To make the mastic on the cake shine. Working with mastic for beginners

You got together for the first time decorate the cake with fondant and of course you immediately had a lot of questions?
Most importantly, arm yourself with inspiration, imagination and a good mood! And about some subtleties and secrets when working with mastic we will tell you in this article.

So here are some useful tips:

What base should I choose for mastic?
Always apply before covering the cake with fondant. the right basis, it will help to even out the surface of the cake and hide all the imperfections. It could be: butter cream, hot apricot jam, ganache, boiled condensed milk, marzipan mass.

Protect mastic from moisture, otherwise it may melt. That's why, it is forbidden apply mastic to a wet base (whipped cream, soaked cakes, sour cream and so on.)

How does mastic harden?
The mastic dries out when exposed to air for a long time.

How to roll out mastic?
There are several options:
1. You can roll out the mastic with a rolling pin on a flat surface, and to prevent it from sticking, sprinkle the surface with starch or powdered sugar.
2. It is convenient to roll out the mastic between two large plastic sheets, lubricated vegetable oil. When you roll out, you can simply remove the top sheet and transfer the mastic directly on the plastic to the cake. Once you've covered the cake, you can separate the second sheet.

3. You can use a special non-stick mat for mastic.

How to cover a cake evenly with fondant?
To begin, measure the diameter of the cake and the height of the sides, add a small margin (about 5-10cm), and roll out the mastic to the desired size. When transferred to the cake, the mastic will stretch under its own weight and lie flat. After this, take a special round knife for mastic and carefully cut off what is not needed, leaving about half a centimeter in reserve. Then carefully tuck the edges of the layer under the cake. If there are waves or uneven spots on the cake, smooth them out using a spatula.

What to do to prevent the mastic layer from breaking?
If you are covering the cake with sugar mastic, you do not need to roll it out too thin, about 2-3 mm is enough.
This is due to the fact that when covering the cake, the thinly rolled layer of mastic may tear, and all the roughness and imperfections of the base of the cake will be visible.
When you transfer the mastic onto the cake, it will further stretch under its own weight.

What should you do if the layer of mastic that was used to cover the cake breaks?
Don't worry, it can be fixed! The defect can be corrected, and seams and patches can be easily removed using a wide brush moistened with water, smoothing the brush to a smooth surface. If air bubbles have formed under the coating, you can simply pierce the area with a needle and smooth it out.

How to remove traces of starch or powdered sugar from a product? Just go over it with a slightly damp, wide brush and brush off any remaining starch.

How to make sugar mastic shine?
After you have finished decorating the cake, cover the mastic with a solution of honey and vodka in a 1:1 ratio. This can be done conveniently with a silicone brush. The vodka will evaporate without leaving a smell, only a pleasant shine will remain.

How to paint mastic?
To achieve the desired color, special food colorings. They can be added directly to the mastic, or applied with a brush to the surface of the product. Can be used natural dyes: for green – spinach juice, for red – beet juice, for orange – carrot juice.

How to paint sugar mastic black?
Mix dyes of the following colors: red, blue and yellow. The ratio depends on the shade you want to get:
For neutral black: 1 part red: 2 parts blue: 1 part yellow
For black with green tint: 1 part red: 1 part blue: 2 parts yellow
For black with purple undertones: 1 part red: 1 part blue: a little yellow
For black with a red tint: 2 parts red: 1 part blue: 1 part yellow.

How to make figures from mastic?
If you want to connect different parts of the figures or attach finished decorations to the mastic coating, you only need to lightly moisten the joint with water. You can also use protein or protein with a small addition of powdered sugar to glue different parts of mastic figures.
To make colored figurines, it is not necessary to use mastics of different colors: you can make figurines from simple white mastic, dry them, and then paint the finished figurines on top with food coloring.
Try to make large figures in advance so that they dry well.
Attach three-dimensional figures, such as flowers, to the cake not long before serving. Otherwise, if you attach them and put the cake in the refrigerator, they may absorb moisture from the environment and fall off.

Good luck to you and creative success!

Mastic is very tasty and beautiful decoration. Most pastry shops are filled with culinary masterpieces, and when you see them, it’s hard to believe that such a miracle can be created with your own hands. However, an original and bright cake is quite easy to make yourself.

Cooking technology

For mastic you need powdered sugar and water, as well lemon juice and gelatin. Some masters use oil and glycerin in their recipes; this is done so that the mass remains suitable for work longer and does not dry out. The prepared mixture must be kneaded for at least 15 minutes.

It is recommended to knead on a table that has been previously sprinkled with powdered sugar or starch. This is done to prevent the mass from sticking to the surface and hands. Homemade mastic is beautifully colored using the juice of carrots, beets or spinach. Pigments that are sold in stores are also great. To prevent the mixture from drying out before starting work, it must be packed in cling film.

Marshmallow mastic

To prepare you will need 100 grams of marshmallows, 1 tbsp. l. butter, 350 grams of powdered sugar and various dyes. The first two ingredients are combined in one container, then heated in a water bath in the microwave until the marshmallows increase in volume. Next, powdered sugar is added to this mass, and the mixture is kneaded until it resembles plasticine in composition. If it is necessary to mold colored elements, the necessary dyes are added to the composition.

Chocolate mastic

To prepare, you need to have 100 grams of dark chocolate, 100 grams of marshmallows, 1 tbsp. l. butter, 35 grams of 30% cream and 350 grams of powdered sugar.

The chocolate is broken into pieces and added to preheated cream. Then you need to wait until the products are completely dissolved. Next, butter and marshmallows are combined together, and, as in the first recipe, the mass is heated until the marshmallows increase in size in a water bath. Then we collect all the ingredients in one container. Then we mix it in powdered sugar and bring the composition to the state of plasticine.

How to roll it out?

There are several options for how to work with mastic so that it turns out smooth and covers the product beautifully.

1. To do this, you can use a rolling pin and use it to roll out the mass on a flat surface with previously sprinkled starch or powdered sugar.
2. Another convenient way is to use two polyethylene sheets. Before starting work, they are lubricated with vegetable oil, and the mass is placed between them. After rolling out and giving the desired shape, the top layer is removed, and the coating is transferred to the product directly on the second sheet. After covering, all excess is removed.
3. There is also a special silicone mat to which the ingredients do not stick.

How to cover a cake with fondant?

1. Cut off required quantity masses and warms up well.
2. Using a ruler, measure the top of the cake and its sides. Next, on a table sprinkled with powder or starch, a layer slightly larger than the measurements, 3.5 mm thick, is rolled out.
3. Use special spatulas to level the surface and remove excess powder with a brush.
4. Then the cake is covered with mastic, for this it is lifted from the table using a rolling pin on which it was previously rolled, and then gradually laid out on the product.
5. Using a special tool or your palms, smooth the top of the cake, starting from the center and moving towards the edges.
6. Next, it becomes more clear how to work with mastic, so the same procedure is performed with the side parts. In this case, the mass needs to be pulled out a little when applying. You need to smooth out the covering very carefully so that wrinkles do not appear.
7. Excess coating is carefully trimmed off sharp knife or tuck under the base.
8. If you need to apply a design or embossing to the cake, then this is done immediately, before the mass hardens.

Making figurines

Once it has become clear how to cover the cake with fondant, you can begin making a variety of decorations.

Since the structure of the mass resembles plasticine, with active imagination the necessary fragments are sculpted. To connect the parts, they are moistened with a small amount of water and fastened. To add color to the elements, it is not necessary to use colored paste; you can make figures from white mastic, and then simply paint them. It is better to make large decorations in advance so that they have time to dry well. Details such as flowers are laid out immediately before serving, but a master class will help you understand the technology for attaching the figures. Cakes with such decorations should not sit in the refrigerator for a long time, otherwise they may absorb a lot of moisture and simply fall off.

Today, cakes made from sugar mastic are becoming increasingly popular. Thanks to the variety of confectionery tools and ingredients, now not only professionals, but also amateurs can try their hand at this art. But you shouldn’t expect that you will achieve “unearthly beauty” the first time: the art of working with mastic, like any other art, needs to be learned. Each business has its own secrets and tricks, which can be achieved through trial and error. So that you can quickly and efficiently learn how to work with sugar mastic, we have prepared a selection of useful tips for you.

How to roll out sugar mastic correctly?

There are several ways to roll out:

On a surface sprinkled with starch or powdered sugar.
Between sheets of polyethylene greased with vegetable oil.
On a non-stick mat.

The most famous method is to roll out the mastic on a surface sprinkled with powder or starch. The only difficulty with the first method is that the rolled out layer of sugar mastic must be constantly turned while rolling so that it does not stick to the surface. If you choose the second option, you will need to remove the top layer of polyethylene from the rolled out mastic, turn the layer over, evenly cover the cake with it, and only then separate the second layer of polyethylene. However, thin polyethylene (for example, cling film) is not suitable for our purposes: here we need to use something thicker and more substantial, like film for greenhouses.

What to do if the mastic keeps tearing or cracking?

Sugar mastic is not intended for very thin rolling. The thickness of the layer should be approximately 2-3 mm (thicker is also not advisable). Thinly rolled mastic has its drawbacks: firstly, it can tear while covering the cake, and secondly, all the defects and unevenness of your culinary masterpiece (for example, layers of cake and pieces of cream) will be visible under it. All errors must be corrected before you decide to cover the cake with sugar mastic. The surface of the cake should be smooth, without protruding edges or folds.

It is also possible that when mixing the mastic you used “coarsely ground” powdered sugar, which contains whole sugar crystals. There’s nothing you can do about it: this mastic will tear even when rolled out.

If the layer with which the cake was covered nevertheless breaks at the most crucial moment, do not despair. To restore the cake, it is best to remove the layer of mastic and cover it again. If the first action is impossible, then seams, patches and other defects can be “smoothed out” using a pastry iron and vegetable fat. Apply the fat to the damaged surface and smooth the cake with an iron until its surface is perfectly smooth. And if you suddenly find air bubbles under the layer of mastic, try piercing them with a needle and then carefully smooth out the “holes.”

How to properly cover a cake with sugar mastic?

In order to avoid unsightly folds on the sides of the cake, the following is necessary: roll out the sugar mastic with a small margin (about 5-10 cm) and so that this margin is maintained around the entire circumference. Covering the cake sugar mastic will stretch under its own weight and lie flat on it. After that, take a round pizza cutter and carefully cut off “all the excess.”

What to do if the base begins to show through from under the layer of mastic?

Most likely, it’s a matter of humidity: sugar mastic is very sensitive to it. Perhaps you did not comply with storage conditions or used a lot of impregnation. Store the finished cake in a tightly closed airtight box or in plastic bag(and preferably no more than 2 days).

What should the cake layer be like?

For the base it is best to use dry biscuits or butter cakes. It is advisable to use buttercream or ganache. Souffle, cream, sour cream can sag under the weight of mastic or make the cakes moist and soft. After the cake is covered with cream, it must be refrigerated for several hours. Once the cream has hardened, the cake can be covered with sugar mastic. If the cream does not have time to completely harden, unsightly dents may form on the surface of the cake after coating with mastic.

How to paint mastic?

It is best to color sugar mastic with special gels. It is not advisable to use liquid food coloring, because... They change the consistency of the sugar mastic; it will most likely become sticky and impossible to work with.

How to properly store finished mastic?

For storage, it is recommended to carefully pack sugar mastic in plastic or put it in an airtight container. It is not necessary to put this container in the refrigerator: the mastic just needs to be protected from moisture and air so that it does not dry out ahead of time and does not get wet. Any mastic can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.

How to “make” mastic shine?

To make the sugar mastic shine, apply a layer of honey-vodka solution (honey and vodka in a 1:1 ratio) on it with a soft brush. Don't worry: the vodka will evaporate quickly and will not affect the taste or smell of the cake.

Where to buy mastic for cake?

The "Confectioner's House" store offers a wide range of mastic for cakes and creating sugar flowers the best English manufacturers, as well as a large selection of confectionery equipment and decorating tools. We will deliver your order to any region of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan! Discounts for wholesale buyers!

What could be more beautiful than cake? This wonderful confectionery product is usually given as a gift for various special occasions, for example, a wedding, anniversary, Christmas, Christening, engagement day or any other event. But it’s one thing when the cake has a simple and unpresentable appearance, and it’s completely different when it becomes a real work of art. It’s not only not a shame to show such a pie to guests, but sometimes it’s even a shame to eat it. How to turn your cake or pie into a masterpiece using mastic - this will be the topic of our conversation. But first, we will answer the most frequently asked questions of novice confectioners.

When working with adhesive bases, many novice craftsmen encounter the problem spreading of mastic layers over the cakes. Also, as a result of coloring, the base of the cake may show through or the top coating may completely dissolve. To avoid this, you should not use the lubricating part on a wet basis (that is, if your confectionery product is coated with oil, milk or butter cream). If you still use this cream, then before applying mastic to it you need to let it dry or additionally use a special neutral cream made from marzipan, condensed milk or ganache (it must first be placed in a cold place). As a result, between the fatty oil base and the mastic, you will apply a protective layer of cream, which will prevent spreading and the formation of smudges from the adhesive base (we have tested that mastic lays simply flawlessly on a cake covered with marzipan).

But you shouldn’t choose overly dry cakes. On this basis sweet putty may warp and crack, and the cake itself will break and crumble. If you do not have the opportunity to make your own pie, you can always purchase ready-made sponge cakes in stores or other retail outlets.

In order for the mastic surface of a product that was previously placed in the refrigerator or any other cool place to become smooth, it is recommended smooth with a red-hot knife. If you did not place it in the refrigerator immediately after preparing the cake, you can level the mastic using regular butter cream, after sprinkling it with small cookie or biscuit crumbs.

If, when modeling figures, you need to glue some parts together, then for this you can use plain water. The white of a chicken egg, as well as a mixture of powdered sugar and white, can serve as a kind of catalyst for two identical products. Wet the product a little and it will show its adhesive properties. You can add a special color and shine to the product using a special brush. To do this, you need to apply a small layer of alcohol on top of it. You can also use a solution of honey and alcohol (in a 1:1 ratio).

If you need to paint very small details, then it is better to use a toothpick or a cotton swab rather than a brush. Feel free to dip improvised brushes into food coloring and accurately apply the design along the visible contours. In order for the mastic layer to roll out easily, you must first knead it well and then roll it out thinly with a regular rolling pin. According to Arnaud Faye(the best among French chefs), it is recommended to first dip the rolling pin in starch or powdered sugar. Then the sticky mastic will not stick to it and you can quickly apply the required form your products.

There are times when mastic dough literally breaks into pieces. In such situations, it is not the lubricant itself that should be blamed, but large crystals of sugar, which, in contact with the dough, scratch it, thereby creating tears. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to thoroughly grind the powdered sugar when preparing the adhesive mass.

If your confectionery product as a base, on which there was cake mastic, does not harden for a long time, then it can be taken out to Fresh air. There the coating will harden faster and be covered with an even crust. In order for small figures to be solid and not absorb moisture, they need to be made in advance, while allowing them to dry thoroughly. It is better not to attach large flower arrangements and individual large objects, for example, houses, dress shoes and other weighty parts to the finished confectionery products right away. This will allow them to retain their shape for a long time and not lose their adhesive properties. Pre-prepared mastic should be placed in the oven or microwave for a few minutes so that it does not lose its plastic properties.

How to roll out mastic correctly?

When rolling out the putty mass, you need to take into account its maximum thickness (the maximum layer thickness should not be less than 2-3 mm). Then she will not tear or peel. There are even several ways to roll out a kind of sweet plasticine. The first is to roll out the dough on the table using a rolling pin. We have already mentioned this above. The second way is in rolling out a layer of adhesive base between large sheets of polyethylene. Interestingly, when using the second method, the mastic does not even need to be separated from the polyethylene or cling film. After the thickness of the dough becomes 2-3 mm, you remove top part sheet and, together with polyethylene, transfer to the confectionery product. And when the mastic layer completely covers your cake, then you can get rid of the polyethylene. And here it is worth noting that the thickness of cling film or polyethylene and their length must be calculated correctly(according to the size of the dough). Otherwise, the surface of the film will move and form folds, which will bring you a lot of additional inconvenience.

How to mix colors correctly?

In order for your culinary masterpieces looked delicious, you need use dyes correctly. And the main thing is to learn how to mix them correctly. And, of course, we will help you. Here we will look at options for painting mastic products black.

So to get neutral black color you can use one part red, two parts blue and
one part yellow dye. So that you can succeed blue-black color, you can use a ratio of one part blue, one part red and one part yellow dyes. To get something unusual black-green tint you will need red, blue and yellow dyes (in a ratio of 1:1:2). Accordingly, in order for your black color to acquire reddish tint, the dyes should be diluted in the ratio (2:1:1). At the same time, use the same red, blue and yellow colors.
The second method of painting mastic black is very simple. You can get the shade you want by using regular burnt sugar. You can also add to the dough and chocolate mass. Then the effect of coloring will be the same. But if you don’t have time to experiment, then it’s easier to buy a ready-made dye and use it for its intended purpose.

To summarize, all the tips we have provided in this article are based on personal experience professional confectioners. And whether you listen to them or not is up to you. The main thing is that your work in the confectionery business brings joy to you and the people around you!

Content

Using mastic to decorate a cake is becoming increasingly popular today. It’s not enough to know how to do it correctly. You still need to apply it correctly. It is especially difficult for a novice pastry chef to lay out the mastic without creases. Moreover, the form confectionery product is of great importance. From this article you will learn how to properly cover a cake with sugar mastic.

How to choose the right cake for mastic

Not every confectionery product can be covered with mastic. Sponge cake, honey cake, and shortbread are ideal for these purposes. Let's look at the recipes for each of them.

Biscuit

The basis for this cake is sponge cakes. For their preparation they are used simple ingredients. The basis is chicken eggs. Any mass of your choice can be used as a cream.

To prepare the biscuit you will need following ingredients:

chicken eggs - 8 pieces;
granulated sugar - 220 grams;
premium wheat flour - 250 grams;
butter - 80 grams.

Step-by-step cooking instructions.

Break the eggs into a deep bowl, add sugar and mix thoroughly.
Add the sifted flour to the resulting mixture.
Melt it down butter and add to the dough. Mix everything thoroughly again.
Divide the resulting mass into 2 parts and bake in the oven.
We assemble a cake from baked cake layers. Add a layer of cream between them. Sponge cake ready to be coated with mastic.

Honey cake

To prepare this type of cake you will need the following ingredients:

liquid honey - 2 tablespoons;
chicken eggs - 2 pieces;
granulated sugar - 1 teaspoon;
soda - 2 teaspoons;
margarine - 100 grams;
premium wheat flour - 3 cups.

For the cream you will need:

fat sour cream - 800 grams;
granulated sugar - 1 cup;
butter - 250-350 grams.

Preparation of cream:

We begin preparing the cream by kneading the butter with a fork. After this, add 1/4 of the mixture to the resulting mass. required quantity Sahara. Mix all ingredients thoroughly again. Then add sour cream and mix everything thoroughly again.

Our cream is ready!

Preparing the cakes:

Place the honey in a small saucepan and slowly simmer it over the fire. After boiling, add soda and mix everything thoroughly. Honey must be boiled until a caramel color appears.
In a separate bowl, using a mixer, beat 2 chicken eggs and a glass of sugar.
Pour the resulting mass into a container with honey. Then add margarine and beat everything thoroughly again with a mixer.
After this, put the saucepan on the fire and add 1/3 of the required amount wheat flour. Beat all ingredients with a mixer.
When the dough begins to thicken, remove it from the heat and continue adding flour while stirring constantly.
Cool the dough in a cool place or refrigerator.
Then we divide it into several parts. Roll out into individual cake layers and bake in the oven for 5 minutes at 200°.
When all the cakes are baked, you need to let them cool slightly, after which you can start assembling the cake.
Grease the cakes with sour cream.

Our cake is ready to be decorated with fondant.

Cake base cream for mastic

After making the cake, you need to think about the cream base with which it will be covered before applying mastic. Best suited for these purposes oil creams. We will now look at the recipe for some of them.

Cream base made from boiled condensed milk

To prepare this cream you will need the following ingredients:

boiled condensed milk - 1 can;
butter - 30 grams.

Cooking stages.

Soften the butter.
Add to oil boiled condensed milk and mix with a mixer.
Place the resulting mass in the refrigerator.

The cream is ready, now you can cover the cake with it.

Butter cream with proteins

egg white - 4 pieces;
butter - 300 grams;
salt;
granulated sugar - 200 grams.

Cooking steps:

Carefully separate the white from the yolk and place in a deep container.
Then add sugar and heat the resulting mass in a water bath.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Beat the butter until fluffy. Beat the egg whites separately, adding a pinch of salt first. After this, add butter to the whites, constantly stirring them with a mixer.

Our cream is ready.

Cream "Ganache"

To prepare the cream you will need the following ingredients:

dark chocolate with high content cocoa beans - 200 grams;
heavy cream - 125-200 milliliters;
powdered sugar - 2 tablespoons;
butter - 50 grams.

Cooking stages.

Grind dark chocolate.
Pour the cream into a deep container and place on low heat.
With constant stirring, bring them to a boil, then add crushed chocolate to the hot cream. After this, add powdered sugar and mix everything thoroughly.
Cool the mixture slightly and then add the butter while stirring constantly.

Our cream is ready.

Decorating a round cake

To cover a round cake with fondant, you need to know a few rules that will help you do it correctly.

Important! It is best to prepare mastic for covering the cake one day before use.

This is necessary so that the mastic does not tear, is elastic and retains its shape better.

To create a cake covered with fondant, you will need the following ingredients and tools:

pre-baked cake;
ready-made mastic;
plastic rolling pin for rolling out dough;
any cream for mastic;
powdered sugar;
a sharp knife, stacks, and a pastry spatula.

Coating a round cake with mastic step by step:

Stage 1. Ready cake coat with a special cream under the mastic. After applying the cream, put the cake in a cool place for a while. While the cream hardens, do not take a large number of sugar mass and knead it thoroughly.

Advice! If you need a specific color, then during the mixing process you can add any food coloring to the mastic.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a thin layer. The thickness of the mastic should not be less than 3 mm, otherwise it will tear when applied to the cake.

Stage 2. After the mastic is completely ready to be applied to the cake, it must be carefully separated from the table and placed on the cake. To prevent the dough from tearing, you can use a rolling pin. To do this, carefully roll the dough onto a rolling pin from start to finish. In the same way, we roll it out on the cake.

Stage 3. Level the mastic. We start smoothing the mastic from the top. Gradually moving to the sides. The entire procedure is best carried out using a spatula. When the mastic layer fits tightly to the cake, you need to trim off the excess dough. This is best done with a sharp knife.

Important! When cutting off the excess, you must remember that in order for the bottom of the confectionery product to be smooth and look beautiful, you need to leave a small supply of dough.

After cutting, this stock must be carefully hidden inside using a spatula. This way, the edge will be smooth and the cake will have an aesthetically attractive appearance.

Coating a square or rectangular cake with fondant

The process of covering baked goods with mastic of this geometric shape is slightly different from the method of covering a round cake with sugar, discussed earlier.

To work you will need the following ingredients and materials:

baked square or rectangular cake;
pre-prepared mastic;
mastic cream;
brush for applying cream;
a rolling pin, preferably a plastic one, for rolling out the sugar mass, as well as a mat for mastic;
pastry spatula, preferably plastic;
sharp knife.

The process of covering a square or rectangular cake with fondant is described in detail in this video tutorial:

Coating a multi-tiered cake with fondant

The method of coating a multi-tiered confectionery product with mastic is no different from covering a single-tiered one.

First you need to decide on the size of the baked goods and its shape. Then you need to apply the cream base under the mastic and only after that start covering the cake with sugar mass.

We start wrapping the confectionery product from the bottom tier. Then we tighten the top tier.

After this, we install special wooden skewers for the second tier. This is necessary so that the upper and lower tiers keep their shape and do not fall apart. Two tier cake ready. Now it can be safely decorated with various compositions and decorative elements.