Confections! (2006-2012)

[Darienne]

I love the sheep. :wub:

[Mjx]

Damn, these are cute.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I'm hoping for a sort of "squeeeee" cuteness overload when they're all combined together.

[Emily_R]

You got me Squeee-ing with just the Dodo! That one kills me!

[minas6907]

*Deep breath* Oh my goodness I love the sheep! How adorable! Thank you! And this is all gumpaste? Now I have a hankering to try making pastillage and make a sheep or two for myself. I love the pretzel legs btw.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Yes, this is all gumpaste I'm working with. Pastillage was too crumbly, and I hate fondant. The sheep in particular are made with lemon-flavoured gum paste tinted with gel colours, and after a great deal of experimentation I settled on the pretzel stick legs for them. The base sheep is made with white paste, and then wool is added in individual twists and held on with gum arabic dissolved in vodka (which takes longer than a water solution, but evaporates very quickly and thereby doesn't cause warping of the pieces. Start dissolving the gum arabic powder in the alcohol a couple of days ahead of time to get a good solution.)

I'd strongly recommend trying to get your hands on Gum Trag - it extends the open time of pastillage enough to allow the kind of effects you're seeing with my little critters. The recipe I use is as follows:

500g of the finest confectioner's sugar possible (I can get 000 mesh, so that's what I use)

10g Gum Tragacanth (accept no substitutes. Tylose makes crumbly paste, and Carboxymethylcellulose works, but not as nicely and you need twice as much)

45 mL warm water

15 mL lemon or lime juice (I squeeze fresh)

5 mL of the flavour of your preference (optional - lemon, vanilla, and almond are quite good)

15 mL liquid glucose (the stiffest grade you can get your paws on)

7.5 g neutral gelatine (I can't get leaf here, so I use Knox.)

1. Sift the sugar with the gum trag into a large mixing bowl.

2. In a separate small, microwave-safe bowl or cup, combine the lemon juice, water, flavouring, and gelatine, and let stand 10-15 minutes or until the gelatine blooms. With almond extract as a flavouring, you may have to double the amount of gelatine in order to see a bloom - something about the extract seems to inhibit it.

3. Once the gelatine mixture is kind of spongey, add the glucose, then pop the mixture into the microwave for 30 seconds on high, and then stir like crazy until everything is well combined.

4. Add this to the sugar/gum trag and knead until you have a smooth dough (it might require a little more sugar, but in no case use more than 100 g, as it will contribute to crumbly paste).

5. Roll into a chub and seal in a ziplock baggie overnight. The gum paste is ready for working in the morning.

Other recipes are out there, some of which use egg whites in the formula, but I've found that this one gets me the smoothest, most workable paste with the longest open time - it's almost as plastic as plastiline/modeling clay when I get it warmed up. As with pastillage, it's a good idea to work with small amounts at any given time and to knead them well before you start forming. A piece the size of the sheep is dry to touch in about 20 minutes after I stop working it, and fully hardened overnight.

ETA - if you'd like a step-by-step sheep tutorial, I can make one for you. Now that I know what I'm doing, a sheep takes about 25-30 minutes from start to finish.

Edited August 26, 2012 by Panaderia Canadiense (log)

[stuartlikesstrudel]

Echoing everyone else, those sheep are just terrific! Love the dodo as well but I think those sheep are going to get a lot of attention

Love the idea of owls as well.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

And here's why I haven't posted in a while - I've been making larger things.

[Toliver]

Having seen your detailed work, I say you are vastly underpaid.

[Kerry Beal]

Loving the critters - can't wait to see the finished cake!

I've been fiddling with a couple of recipes for wine PDFs for an upcoming project. On the right - pear and port PDFs and on the left peach rose - the rose being Peninsula Ridge Beal Vineyards Cabernet Rose. How could I resist!

[tikidoc]

Wine PDFs, sound really good. Can you post a recipe or link?

[Kerry Beal]

For a small batch -

250 grams puree - pear, peach, apricot

38 grams sugar

10 grams pectin

375 grams sugar

75 grams glucose

250 grams wine/port

10 grams tartaric solution

10 grams wine/port

Mix small amount of sugar with pectin, stir into the puree, boil for 2 to 3 minutes, add larger quantity of sugar in 3 additions, then glucose. Boil to 112 degrees C stirring constantly.

Carefully add wine, cook until 107 degrees C stirring constantly. Add tartaric and additional wine, pour quickly in frame. Do not scrape.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Here's a few more - I'm getting close to the end of the gumpaste as the wedding day looms.

[judiu]

Too wonderful! Any chance for apicture of 'my' skunk? Love em all!

[AlenChris]

Love these sheep. They look really cute. Thanks.

[minas6907]

Can you make me a giraffe? And I want him to have real big eyes ooooohh, and how about a sloth?!

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[Lior]

Oh how excellent-yes Bottoms! And an Owl... Here:

"Come now, a roundel and a fairy song.

Then for the third part of a minute, hence—

Some to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds,

Some war with reremice for their leathern wings

To make my small elves coats, and some keep back

The clamorous OWL that nightly hoots and wonders

At our quaint spirits. Sing me now asleep.

Then to your offices and let me rest."

Bats, too. And then there is the lullaby...also has creatures!

Such delicious fun!

Edited September 10, 2012 by Lior (log)

[Lior]

Oh, and the forest magical creatures are just amazing and devine!

[Kouign Aman]

naiads and dryads, unicorns and pegasi, puzzled possom mom & babies, a hookah-smoking caterpillar, winged giant south american rodent (once allowed to substitute for fish on Fridays), sparkly tapirs.

[Lior]

Kerry, thanks for the recipe! How much additional wine do you normally add? Looks so good.

[Kerry Beal]

Kerry, thanks for the recipe! How much additional wine do you normally add? Looks so good.

The additional wine would be the 10 grams you add with the 10 grams of tartaric solution.

[Kouign Aman]

Oh yeah, you are gonna get the 'squeeeeee!', no worries.

They are all so cute, who can pick a favorite!

Sparkly pearly unicorn oh my!

Rainbow sheep and dragon!

the Faun!

They are so cute, it is to swoon!

[Lior]

got it- bad reading compr skills I guess!! Thanks!

[minas6907]

Heres some things I did recently. Just tried the mint meltaways from Grewlings book, and made some peppermint heart lollis for a friends anniversary this weekend.

[Kerry Beal]

Love the lollies!