Cooks use mastic to decorate holiday cakes and delicacies. With its help, confectionery products are given various shapes. Let's look at how to make mastic for a cake with your own hands.

Decorations made from mastic will turn an ordinary cake into a work of culinary art. It is easy to make various figures, flowers, leaves and even entire flower arrangements from the sweet mass. The most skillful chefs manage to create such beautiful decorations that people who have the honor of tasting a cake or pie feel sorry for eating them.

At first glance, it seems that preparing high-quality mastic is not difficult. However, the first attempts of most beginners end in failure. To get a good result, you need to be patient and practice. At first, I recommend experimenting with a small amount of mastic. Ultimately, learn how to prepare a plastic mass that is similar in consistency to plasticine.

Various ingredients are used to prepare mastic - lemon juice, gelatin, powdered sugar, marshmallows, chocolate and other products. The finished mass is kneaded on a table sprinkled with powder or starch.

For coloring, natural dyes are used - beet juice, spinach, carrots and berries. Factory-made food coloring from the store will also work. You should use mastic to decorate the cake after the cream has hardened. It is best to apply the mixture onto a dry sponge cake or on top of marzipan mass.

Now I will present step-by-step recipes that I myself use to prepare mastic.

Vegetable oil based mastic

Ingredients

Servings: 5

• powdered sugar 500 g
• gelatin 1 tbsp. l.
• egg white 1 PC
• vegetable oil 2 tbsp. l.
• water 30 ml
• glucose 1 tbsp. l.

Per serving

Calories: 393 kcal

Proteins: 0 g

Fats: 1 g

Carbohydrates: 96 g

30 min. Video recipe Print

Pour the water into a small bowl, add gelatin, stir and wait until it swells. Afterwards, dissolve the gelatin in a water bath and cool thoroughly.

Combine gelatin with glucose, vegetable oil, egg white and powdered sugar. After mixing with a culinary spatula, mix the resulting mass thoroughly until it becomes homogeneous.

Roll the mastic into a ball, put it in a bag and leave for several hours. Then knead the mass thoroughly and you can start sculpting or rolling.

Recipe No. 2

The second recipe is simpler, but the mastic prepared according to it is ideal for decorating cakes, biscuits and other baked goods.

Ingredients:

• Water – 50 ml.
• Gelatin – 2 teaspoons.
• Powdered sugar – 0.5 kg.

Preparation:

1. Pour gelatin into a bowl, add water and stir. Then dissolve in a water bath and wait until it cools.
2. Pour gelatin into the sifted powdered sugar and mix well. The result is a homogeneous mass, which, as in the first case, is rolled into a ball and placed in a bag.

You've got your first idea of ​​how to make cake mastic with your own hands. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in preparing the sweet mass. Adding powdered sugar will help remove excess stickiness.

The best mastic recipes at home

Culinary mastic is a wonderful decorative material used to decorate cakes, muffins and pies. Decorated pastries easily become a true work of art. It is not surprising that every novice decorator is interested in how to make mastic at home.

The preparation of professional mastic involves the use of special ingredients, which are not easy to obtain. But this is not a reason for worry and frustration. You can also prepare it from more affordable products.

Milk mastic based on condensed milk

The most universal is milk mastic, characterized by ease of use. It is perfect for covering cakes and creating edible shapes. It is not difficult to make such a milk mass at home using condensed milk.

Ingredients:

• Condensed milk – 100 g.
• Powdered sugar – 150 g.
• Powdered milk – 150 g.
• Lemon juice – 2 tbsp. spoons.

Preparation:

1. Combine condensed milk with dry milk and powder. Sift the quick ingredients thoroughly. Knead the mastic until it is no longer sticky.
2. Pour lemon juice into the mixture. If the result is too sticky, add a little powdered sugar; if it is too viscous, add a mixture of powder and dry milk in equal proportions.
3. All that remains is to wrap the mixture in film and keep it in the refrigerator for at least twelve hours. Before work, slightly warm up the edible material and knead it.

Delicious chocolate mastic

Now I’ll teach you how to make delicious chocolate mastic. If you use white chocolate and dyes for cooking, you can decorate the cake with all the colors of the rainbow.

Ingredients:

• Dark chocolate without additives – 200 g.
• Liquid honey – 4 tbsp. spoons.

Preparation:

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Add honey and mix well. After the mixture has hardened, place it on a flat surface covered with film.
2. Mix the chocolate paste thoroughly for ten minutes. Then put it in a bag and leave for thirty minutes. After time, the mastic will become suitable for decorating confectionery products.

Video recipe

The sweet mass is stored in the refrigerator for two months. If you put it in the freezer, the shelf life will increase to one year.

How to make mastic from marshmallows

A cake skillfully decorated with fondant is considered a culinary masterpiece. It’s not surprising, because it looks bright, original and very beautiful. Step-by-step instructions for making marshmallow mastic will dispel the myth that it is impossible to create a beautiful cake at home. All you need is a finished decoration and a good cake idea.

Ingredients:

• Chewing marshmallows (marshmallow) – 200 g.
• Powdered sugar – 400 g.
• Lemon juice – 1 tbsp. spoon.
• Butter – 1 teaspoon.
• Food colorings.

Preparation:

1. Place marshmallows in a heating container, add lemon juice and butter. Place the bowl with marshmallows in the microwave or oven for about one minute. This time is enough for the marshmallows to increase in volume.
2. Add dye, which will give the mastic color. You can decorate cakes and sculpt figures using white mass.
3. Start mixing. Add powdered sugar little by little and mix well. When mixing with a spoon becomes difficult, place the mixture on the table, add powder and knead until it loses its stickiness.
4. Place the finished mastic in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator for several hours to rest. Can be kept in the refrigerator until needed.
5. Before use, warm slightly in the oven and knead again. Then it will become suitable for decorating New Year's cakes and sculpting sweet figures.

Video cooking

I am filled with hopes that after reading the instructions, you will not have any difficulties decorating cakes. In addition, this small culinary manual will be an excellent basis for experiments.

Marshmallow mastic

Many housewives use airy marshmallows called marshmallows to make mastic. It is not sold everywhere, unlike regular marshmallows.

Marshmallow-based mastic is perfect for creating original and unusual decorations, which are often found on cakes. We are talking about various figures and edible products of any shape. A cake decorated with such figures is a wonderful gift for the New Year or birthday.

Ingredients:

• Marshmallow – 200 g.
• Powdered sugar – 300 g.
• Lemon juice – 1 tbsp. spoon.

STEP-BY-STEP PREPARATION:

1. Divide the marshmallows into halves and heat them in the microwave. Twenty seconds is enough.
2. Combine marshmallows with lemon juice, powdered sugar and mix thoroughly.
3. Wrap the sweet substance in film and place in the refrigerator for about forty minutes.

Agree, making marshmallow mastic at home is easy and quick. As a result, use it to mold various figures, flowers and other objects intended for decorating desserts.

How to cover a cake with fondant correctly

I devote the final part of the article to creating figurines, decorating cakes and confectionery subtleties. If you want your baked goods and desserts to look great, be sure to listen to the recommendations.

To create clear and beautiful figures you will need special equipment - figured knives, various cuttings and shapes. The tool helps to create jewelry of unsurpassed beauty.

According to experienced chefs, to prepare mastic you will need finely ground powdered sugar. As a result, the layers will not rupture during operation, which will reduce cooking time and simplify preparation for the New Year, birthday and any other holiday.

Apply mastic to a dry base to completely eliminate the possibility of melting of the material, which is characterized by enviable tenderness. To combine the figures, lightly moisten the sweet mass.

To cover a delicious cake with delicate fondant correctly, place the sweetness on a circle with a rotating mechanism. It is recommended to roll out the mass on a surface sprinkled with powder to a thickness of five millimeters. The mastic layer should be larger than the diameter of the cake.

You can use a rolling pin to place the mastic. Be sure to sprinkle your hands with starch. Initially, level the layer of sweet mass on the surface of the dessert, and then cover the sides. Use a knife to trim off excess.

If there is any mastic left after making the cake, put it in a bag and put it in the refrigerator, where it will stay for up to two weeks.

The story of how to make mastic for a cake with your own hands has come to an end. Using recipes and adhering to generally accepted rules, create a variety of delicacies yourself, which, in addition to taste and aroma, will delight you with a beautiful appearance.

Homemade cakes have a special energy: they retain the warmth of the hostess’s hands, and it is this kind of cake that will create a special mood for the upcoming holiday. The pinnacle of home gastronomy is not just a deliciously prepared, but also an elegantly decorated dessert. If you want to surprise your guests, then this article is for you: so, how to make mastic for a cake at home.

Cake mastic is an elastic confectionery mass, which in its qualities is very similar to plasticine. You can make the most complex confectionery decorations from this material, but a beginner cannot work with it at a decent level. We will try to tell you about a few tricks.

The mastic is based on ordinary powdered sugar. Before making mastic with your own hands, it is very important to sift the powder through a small strainer. It is this stage that will indicate the quality of the future product, because if there are sugars in the mass, it will tear when rolled out.

After the mastic is ready, be sure to wrap it in a plastic bag and leave it in the refrigerator for twenty minutes. During this time, the mass will acquire good plasticity. You can store the mastic in the refrigerator for about two weeks, but only if it is wrapped in cellophane. If you plan to store it in the freezer, you can count on two months.

Any recipe implies that dyes are added to the sugar dough during the kneading process. If you need a lot of different colors, you will first need to knead the uncolored dough and then separate a piece from it. Don't forget to hide the rest of the mastic in a bag in the refrigerator, otherwise it will dry out. Form a circle from the torn piece and make a depression in the middle. Add a couple of drops of dye there and knead until you get a uniform color.

You don’t need any special equipment for making mastic: you can almost certainly find it in your kitchen. The mass is simply rolled out using a wooden rolling pin on the table. After covering the dessert or cake, the edges can be trimmed with a round pizza cutter. You can make some figures to decorate the product using ordinary cookie cutters. If you plan to decorate the cake with flowers, you can use spoons. Fill the cavity of the spoon with a piece of rolled out fondant and carefully collect the excess around the edges.

When preparing mastic becomes a habit for you, you can use several special tools. For example, a smooth plastic rolling pin for rolling out the mass, as well as silicone mats with markings. On large mats it is very convenient to roll out coverings for cakes, and on small mats - elements of shapes. Cuttings for flowers, butterflies and leaves, as well as stacks for modeling, will also help in the work.

On a note! Any step-by-step recipe will indicate that the base should under no circumstances be wet. After the cake is covered with cream, you need to place it in the refrigerator and wait until it hardens completely. If the mastic comes into contact with something wet, it will immediately melt. It is advisable to do the decor in advance so that it has time to dry thoroughly. If jewelry is stored in a plastic container, it can be stored for several months.

Honey mastic

The honey mass will be softer than the sugar mass. It will not crumble or crumble, so it will be a pleasure to cover the cake with it. It is also ideal for creating small decorations. The only disadvantage of honey mastic is its higher cost due to the fact that cheap sugar is replaced by more expensive honey.

You will need:

• nine hundred grams of powdered sugar;
• one hundred eighty grams of honey;
• forty-five milliliters of water;
• fifteen grams of gelatin.

Let's start cooking:

First, soak the gelatin in water for about thirty minutes. Then mix gelatin with the specified amount of honey and heat the resulting mixture in a water bath. One glass of powder should be set aside, and the remaining powder should be poured into the mixture with honey. Knead the sugar dough and slowly add the remaining powder. Ready! If you press on the resulting mastic, it will leave an indentation left by your finger.

Sugar mastic

The most versatile and simple mastic recipe. Sugar is great for sculpting flowers and figures.

You will need:

• five hundred grams of powdered sugar;
• sixty milliliters of water;
• one teaspoon of gelatin;
• one teaspoon of lemon juice;
• vanillin.

Let's start cooking:

As in the previous recipe, soak the gelatin for thirty minutes, then heat it in a water bath. Add the above amount of lemon juice to the heated gelatin and gradually add powdered sugar. Knead the mixture until the dough becomes elastic. Do not allow the mixture to become very hard. In this case, it will simply crumble during operation. Powdered sugar mastic is ready!

Milk mastic recipe

You already know how to make sugar mastic. Once you master this recipe, you can try making mastic with milk. Note that powdered milk is used, which can be quite successfully replaced with baby formula or dry cream.

You will need:

• milk powder (one hundred and sixty grams);
• powdered sugar (one hundred and sixty grams);
• condensed milk (one hundred and seventy grams);
• one teaspoon of lemon juice.

Making mastic with milk powder will not take you much time. Take a deep bowl and mix powder and dry milk in it. To the resulting mixture you need to add one teaspoon of lemon juice and condensed milk. Knead the dough until it becomes plastic. That's all, the mastic is ready!

Chocolate mastic recipe with photo

Mastic for covering a cake is made from completely different chocolate: white, milk or bitter. There are a lot of cooking options, here is one of them:

1. Take one hundred grams of dark chocolate and melt it in the microwave.
2. Add one tablespoon of honey to the melted chocolate and mix well. It’s easy to check the readiness of chocolate mastic: tear off a small piece of dough, roll it into a ball and flatten it with your fingers. If the mass is ready, then its edges should not tear.

To prepare chocolate mastic according to another recipe you will need:

• one hundred grams of dark chocolate;
• forty milliliters of cream (30%);
• ninety grams of marshmallows;
• two tablespoons of powdered sugar;
• two tablespoons of cognac;
• one tablespoon of butter.

Let's start cooking:

Melt the specified amount of chocolate in a water bath. Without removing from the stove, add marshmallows to the chocolate and continue stirring constantly. Once the marshmallows have dissolved by half, you can add cream, cognac and butter. Mix everything thoroughly until the future mastic becomes uniform in consistency. Remove from heat and slowly add powdered sugar. Knead until the mass turns into an elastic dough. Shiny mastic is ready!

Marshmallow mastic recipe

Recipes for mastic based on marshmallow marshmallows are very popular. We recommend buying marshmallow candies of the same color, or separating them by color before cooking.

You will need:

• marshmallow marshmallows (two hundred grams);
• powdered sugar (five hundred grams);
• one teaspoon of butter.

Let's start cooking:

Place one teaspoon of butter and marshmallows in a bowl and heat in the microwave for a few seconds. We want the marshmallows to start melting. Using a spoon, stir the mixture until you get a homogeneous mass. We introduce powdered sugar into the future mastic gradually. It’s easy to determine readiness: the mass will resemble plasticine.

Gelatin mastic

This type is simply irreplaceable when you need to make durable parts for decorating a cake. However, it has one drawback: it is impossible to eat such mastic, as it turns out to be very hard. Nevertheless, gelatin mastic dries well and retains its shape, which means it should be used exclusively for decorative purposes.

You will need:

• two hundred and forty grams of powdered sugar;
• one hundred and twenty grams of starch;
• one heaped tablespoon of gelatin;
• sixty milliliters of cold water;
• one teaspoon of citric acid;
• two teaspoons of honey (it is better to use artificial honey).

Let's start cooking:

Gelatin is traditionally filled with water for thirty minutes, after which it needs to be melted in a water bath. Add the above amount of citric acid and honey to the melted gelatin. In a separate container, mix powdered sugar and starch, then slowly add them to the gelatin mixture. You should end up with a mass with a smooth, uniform consistency.

Next, line the bottom of the bowl with food. film and pour mastic there. Wrap it in film and put it in the refrigerator until the mass stops spreading and thickens. Before using this mastic, knead it thoroughly. If it cannot be sculpted because it is too cold, put it in the microwave for a couple of seconds.

Condensed milk mastic

Professional confectioners use this type of mastic quite often. Mastic based on condensed milk has a very soft and oily structure, which makes it very comfortable to cover even the largest cakes. In addition, this mastic is very tasty.

You will need:

• two hundred grams of condensed milk: one hundred sixty grams of powdered sugar;
• one hundred sixty grams of milk powder;
• two teaspoons of lemon juice;
• one teaspoon of cognac.

Let's start cooking:

Mix dry milk and powdered sugar, slowly pour condensed milk into the resulting mass. Add one teaspoon of cognac and lemon juice, mix well. Keep in mind that mastic based on condensed milk will not be snow-white: it will have a characteristic yellowish tint.

How to make mastic shiny or colored

Despite the fact that today there are a huge number of artificial food colors on sale, we still recommend using natural ones (vegetable or fruit). They may not always give such a rich color as we would like, but for a delicious homemade cake this is the best option and the right choice for a housewife who cares about the health of her loved ones.

Vegetable dyes are obtained simply: if you use berries, then chop them thoroughly using a blender. If you use vegetables as a dye, it is better to grate them on a fine grater and squeeze out the juice through cheesecloth.

So, what colors can be obtained from plant ingredients?:

• red color and all its shades (juice of strawberries, cranberries, red currants, raspberries). You can also use red wine;
• rich pink color is achieved through the use of beets;
• if you need to achieve a yellow color, then use lemon zest or saffron infusion;
• green color is achieved through the use of spinach;
• To make the mastic have an orange tint, use carrot juice or orange zest;
• You can get purple or blue dye from blueberries, grape juice, and also from red cabbage;
• A brown color can be achieved by adding cocoa powder, strong coffee or sugar burned in a frying pan.

As for purchased food colorings, there are several types of these products:

• dry powdered dyes. Before adding such a dye to the mastic, you need to dilute it in water. As a rule, you need to take one tablespoon of water with dye on the tip of a knife.
• liquid. Such dyes are added to mastic instead of water.
• concentrated and thicker gel dyes. Economical option, very rich colors.

Achieving shine with mastic is not as difficult as it might seem. To do this, you need to dissolve one tablespoon of honey in one tablespoon of vodka. This mixture is applied to the mastic using a soft brush at the end of preparing the cake. Vodka will not leave any smell or taste - it will simply evaporate. And you will get a stunningly beautiful cake with a pleasant glossy shine.

Watch the video recipe for inspiration:

Do you know any simple mastic recipe for beginners? If yes, then share with our users in the comments below the article.

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Stunning color, isn't it? I just love it! But this is my own recipe for making sugar mastic! With all my modesty, I can say that I am proud of it, and my clients really like it.

In this article I will talk about how to make mastic with your own hands. The whole secret is in the ingredients.
Another advantage is that it is very flexible and can be rolled out to a very thin cake and in this state can be covered with it over the cake. I don't like to make thick layers and so this is a huge plus for me.
Here I will try to outline in detail the recipe for making mastic from powdered sugar.

Back when I first started decorating, I used this on all my cakes. But over time, my business began to grow and I switched to store-bought mastic.
Making cake fondant at home can become very tedious if you have to make large batches every week. So I found that I couldn't make such a huge amount of fondant often. Still, I make this recipe for some clients and also when I make something for my family. I hope you enjoy my delicious mastic recipe.

Sugar mastic recipe for cake
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Total: 38 minutes
Total weight: from 900 grams to 1 kg

What is necessary:

• mixer with dough attachment
• small bowls for mixing ingredients
  plastic bag
• plastic food storage containers
• a quarter cup of fresh whipping cream
• one and a half tablespoon of gelatin
• half teaspoon protein powder
• half teaspoon light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons butter
• one and a half tablespoon glycerin
• half a tablespoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons vanilla or vanilla sugar
• approximately 750-850 grams of powdered sugar

Directions

1. Prepare all ingredients in advance.
2. Place about 750 grams of caster sugar in a bowl, add protein powder and salt, mix it all.
3. Place the cream in another bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top. Leave for 2 minutes.
4. Then place the bowl in the microwave on high for 30 seconds until all the gelatin has dissolved.
5. It is very important that all the gelatin disperses, otherwise lumps will be visible in the finished mastic.
6. Pour corn syrup into the bowl, stirring vigorously.
7. Add butter. It is important that it lies for some time at room temperature beforehand.
8. The hot mass should melt the butter, but if it does not melt completely, place the bowl in the microwave for another 10 seconds.
9. It is not necessary for the oil to completely dissolve. If there are small pieces left, it's okay.
10. At this stage the mixture should not be hot or cold, just warm. The hot mass will melt the powdered sugar and then you will have to add it in excess. Cold will cause lumps of gelatin to appear.
11. Now add glycerin, vanilla sugar and mix.
12. If you already know what color of mastic you need, then you can add food coloring right now.
13. Make a well in the center of the bowl with powdered sugar and pour in the mixture you prepared earlier.
14. Start mixing from the center to the edges.
15. Make sure to mix the powdered sugar into the mixture well before adding more.
16. Once the mixture reaches a dough-like consistency, transfer it to a flat surface and knead. If the dough suddenly seems dry, add a tablespoon of butter to it and continue kneading.
17. I recommend not adding extra caster sugar at this stage, even if the mixture is a little sticky (however, it shouldn't be too sticky).
18. The finished mastic should have a dough-like consistency and not be too dry.
19. Divide the mastic into 2-4 parts, place each in a bag and tie well.
20. Leave the dough to proof overnight in the refrigerator.

Notes
When you decide to use fondant, take it out of the refrigerator in advance and wait for it to come to room temperature. Once heated, stir it well until it becomes soft but not sticky. Now you can add additional powdered sugar if required.

How I came up with this recipe
When you live in a place where the weather is constantly very hot and humid in the summer, decorating a cake with a lot of cream becomes simply impossible. Especially for me, because I constantly used butter-based cream.
So I needed to find a way to make sweet fondant as good as this cream and so that people could eat it instead of throwing it away, which is what they do with store-bought fondant.
I started experimenting with the usual recipe for sugar mastic, which is made with the addition of water. At first I simply replaced water with milk, then instead of milk I started using cream, and so on. I know there are a couple of recipes that use cream and milk, but due to the hot weather and humidity in the place where I live, they were all unsuitable, and such mastic was almost impossible to roll out properly, especially in the summer.
Some time passed, and by eliminating and adding ingredients, I finally came up with this recipe that was ideal for use at any time of the year.
Maybe some will find my recipe less sweet, but I wouldn’t say so - after all, it’s practically the same sugar paste, but it uses less powdered sugar compared to the regular recipe. If you read the recipe again, you will see that it uses quite a large amount of butter, and everything tastes much better with it. Protein powder is needed not only to make the mastic strong, but also for taste. I've had clients say that they think my sugar paste tastes better than what they've tried before. But everyone has their own taste, so judge for yourself.
Storage conditions:
Regular mastic can be stored for months under appropriate conditions. A large amount of powdered sugar acts as a preservative. This mastic can be stored on a shelf for about a month at room temperature. I usually divide it into 1 kg portions and store it in bags.
I will make a reservation that for safety reasons, if you are not going to use the mastic for a long time, it is better to store it in the refrigerator and not on the shelf, especially in the summer months.
It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. If you need to store it even longer, put it in the freezer. Just take it out a few hours before use so it can thaw and come to room temperature.
I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Basics of working with sugar mastic for decorating cakes

Mastic can be bought at any specialized confectionery store. Alternatively, you can make regular sugar mastic at home or use marshmallows for this.

Painting sugar mastic

To color the mastic, you will need concentrated gel food coloring. Store-bought water-based dyes will not work because they will make the mastic too damp. Scoop up a small amount of dye with a knife and rub it into the mastic until it is evenly colored. Repeat if a darker shade is desired.

Tip: If you're not sure which colors to mix, you can use the chart below as a practical guide. The topmost value is blue, the next is magenta, then yellow and then black. All values ​​are given as percentages. For example, to get a light gray color you need to use a small amount of black dye.

To get green like the bottom row, you need to use a lot of yellow and a small amount of blue and black. All colors are approximate as each monitor has its own color rendering, but it's still a good starting point. Note that you can always add more dye, so start with a small amount, especially if using dark dyes.
If you want black or bright red, I suggest buying pre-colored mastic from a specialty store, otherwise you may end up with pink or gray. Excess mastic can be wrapped in a bag and stored in a cupboard or freezer.
Place a sheet of parchment paper on the table so it doesn't get dirty and you can easily move your fondant figures without destroying them. Find a picture of what you want to make and start creating!

I have boys, so sugar fondant flowers don't appear on my cakes as often. I made the wings, eyes, nostrils and horns ahead of time so they had time to harden. The day before serving, I prepared the cake, covered it with cream and then with sugar mastic.

This cake is called "Batman - Gotham City". All of its elements, including the windows and gutter, were made several weeks before the actual cake was made. It is covered with colored cream with the addition of mastic elements. I should also note that the figures from the series were purchased in a store.

In a cake called Thomas the Tank Engine, the face and number 3 are made of fondant, and the rest is cream and licorice.

And this is a huge Black Forest cake with chocolate ganache, topped with fondant. The stars and mask are also made from sugar paste.

A natural question arises: how much mastic will be needed to cover the cake? Everything is very simple.

Mastic (sugar paste with glycerin)

Mastic is a universal product and there are several ways to prepare it. You can also just go to the store and buy it there. Store-bought mastic is expensive and in most cases it is much better to learn how to make it at home. Marshmallow mastic is popular, but there are also other types, such as marzipan and sugar mastic. Therefore, the right recipe can greatly simplify the process of decorating confectionery products. The fondant is rolled out and draped over the cake to give it an artful and attractive look. You can make figures out of it, you can paint it with food coloring, and you can also use it with a spray bottle. This easy recipe makes amazing fondant and will forever be my favorite.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon gelatin
• a quarter cup of cold water
• half cup liquid glucose (or light corn syrup)
• 1 tablespoon food grade glycerin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
• 1 tablespoon margarine or shortening
• 750 g sifted powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Place gelatin in a deep cup and pour water on top. Leave for 2 minutes for the gelatin to soften.

2. Microwave it for about 1 minute on high, then remove and stir until there are no lumps in the gelatin and the mixture is clear.

3. Place half the sifted icing sugar in a large bowl, make a well in the center and pour the gelatin into it.

4. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture well until it becomes very sticky.

5. Add more powdered sugar and mix well. Remove the spoon when it becomes difficult to stir and continue kneading with your hands. As a result, the dough should stop sticking to your hands, but at the same time be plastic.

6. Spread margarine on your hands and continue kneading the mastic thoroughly until it becomes soft. To color it, apply liquid coloring to a toothpick and stick it in several places into the dough. Then knead well again until the color is evenly distributed. If marbling is desired, simply stop kneading until the dough becomes a solid color.

7. Next, wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out. Sugar paste can be stored for more than a week and if it suddenly dries out, you can always put it in the microwave for 30 seconds or a little more and knead it until it becomes soft again.

How to make sugar mastic at home

Sugar mastic is used to cover cakes covered with cream or ganache and level their surface. With this recipe, you will get a strong and at the same time flexible dough, with which you can cover the cake without any problems.
Sugar mastic prepared at home is much tastier than store-bought, and is also much cheaper.
Now imagine sugar mastic, which is easy to work with and at the same time tastes amazing. This step-by-step recipe will show you how easy it is to make one.

Recipe for making sugar mastic (1.2 kg)
Ingredients:

• 7 cups confectioners' sugar or powdered sugar
• one-third cup and 2 tablespoons (100 g) shortening
• 1 tablespoon dry gelatin
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water
• one-third cup (106 g) light corn syrup or glucose syrup
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) food grade glycerin
• three-quarters cup (100 g) white baking chocolate
• half a teaspoon (2.5 ml) finely ground salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice or a couple drops vanilla extract
• food coloring (optional)
• margarine

The note:
Although chocolate is not required for baking, I would highly recommend using it. Chocolate increases the pliability of the fondant and increases the amount of time you can smooth it onto the cake before it hardens.

Directions:
1. Prepare all the necessary components.

2. Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl and add two cups of water (500 ml) for later use.
Microwave shortening or margarine on full power for 40 seconds until melted.
3. Pour the gelatin into the water and place it in the microwave at full power for 15 seconds to melt it. Do not let the mixture boil, otherwise the sugar mastic will not be strong.
Mix melted margarine with gelatin.

4. Stir glucose (corn) syrup, glycerin, salt and chocolate into melted gelatin mixture.

5. Place the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds. If you added confectioners' chocolate, it will take an additional 20 seconds. Stir the mixture to get rid of lumps.
6. Add lemon juice, vanilla sugar and food coloring. You can also paint the mastic at the very end. Dip a toothpick into gel food coloring and use it to color the mastic little by little, or use a pipette to do this. Mix dyes if necessary to get the color you want.

7. Make a hole in the powdered sugar and pour the gelatin into it.

8. Stir the gelatin mixture into the powdered sugar using a wooden spoon or a mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Mix until most of the powder is combined with the gelatin to form a sticky paste. Be careful with the mixer as it may burn if the paste is too thick.

9. Sprinkle some of the powdered sugar you prepared earlier onto your work surface.

10. Grease a spatula with confectionery fat (margarine) and use it to place the mastic on the table.
11. Now grease your hands with margarine and knead the mixture. Continue adding powder until the dough is smooth.
If the sugar mastic starts to stick to your hands, grease your hands again with confectionery fat and add more powder.

12. The sugar mastic should be strong, but at the same time remain a little damp, since after a day it will become harder and drier. If you need to use it immediately, add more powder to make it dry and strong.

13. Lubricate the sugar mastic on top with margarine and wrap in film. Wrap it in another film on top and leave it overnight.
If the fondant becomes very hard the next day, microwave it on full power and check every 10 seconds to see how well it is rolling out.

14. Add food coloring if the color is too light or if you did not color the fondant in the previous steps.

15. Before rolling out the mastic, you need to knead it well.

• Sugar mastic is stored for two months at room temperature, four months in the refrigerator and six months in the freezer. Allow it to reach room temperature before use.
• It is preferable to use gel food colors, as they do not affect the hardness of the mastic. Liquid food coloring will soften it, so if this happens, add extra powdered sugar.
• If the sugar mastic turns out to be very soft and sticky, add powdered sugar to it.
• If the mastic is dry, cracking and crumbling, add a few teaspoons of melted margarine to it. You can also add glycerin or a few drops of chilled boiled water to soften the mastic and become more elastic.
• Always store sugar mastic in cling film as it dries very quickly. Before working with it, be sure to lubricate the surface with margarine.

Classic sugar mastic

I made my first sugar mastic using this recipe and I still use it to this day. I found it in one of my favorite cooking books. cakes. The glucose and glycerin used in the recipe can be found in specialty stores and pharmacies.
Ingredients:

• tablespoon gelatin
• a quarter cup of water
• half a cup of glucose
• tablespoon glycerin
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 8 cups powdered sugar
• teaspoon lemon, orange or almond extract (optional)

You can also use half a cup of corn syrup. In this case, you will need 3 tablespoons of water.
Pour water into a metal bowl or glass measuring cup. Sprinkle the gelatin on top and let it settle for 5 minutes or so until the gelatin has swollen. Place bowl over simmering water to melt gelatin. Be careful not to overheat it or it will spoil. Gelatin can also be melted in a glass measuring cup by placing it in the microwave for a couple of seconds.
Mix glucose and glycerin. Pour the confectionery fat over the mixture until it dissolves in it. At this point you can add food coloring or flavoring if you need it.
Place powdered sugar in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the gelatin mixture into it and stir with a wooden spoon greased with confectionery fat. Stir until you get a homogeneous mass.
Finally, knead the dough with your hands. Then transfer the mastic to a greased work surface. Knead the dough to remove any lumps and make it smooth. Wrap the sugar mastic in cling film and store at room temperature.

Mastic is a confectionery mass based on sugar and thickeners, used for decorating cakes. There are many recipes for making mastic at home, all of them are quite simple to execute and can be used for simple decoration or sculpting beautiful figures to decorate desserts.

Mastic is used to decorate confectionery products; it is a sweet mass based on sugar and other ingredients, which is quite easy to prepare yourself. Bright and beautiful mastic for cakes at home is made from natural thickeners with sugar.

There are two main types - gelatin and milk mastic, each of which has its own composition and method of use. Milk masses are very simple; powdered sugar, regular, condensed or powdered milk are used to make them. This mass is very plastic, easy to work with, mastic can be used for decorating and sculpting figures.

Gelatin mastic made at home requires more time to prepare; it is very important to take into account the hardening time so that the mastic turns out elastic and not hard.

Based on these confectionery mastics with the addition of other ingredients, marzipan, protein, chocolate and other types of decorations are produced. The recipe for all of them will be different; in addition, you can use natural dyes, which will give the dessert a brighter, more attractive appearance.

There are several recipes for cake at home. There are two main types - milk and marshmallow-based (white soufflé), easily painted in the desired shade.

You can add ingredients such as chocolate, honey or egg white to the mixture. In addition, mastic masses are separated for purposes such as:

• sugar for covering the dessert, modeling, sculpting simple figures;
• floral with good plasticity, it rolls out easily, dries quickly, which is used for sculpting flowers and decorations;
• modeling, which dries very slowly, which is used to create complex figures (the mastic on the outside is dry, the inside remains soft for a long time).

During manufacturing, it is also taken into account what exactly the mass is used for. For covering, mastic with a large amount of thickener is used, this allows you to obtain thin and plastic layers. They will not tear, allowing you to create smooth and beautiful surfaces for desserts.

For modeling, a mass with a small amount of thickener is used, which allows the material to maintain plasticity and ductility for a long time. This makes it easy to create beautiful figures without worrying about the mastic drying out quickly or starting to crumble.

According to their composition they are distinguished 5 main types of mastic:

• from marshmallows;
• made of chocolate;
• protein based;
• milk mastic;
• gelatin composition.

Stylish and beautiful decorations are made from marshmallow-based mastic. This will require the following components:

• clean water - 60 milliliters;
• marshmallows (preferably white) – 200 grams;
• any pigment;
• finely ground powdered sugar.

The candies must first be heated in a water bath, then mixed with the rest of the ingredients. The mass is thoroughly kneaded, when it stops sticking to your fingers, you can begin modeling the figures. When rolling, it is recommended to lightly sprinkle the table surface with powder.

To prepare the mixture need to take:

• very finely ground powdered sugar - 125 grams;
• dark chocolate - 100 grams bar;
• cream (30% is suitable) – 50 milliliters;
• butter - a tablespoon;
• cognac – 10 milliliters.

Heat the chocolate over low heat, then add all the other ingredients and stir thoroughly. Before sculpting, the mastic is slightly cooled, for which it must be wrapped in cling film.

Used for protein mastic ingredients such as:

• fresh protein;
• powdered sugar – 500 grams;
• glucose syrup – 2 tablespoons.

Additionally, you can use honey or chocolate, the amount of which is adjusted during cooking. Depending on the purpose, chocolate can be white or dark. You just need to immediately decide what shade the mass is needed before making flowers or decorations from mastic.

After kneading, the mass is wrapped in film and put in the refrigerator for two hours. Before sculpting, you need to knead it again, you can add a little powder if the mastic sticks to your fingers.

Used for milk mass ingredients such as:

• milk powder – 160 grams;
• dyes of the required shades;
• cognac – teaspoon;
• condensed milk – 200 grams;
• powder – 160 grams;
• lemon juice – 2 teaspoons.

All ingredients, except dyes and lemon juice, are mixed, the mass should be elastic. Then juice and dyes are gradually added.

Milk mastic always has a beige tint; it is impossible to obtain a white color. But with the help of pigments you can achieve other, bright or pastel, shades that match the idea and future design of the cake.

To obtain the gelatin mass you will need ingredients such as:

• gelatin – 10 grams;
• dyes;
• lemon juice – 2 teaspoons;
• powder – 200 grams;
• water – 60 milliliters.

Gelatin is soaked. After it dissolves in water, you need to add the remaining components, except dyes, and stir the mass until elastic. Pigments are added to the finished mastic. If it turns out to be insufficiently elastic, the amount of lemon juice can be increased.

Features of coloring mastic on a cake

The made mastic can be painted in any colors, for which natural dry food and gel dyes are used. In order to give the mass the required shade, a small amount of dye is enough, after which the mass is intensively kneaded to give it a uniform, beautiful color.

When using dry compositions, you must first mix the pigment with water (a couple of drops is enough), then stir the resulting paint. It should be added to the mastic drop by drop in different places to ensure uniform coloring.

There is no natural black dye; usually, artificial pigments must be used to obtain the desired color.

Rules for working with mastic on a cake

Before you make mastic at home and use it to decorate a cake, you need to take into account the peculiarities of working with the mass. This will not only allow you to accurately realize all your ideas, but also make the confectionery product truly beautiful and maintain the beautiful appearance of the dessert for the required period of time.

The main rules for using mastic are the following principles.

1. When using powdered sugar, you need to make sure that it is ground very finely, otherwise the mass will begin to tear when rolling.
2. Mastic cannot be applied to wet surfaces, including cream, as it will dissolve and the dessert itself will lose its attractive appearance. It is recommended to do this only on marzipan layers or on butter cream, after keeping the dessert in the refrigerator until it hardens.
3. When sculpting figures, you often have to glue individual parts together. To do this, you need to slightly moisten the surface, and then fasten the mastic figures together.
4. The mastic dries in air, which is used in sculpting various figures and decorations. But voluminous flowers are best made and placed on the cake at the very end, so that they do not have time to absorb moisture from the surrounding air. If you do not follow this simple rule, then flowers and mastic petals may fall off and lose their attractive appearance.
5. Sometimes it happens that condensation appears on the surface of the mastic mass from the refrigerator. It is very easy to remove; you just need to use a regular napkin or dry the surface with a light stream from a fan.
6. Sometimes the mass loses its plasticity, which can be easily corrected. To do this, it must be heated in.
7. Store the finished mixture in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in cling film. Storage time in the refrigerator is up to two weeks, in the freezer - up to two months.
8. Ready-made mastic figurines can be stored for quite a long time; to do this, they must be placed in a dry, tightly closed container. Storage time is several months.
9. Mastic can be colored using food coloring; this is most often used for marshmallow mass.

The mastic must be handled correctly and carefully; if the modeling or storage technology is violated, the mass will begin to crumble and lose its shape when decorating the dessert. You should not cover wet cakes with mastic, and when cooking you should use only finely ground powder.

Finally

Mastic is used to decorate desserts or sculpt figures on cakes. Various ingredients are used to make the mixture, but powdered sugar remains the main one. As additional ingredients, you can add chocolate, honey, proteins or milk, natural and synthetic dyes to obtain the desired shade.

Mother of two children. I have been running a house for more than 7 years - this is my main job. I like to experiment, I constantly try different means, methods, techniques that can make our life easier, more modern, more fulfilling. I love my family.

Not a single store-bought cake can replace the warmth and care that goes into home-baked goods. But for all the soulfulness of homemade sweets, they are rarely as pleasing to the eye as the creations of professional confectioners. Making cake mastic at home will help correct this state of affairs. We'll tell you what it is, how to use it, and offer you several recipes and culinary life hacks.

What is this?

Mastic is a sweet, pliable mass that resembles plasticine in consistency. With its help, you can make voluminous or flat decorations for cakes, as well as completely cover one or several tiers of the cake, obtaining the effect of a smooth, satin surface. The basis of the mastic is powdered sugar, which is why you should pay great attention to its choice: the finer the grind, the smoother and more elastic the mass will be.

How to prepare mastic?

First of all, you need to decide what you plan to use it for, because different compositions have different elasticity: for example, honey is great for covering cakes, but figures made from it hold their shape less well, especially in hot rooms. Sugar is excellent for creating jewelry, but if the proportions are not respected or the layer is too thin, it can crumble and crack. Have goals been set? Then, go ahead, get to work! If you want to make your mastic colored, you can add gel food coloring at the dough kneading stage.

Sugar mastic

You will need:

• Powdered sugar - 500 g
• Water - 60 ml
• Gelatin - 1 tsp.
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp.
• Vanillin.

How to cook:

• Sift the powdered sugar through a fine sieve.
• Pour gelatin with water for 20-30 minutes, then, stirring, heat in a water bath.
• Add lemon juice and vanilla, and then start adding powdered sugar in small portions, stirring the mixture.
• Continue kneading the sugar dough without bringing the consistency to a solid mixture.
• Wrap the finished mastic in cling film and store in the refrigerator.

Marshmallow mastic

You will need:

• Marshmallow - 300 g
• Water - 60-80 ml
• Powdered sugar - 250 g
• Vegetable oil

How to cook:

• Melt the marshmallows with two teaspoons of water in a water bath or in the microwave, stirring the mixture every 30 seconds.
• Grease the mixer bowl and the whisk for kneading the dough with vegetable oil, transfer the melted mass there, add powdered sugar and the remaining water.
• Knead the sugar dough until it becomes a homogeneous elastic mass.
• Place the mastic on a board greased with vegetable oil and bring it to the perfect consistency by hand.

Honey mastic

You will need:

• Honey - 90 g
• Water - 25 g
• Instant gelatin - 8 g
• Powdered sugar - 500 g

How to cook:

• Sift the powdered sugar through a sieve.
• Pour gelatin with water and leave to swell.
• Place the honey in a water bath and wait until all sugar crystals are completely dissolved.
• Mix gelatin with still hot honey and stir until completely dissolved.
• Stir the honey-gelatin mass into the powdered sugar, avoiding the consistency becoming too dry.

Methods of decorating with mastic

Covering the cake

The mastic for covering the cake should be as elastic as possible, so if your mastic was stored in the refrigerator, before covering it you should warm it up or at least let it sit at room temperature for about an hour. If the mastic is sticky, grease the rolling pin and the board on which you will roll the mass with vegetable oil.

Roll out the mastic evenly, achieving a uniform layer of 3-5 mm, then take the finished canvas and cover the cake with it. Begin to carefully expel the air from the space between the biscuit and the mastic; if wrinkles form, it will be enough to simply smooth them out with a spatula or pastry spatula. Trim off any excess fondant using a pizza cutter and smooth it down at the base. The cake is ready!

"Lace" decor

For this type of design you will need an already covered cake and additional materials: for example, cutters. Cutter is a form for cutting dough or mastic, they come in different shapes: from simple, large and round, to complex and small. The lace mastic should be a little denser and hold its shape well.

Roll out the mass on a board greased or sprinkled with starch until a layer of 3-4 mm is reached and cut it to the height of the side of the cake. Inside the resulting rectangle, start cutting out “lace” with cutters, for example, flowers. The combination of colored covering with white lace along the side looks very beautiful. Once the design is cut out, all that remains is to carefully separate the fondant from the board and smooth it onto the side of the cake. Pieces of cut out decor can be used to decorate the top of your confectionery masterpiece!

Roses made from mastic

You will need several round cutters of different diameters from 3 to 6 cm (you can use shot glasses), a rolling pin, a board, corn starch, water, a brush, toothpicks.

Before work, you need to knead the mastic properly in your hands so that it becomes more pliable, sprinkle the working surface with corn starch, roll out the mastic into a thin layer of no more than 2 mm and cut it out using mug shapes - 5 smaller diameters and 5 larger ones.

You need to run your fingers along the edge of each circle to make it thin and slightly wavy like a real pink petal. Leave the petals to dry for 10-15 minutes and begin assembling the flower.

In the center of each flower there should be a “bud” - a small cone of mastic. Now each petal needs to be slightly smeared with water at the base and gently smoothed onto the cone, forming a flower from the center to the edges. Place the base of the rose on a toothpick, bend the petals a little and leave the flower to dry. Afterwards, you can remove the rose from the toothpick and decorate the cake.

How to paint mastic if there is no dye?

You made a great mastic, but don’t have any gel dyes in the house? You can add a little color using products you have in your kitchen!

The red color will be provided by cranberry juice passed through a sieve or raspberry syrup. Beetroot will help you achieve pink. Yellow will come from an infusion of turmeric or saffron. Carrot juice will give the mastic an orange color. Blueberries or blackcurrants will create a beautiful shade of purple, and brown can be achieved with cocoa powder or strong coffee.

That's all, now you are in full confectionery combat readiness and can conquer your family with your culinary talents and pamper them with not only tasty, but also beautiful sweets!