Luster Dust

[Kim Shook]

I am making large meringues in the shape of cupcakes for Easter and am wondering if I can use luster dust on them. I was worried that the liquid you have to use would make the tops of the cupcakes wet and gummy. Has anyone ever tried this?

[Lisa Shock]

You don't have to use liquid with it. Just apply with a soft brush (soft like a makeup brush) and don't touch them afterwards. Normally, I just steam sugar flowers to get the dust to stick, but, I think if you do the application in the final container before transport and unpack carefully, you should be ok. Look for slightly darker colors.

[Kim Shook]

Lisa, thank you so much! It never occurred to me not to use the liquid. And I'm serving these at home, so I don't have to worry about a lot of packing and unpacking!

[emmalish]

I did not know you were supposed to use liquid! I always just dust it on...

[Lisa Shock]

Liquid helps to fix the dust onto a surface.

Alcohol or lemon extract is often used with it to decorate rolled fondant cakes, the dust is mixed with the alcohol then painted on. This gives a particular type of look, which can be very shiny and even. It also allows a decorator to use the dust as a paint, with great accuracy and the look of a painting.

On gumpaste flowers, the dust is generally lightly brushed on, then the finished flower is held over steam for a moment to fix the dust. This also darkens the color just a little. The steam is useful for flowers that will be transported, since loose dust could float around and color unintended areas.

[pastrygirl]

I've used it with lemon extract on french macarons. I'm sure they softened a tiny bit, but the extract evaporates really quickly so it doesn't have much time to soak in (it is more alcohol than water). You get a MUCH more saturated color using extract - otoh, you also use a whole lot more luster dust.

Edited March 31, 2010 by pastrygirl (log)

[Kim Shook]

Well, the recipe makes a dozen cupcakes, so maybe I'll try one with the extract and see how it stands up to it. I really do like the look.