Sugar paste
Encyclopedia
Sugar Paste icing is a very sweet edible sugar dough usually made from sugar
and glucose
. It is sometimes referred to as fondant
or sugar gum or gum paste. It can be used to cover cake
s, mould features and create decorations for cakes
and many other uses.
Sugar paste is sold in white and colours. The white version can be easily coloured with gel food colourings. Nearly every colour can be reached in this manner.
One of the biggest advantages of the commercial varieties is that they can usually be stored for long periods of time. Depending on how fresh the product is, it can be stored for up to a year. The disadvantages of the homemade version are that it doesn't store for as long as the commercial version and it is very difficult to make a pure white paste. In most cases one will be colouring the dough anyway so this shouldn't be a problem. The commercial version is also often easier to work with although the results achieved with the home made versions are quite adequate.
Sucrose
Sucrose is the organic compound commonly known as table sugar and sometimes called saccharose. A white, odorless, crystalline powder with a sweet taste, it is best known for its role in human nutrition. The molecule is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose with the molecular formula...
and glucose
Glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...
. It is sometimes referred to as fondant
Fondant
Fondant is one of several kinds of icing-like substance used to decorate or sculpt pastries. The word, in French, means "melting", coming from the same root as "foundry" in English....
or sugar gum or gum paste. It can be used to cover cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
s, mould features and create decorations for cakes
Cake decorating
Cake decorating is one of the sugar arts that uses icing or frosting and other edible decorative elements to make otherwise plain cakes more visually interesting...
and many other uses.
Sugar paste is sold in white and colours. The white version can be easily coloured with gel food colourings. Nearly every colour can be reached in this manner.
One of the biggest advantages of the commercial varieties is that they can usually be stored for long periods of time. Depending on how fresh the product is, it can be stored for up to a year. The disadvantages of the homemade version are that it doesn't store for as long as the commercial version and it is very difficult to make a pure white paste. In most cases one will be colouring the dough anyway so this shouldn't be a problem. The commercial version is also often easier to work with although the results achieved with the home made versions are quite adequate.