What birthday would be complete without a birthday cake? I've decided to push the boat out and make a two tier cake (this is a bit of an experiment for me as all the cake we have made in class so far have been solo!) decorated with lots of flowers in the birthday girls chosen colour theme for the weekend - pink and purple. The cake topper will be a keepsake for her so this is where the adventure has started.
I made a batch of pastillage following the recipe we made in class. I'm guessing there is a wee typo in the notes we got at the end of class as mine ended up looking like rubble and I had to add more water and some trex to get a dough to form*. Because of this it isn't quite as smooth as it could be but that is me being a perfectionist.
* I've included the recipe below as it has been written in my class handout. I'll find out on Tuesday which quantities need amending and will update this post accordingly.
Pastillage Basic Recipe
3 tbsp cold water
1 1/2 tsp gelatine powder
500g icing sugar
1/2 tsp gum tragacanth
1 tsp white veg fat (I use Trex)
Soak the gelatine in water for 10 - 15 mins.
Warm the bowl containing 375g sieved icing sugar and gum tragacanth over a pot of hot water to body temp and take off the heat.
Completely dissolve the gelatine over hot but not boiling water.
Pour the gelatine into the warmed icing sugar stirring in using a spoon or knife.
Beat until smooth and pliable, turn out onto a work surface dusted with some of the extra icing sugar.
Knead thoroughly adding small pieces of trex intermittently.
Place in a plastic bag and into an airtight container.
Do not store in the refrigerator.
Use cornflour when working with the paste but use sparingly as too much tends to dry out the paste causing cracks.
This paste must be covered when not in use as it dries out very quickly.
Note - If you require to colour the paste add the colour to the gelatine solution.
Taken from class handouts.
I've used the pastillage to cover a round cake card (approx 4") which is the base for the cake topper. To do this I rolled a small amount of the pastillage into a circle, used some clear spirit (vodka) to brush over the cake card and then laid the disc over the top, ensuring there were no air bubbles trapped between the cake card and the pastillage. I then used a sharp knife to cut the excess dough away from the edges of the card.
I then rolled some more dough out (using the 5mm cookie guides to ensure an even thickness) and then used cookie cutters to make the number 5 and 0.
All are left aside now to dry out before decorating any further.
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