really worked my sugar paste was too good thank you so much,i made in my room where temperature is much cold and it was good and not sticky thank you so much…

  256. alkisti says

    hello!
    i am new in pastry..so please help me!
    so i am trying to make sugarpaste according to your recipe but after i pour in the glycerine- gelatine liquid to the powdered sugar the mixture starts to crumble and i haven’t even used half of the powdered sugar. it does not combine all together…its not sticky but its not a …paste!! what am i doing wrong?

  257. Lindys Team says

    Hi
    Are you using the right amouont of liquid? 60ml of water (with gelatin abosorbed and heated), then adding 125ml of liquid glucose and 15ml glycerine? And are you stirring constantly while adding the liquid in to the icing sugar?
    Fiona

  258. Megha says

    Hi there
    I love Lindy’s books! I have made cookies using her recipe and decorated them using buttercream.
    I have been thinking of trying to make fondant at home now and needed your help to clarify something for me.
    There are some recipes out there which use shortening to make fondant. However, I noticed that Lindy does not use it.
    Does that mean there isn’t a real requirement for shortening?
    Thanks!

  260. Natasha says

    Hi, I’ve noticed a lot of cake makers having trouble with sticky paste but my problem is the opposite. I have tried this recipe 5-6 times now each time carefully measuring out the ingredients and re-checking the measurements to make sure I’m getting it right. My paste always cames out hard and takes an awfully long time to come together due to the icing sugar not sticking to the ball of paste (it feels like too much sugar going in). It is back breaking to knead and never reaches a pliable consistancy. As a result, rolling it out is a nightmare and it always rips when covering a cake. I’ve no idea what I’m doing wrong.

  261. Lindys Team says

    Hi Natasha
    Are you using the right amouont of liquid? 60ml of water (with gelatin abosorbed and heated), then adding 125ml of liquid glucose and 15ml glycerine? And are you stirring constantly while adding the liquid in to the icing sugar? Has anyone else experienced similar issues they have overcome?!
    Fiona

  263. Lindy's Team says

    Hi Utsavi

    Thanks for your enquiry.

    Yes, glycerine is edible. Unfortunately we don’t sell it in our on-line shop. You could try using Google to find an alternative as we don’t use it here so can’t offer any advice, as it depends what you are trying to achieve.

    Sorry we can’t help you further.

    Susie

  264. samantha mccarthy says

    hi, i am going to try this recipe for the first time tomorrow. Do you know how to make chocolate sugar paste? can i just add some cocoa powder? also i want to cover a 20cm round cake will this recipe be too much? i do want some to decorate with but if i can make it chocolate i need to make it separately would half this recipe be enough?

    thanks, sam

  266. Lindys Team says

    Hi Sam

    Sorry for not getting back to you sooner about your sugarpaste query. We are always very busy after the weekend catching up on orders.

    If you have already experimented with your sugarpaste I hope you got on okay.

    If not, then we don’t reccommend adding anything to sugarpaste as it would dry it out. You can buy chocolate flavoured sugarpaste, although we don’t sell it here.

    To cover a 20cm round cake you would need to make a whole batch up, but would more than likely have some left over. Half quantities would not be enough.

    Hope this helps.

    Kind regards
    Susie

  268. Bettina says

    I’ve been looking for a recipe for chocolate sugarpaste and was wondering if reducing the amount of icing sugar and adding cocoa would work?

  270. susan says

    Thank you for giving the cmc recipe. I was searching for one. I will definitely try it out.

  271. Chris says

    Hi,
    I was just having a look at this recipe, because I’ve never used sugarpaste and was wanting to try it from scratch. I just wanted to know when making coloured sugarpaste, what you would replace in the recipe with food colouring? Or do you mix in the colouring afterwards when you’re kneading or rolling it.

    Thanks,

    Chris

  272. Lindys Team says

    Hi Chris

    You would make your sugarpaste first and then knead in your colour afterwards. If you are using a paste colour like Squires Kitchen or Sugarflair, then you only need to use a very small amount. Keep adding more colour to intensify if you want. It does get a bit sticky if you use too much colour, so make sure you have cold hands.

    If it is too sticky, you can use a little gum trag, but this does make the sugarpaste go hard so try and do without.

    Good luck.

    Kind regards
    Lindy’s Team

  273. Charlie says

    Hi, I only have leaf gelitin, is this ok to use? if so, how many sheets to make a 1kg batch? Im making butterfiles for my daughters cake. Many thanks

  274. Lindys Team says

    Hello Charlie,
    Yes you can use leaf gelatin. Just dissolve it like the powdered gelatin. I don’t know how much you would need to use, but it should have quantities on the box.
    Jane

  276. Lindys Team says

    Hi Leo

    Sorry but we don’t know an alternative to glycerine in this instance. Try looking on the British Sugarcraft Guild website http://www.bsguk.org/ for some tips.

    You can buy glycerine in some pharmacies as well as supermarkets.

    Lindy’s Team

  277. Heather Challenger says

    Hi Bettina,

    I came across a recipe for chocolate sugarpaste – or Plastic chocolate as I think it’s called in the US – if you still need one.

    Good luck!! I’d love to know how it turns out!