Sugarveil icing

[JeanneCake]

Looks intriguing; wondering if anyone has used this and can share their experiences.

For more details, check out Sugarveil web page

[chefpeon]

I ordered some a long time ago.......it's still sitting in it's li'l packet in my pantry. Maybe I should try it so I can report back to you......that'll motivate me.......

Trial Sugarveil coming up.

[racheld]

Hadn't heard of it. But check out the Wedding Cakes section. Anyone need a new Spring wardrobe?

[nightscotsman]

It kind of bothers me that I can't find an ingredient list anywhere on the site. Anybody know what's in this stuff?

[racheld]

Sugar, carageenan, Polysorbate 80, Polyester/cotton blend, hopes, dreams, three unfortunate bridesmaid's dresses, eight crying fits, 22 unreturned RSVP's, 12 no-shows, 180 yards of tulle, 30 lbs. Jordan almonds, 6 hissy fits, uncountable "It's my SPECIAL DAAAAAAYYYYY" repetitions, agar gum, natural and artificial flavors.

Did you look at the DRESS???!!

[mignardise]

Yeah........just like Chefpeon........ordered it looong time ago, and it is hard as a rock in the package. Tried to loosen it up..........banged it on the bench. Still hard. Wonder if it'll work now. Hard to believe that humidity got to it, it is in a thick sealed bag. I got so many materials that I ordered................not enough time to experiment.

[jgarner53]

That is some seriously freaky shit.

[chefpeon]

Ok, ingredients from the front of the bag are:

Sugar, dried egg whites, maltodextrin, cornstarch, xanthan gum

So I'm thinkin'.....it's kind of a royal icing made pliable by the addition of the gum.

I think that I've put off trying it, because, well, I've never needed it. However, I think it will

make some pretty cool spiderwebs for Halloween cakes. Suspended lace hanging off the edge

of pillared tiered cakes would be cool too.

I really sort of had to laugh at the "patented" Sugarveil Confectionary Comb and the icing dispenser! Using a pastry bag is so much easier, cheaper and easier to clean. And $9.00 for an icing comb? Sheesh.

As soon as I get a chance, I'm going to mix some up and pipe a design....take photos....let y'all know if it's really anything to crow about.

[cakesuite]

I also have 2 bags of the stuff, and just can't find the time to try it out. Looking forward to reading any reviews.

[DiH]

Ok, ingredients from the front of the bag are:

Sugar, dried egg whites, maltodextrin, cornstarch, xanthan gum

So I'm thinkin'.....it's kind of a royal icing made pliable by the addition of the gum.

←

I'm curious... do you think that adding corn syrup or glucose to royal icing might do the same thing? Or not?

Di

[JeanneCake]

I think the glucose or corn syrup helps to keep the icing supple, but not pliable in the way that the sugarveil stuff looks like it can be draped, etc. I'd heard of that "unbreakable gel" and wondered if this was something similar. Like Annie, I'm not about to invest big bucks in this dispenser (it's as much as an airbrush for cryin' out loud!!), but I was curious to see if anyone had used it and does it work they way they say it does. I thought that open "weave" thing draped around a cake would be pretty cool, especially studded with a few glistening fondant pearls or the infamous outlawed dragees.

[bkeith]

I think the glucose or corn syrup helps to keep the icing supple, but not pliable in the way that the sugarveil stuff looks like it can be draped, etc.  I'd heard of that "unbreakable gel" and wondered if this was something similar.  Like Annie, I'm not about to invest big bucks in this dispenser (it's as much as an airbrush for cryin' out loud!!), but I was curious to see if anyone had used it and does it work they way they say it does.  I thought that open "weave" thing draped around a cake would be pretty cool, especially studded with a few glistening fondant pearls or the infamous outlawed dragees.

←

Unbreakable gel is different. Best I can tell, it's essentially CMC (Tylose) mixed up into a paste with an acid ingredient to keep it pliable. I've not done much with either (played with the gel a bit, only seen Sugarveil demonstrated), but one big difference is the consistency of the product as you're working with it. Sugarveil would have to be pretty loose to go through the airpen ("patented Sugarveil dispenser"). Unbreakable gel is quite stiff; you need to use a sugarcraft gun or clay gun to pipe it -- using a bag would be like trying to pipe gum paste.

I'm also guessing the the Sugarveil stuff would be a much pleasanter eating experience since it's got sugar. As Annie said, it's basically modified royal icing. Unbreakable gel is flavorless and has a mouthfeel like chewy raw spaghetti.

[chefpeon]

Ok, part one of the Sugarveil test.

Step one in the instructions tells you to mix 1/4 cup boiling water with 1/2 cup of the mix.

Mix with electric mixer on low for one minute, then on medium high for three minutes.

What I did:

I didn't want to make that much icing, because after all, it was only test. So I measured out 1/4 cup of mix and added 1/8 cup boiling water. Since that was too small of an amount to put on my Kitchenaid, I thought I would just whisk it by hand. After 4 minutes of whisking, I ended up with this......

When you first add the boiling water, the mix is very thin......as I whisked it, it got thicker.

The consistency seemed ok, so I filled a parchment cone with a number 1 tip. I also took a little taste....not bad......kinda marshmallowy. Now that I think of it.......the mix basically is a marshmallow, isn't it? Sort of?

I had downloaded one of the lace designs from Sugarveil's website to use. I taped it underneath a piece of parchment that was coated with shortening. The instructions tell you to use shortening on the parchment. I could have used my silpat, but had a temporary brain fart. D'oh!

So then I started piping. Uh oh. Lines spreading too much. Darn stuff is too thin. Either I added too much water or I didn't whip it enough.

Then it occurred to me......modified royal icing as I'd surmised upthread.....of course it should be whipped more! More than I could do it by hand. So I started over. This time I used my little cheesy hand mixer, since I didn't have enough icing to use the KitchenAid. I also used a little less water, thinking I'd gotten it too thin before. I whipped it on high for 3 mins, and here's what I ended up with.......

Much better. Filled my piping bag and piped out the design.

It looked ok, but even though I used a number 1 tip, the lines were still thicker than I would have liked. They were slowly slowly spreading. Upon reading the instruction sheet further, it said that using LESS water in the mix made for a wetter and softer result and would INCREASE setting time.......that would explain why my lines were spreading. Yipes, that seems like the OPPOSITE of what you'd think would happen. You'd think less water = thicker = no spreading = shorter setting time. BUT NOOOOOO. Things are slightly askew in Sugarveil Land!

But since I was too tired to do it over again, I just decided to go with this and see how it sets

and how long it will take to set. The instructions say dry and warm conditions decrease setting time, so that sucker is sitting inside my oven with the lamp on it. I just went to check it after about 45 minutes and it seems to be setting nicely.

I'll keep y'all updated.

Next installment as soon as it's set.

[Wendy DeBord]

Thanks for showing us this Annie. I've always wondered about this stuff. I hope you'll tell us how it tastes, can it be refridgerated on the cake, just how flexible is it??? Can you cut it with a cake knive or should you peel it off the cake before eating?

[chefpeon]

Ok, so last night, it seemed the sugarveil thingy I made was set up by the time I went to bed, so I figure it took about an hour or so to set.

After I got home from work today, I peeled it from the paper and draped it over a bowl, since I didn't have a cake lying around or anything.

It came off the paper easily, and it seemed like it wanted to stretch a lot, (yeah, it's ULTRA flexible) so I was very careful with it, so as not to stretch it out of shape. I noted that since I sort of goofed it up in the first place (see above post) by not adding enough water to the mix and making a softer icing than I wanted to, it wasn't as "hardy" as if I'd done it correctly.

Next, I took a taste. Tasted marshmallowy with a taffy-like texture. Pretty good, really.

Then, since I had taken a bite out of it, I decided to see how it would look on the cat. I only

got a brief glimpse though, since he ran like hell with it on his back. I found it hanging on

the bay bush on the side of the house. It was still fairly intact. So bonus points for being able

to withstand a little abuse!

I think once you get a sugarveil on the cake, it's there to stay. No peeling necessary before serving. My assumption about this was based on the fact that once I got it on the bowl, it was

pretty squirrely to deal with when I went to take it off. The instructions also say that once the sugarveil is placed on the cake, it eventually "melds" into the cake. I'll have to take their word

for it on that one. I also don't think refrigerating it will harm it either. After all, it's royal icing with xanthan gum basically.

I think this stuff could be good in instances where you would use royal icing, but are concerned about breakage. In one example I can think of, there's been a trend in monogrammed wedding cakes.....I've done a ton of them. I've made fancy script monograms with royal icing and put them on the side of either the middle or bottom tier. If the cake is square, no problem....the letters sit nice and flat. But if the cake is round, the letters stick out somewhat. If I made monograms with the sugarveil, I wouldn't have that problem anymore....they would conform to the sides of the cake.

I'd also consider using it for suspended filigree work....it seems perfectly suited for that.

A word of warning though.......I gathered from the instructions that humidity is it's worst enemy, and that's not really a problem if the sugarveil is completely adhered to the cake, but if it's suspended in any way, and you're in a high humidity environment, it seems to me that it would melt/stretch/fall right off.

That's all I know......for now......

[JeanneCake]

Thanks for all the info and for taking the time to experiment. Sounds like it's worth having a bag around.

Thanks Annie

[celenes]

Yes thanks so much for being our tester. I wondered about that stuff myslef and was considering making a purchase. So now I think I will try it out since I want to give my cakes some diversity.

We'll see if I can follow directions

[racheld]

Chefpeon---what a great test and even greater post about it!!! I was going to post yesterday and remark on the steadiness of your hand, and now today, you've gone and done all that painstaking research on our behalf. Wow.

Where were you when LOTR was being filmed? You could have turned out knights' hats by the hundreds.

Oh, and by the way---Betty Crocker called---wants to borrow your cat.

Edited May 7, 2005 by racheld (log)

[alligande]

Thanks for the test Anne, I have also been wondering about the stuff. Looks like it does work as advertised.

karen

[aidensnd2]

WHAT, no picture of the cat??????

[chefpeon]

WHAT, no picture of the cat??????

Hee hee.....you know, I actually tried. I had my camera in one hand and the sugarveil in the other. Spike, my cat was sniffing and licking the sugarveil. My plan was to drape it on his back and take a picture. But you know, cats get wigged out by the weirdest things. The minute I dropped it on his back he took off faster than I could get the camera aimed. I probably should

have waited til he was asleep.

[bkeith]

I don't have a cat. Do you think it would work on a dog?

[chefpeon]

Do you think it would work on a dog?

As long as you don't get it near his mouth.....

[cakesuite]

Wow. Thank you so much for the sugarveil lesson. You make some good points as to when it might come in handy. Also, it seems unlikely that it would break when delicate work is being peeled off paper. Nothing worse than fragile royal icing that won't come off the paper!!

[DiH]

Annie... after downloading the pattern, how did you enlarge it?

Di