I use Suzanne Esper's Gumpaste here in the UK and really love it. For me the flexibility is actually a plus. I find that it's less brittle and less prone to breakage.
I love Suzanne’s paste. I can roll it to see through without frayed edges. Good metal cutters make cleaner cuts than plastic. The greater flexibilty allows the petals not to break so easily, it veins and dusts beautifully. I like your paste well enough but for extremely realistic flowers, I find the Esper paste the best of all possible worlds.
I'll have to give it another try and roll it thinner! Yes I usually use metal but I do have a few plastic as well which I use frequently. The way it kept colour was beautiful so I'd love to make it work for me, too. Thanks for your input Deborah!
I've tried yours and Nicholas Lodges. For me, Nicholas Lodges was really hard to knead but it also didn't hold the veining for me. Like as it dried the veining disappeared. I love your recipe. That is so incredibly nice of you to share. How does it compare to Scott Woolley's recipe? Try his next!
I have made sugar flowers with Suzanne's paste. I do in fact have a sugar flower I made from weeks ago. It is slightly soft yet completely firm and holds its shape. Suzanne's paste is a thicker paste so it takes a bit to completely thin out but once thinned it is stunning. Her paste doesn't have a texture and it thins petal like yet never looks translucent. It also colors beautifully. If you used the same paint brush as you used with Nicolas Lodge recipe then that explains the blotches on Suzanne's paste. His recipe has Crisco in it and when that transfers to Suzanne's paste, it causes blotches (I know from experience 😞). Nicolas Lodges recipe was too brittle for me. Breaks easily yet it veined beautifully and thinned easily. I have a picture of flowers that I made using her paste if you'd like to see that. Honestly her paste is always sold out because its really amazing. Honestly haven't found anything on the market like it yet. Its brilliant. For people who live in a more humid atmosphere, popping your flower in a dehumidifier for a quick second wouldn't hurt. Yet I didn't have to use my dehumidifier while using her paste. I can't wait to try your recipe! Thanks so much! 🙂
I have tried NL and FSC but my choice is FSC. 5* for your recipe. I did tweak the recipe to suit my needs but definitely yours is the Best i found .thank you so much for sharing with us Alexandria ❤😘😘😘
I use NL’s gum paste regularly, and it is very easy to work with. There’s too much CMC powder or not enough egg, in yours. You can add a bit of egg white and it’ll usually soften up a bit.
I have tried yours as well as Nicolas Lodge. I prefer yours. As like yourself , I found NL’s a little tough and had to roll the gum paste quite a bit to get it really thin. The positive on NL’s gum paste is that you can freeze it. I don’t know if you can freeze your gum paste .
I have been making your gumpaste for about a year now and will continue to use it. I have one question on the Gelatin, I noticed the last time I made your gumpaste the ingredient on the box, one say gelatin and the other one say beef gelatin. Does it matter which one I use?
Generic "gelatin" is usually beef gelatin. And yes also what Melissa said- if it has a different bloom number it will be stronger or weaker however I just use classic powdered beef gelatin (like Knox brand) which works well for my recipe.
Hi gorgeous i am all ways like you're video. also Nicholas lodges. I will try again you're recipe. I have all ingredients. I trying my best .Nicolas one bit thicker.my flowers little bit bulky I still enjoying flowers making my self. Very helpful you're video. thank you so much best .best of luck.
I have the same issues with NL as you have. When I tries to bake a ball it felt like it instead of a ball it felt it was getting folded like laundry. I have some in the freezer still. I'll make a picture. Suzanne Esper herself combines her gumpaste with extra fine gumpaste herself btw
I'm new to gumpaste so just bought a bucket of satin..to which would you compare to.I find it dries very fast. I'm in Toronto..does the room temperature matter when u live in colder climate. Im definitely going to try to make my own eventually. Also what are thoughts about rice based gumpaste?
I don't think I'd compare it to any handmade-type gumpaste- it will be much more difficult to work with unfortunately. A lot of people have issues with drooping flowers and find it very hard to work with so don't be discouraged when you're starting out! Just practice the techniques then when you're ready you can make a batch of gumpaste and it'll be much easier :) I haven't tried rice based gumpaste but I know Five Two Baker has a recipe that looks great
I’ve been using the gumpaste recipe from Scott Clarke Woolley which uses fresh egg white instead of meringue powder. But, otherwise is very similar to yours. I’d be interested to see how you like that one.
Thank you so much for this comparison, Alexandria! Your gum paste recipe is the first I ever worked with, and while I love it, I was curious to try a couple of others, namely Robert Haynes and Suzanne Espers. I do not think the Robert Haynes holds the veining or shaping as well as yours and Suzanne's. I also found that Suzanne's does not dry, sometimes for days! While this may be useful to prevent edges from cracking, it's not so useful when your flower droops after you think it's finished. I was just about to make a batch of Nicholas Lodge's, but I think I'll just stick with yours! What brands of CMC and meringue powder do you recommend?
I haven't tried Robert Haynes yet but I'd definitely want to give it a go! I use confectioner's choice (from Flour Confections) but if I can get my hand on some other brands I'll try to adapt my recipe to them since it's always different depending on the ingredients you use.
Thank you for this. I’m a self taught learning pandemic baker. The biggest challenge that I have is elasticity vs fragility. I like to have a very thin thickness in my petals like 7/8 on my pasta machine, (maybe I’m crazy on the thickness) which presents two challenges stability before drying and fragility after it dries, I’ve researched some flexible gumpaste recipes that involved a tapioca rice paste. However, my cheat Ive done is adding marshmallow. Usually just microwave some and add it to my gumpaste. I haven’t tried but I’m sure marshmallow fluff would work too. Thank you for your in-depth educational clips. I’ll keep playing learning and making flowers.
It's always a fine line! Since I use flowers for wedding cakes I can't make them too thin otherwise I'll have too much breakage. Generally 5 is what I roll mine to and I don't have issues with much with fragility.
I can see that! It's quite firm but seemed to have dried very hard and would probably be easier with more humidity in the air (I think my kitchen was around 25% if that when I made it!)
I have made your recipe a multitude of times. Using the brands of CMC, tylose and/or meringue powder you recommend gave me the best results without cracking, drying out or drooping. I had the same type of outcome when I made a batch of Nicolas Lodges recipe. When I used the Confectionery Art’s International tylose, I had had better luck. The only pre-made paste I used didn’t give me enough time to manipulate, very hard to knead and had a strong scent of Play Dough. I think that temperature and humidity makes a huge difference as well! All and all… making your recipe, with all the brand’s you used allowed me the best results. The tips I have picked up from you and other sugar flower artists, such as using two layers of plastic wrap and a damp towel, have increased my work time, yay! Also using your advice about adding color in place of some of the water has been a game changer. It keeps my paste from becoming too sticky or almost separated, if that makes sense?!? Thank you so much! When I subscribed to Sugar Geek Show and caught your class… I became a woman possessed, 😂 That is when I discovered the beautiful world of sugar flowers 🌸🌹 Thank you for being so helpful and not to mention generous with tips and recipes! You have helped in so many ways 🙏🏻❤️
Totally agree about pre-made paste- can never go back! Although in a pinch Suzanne's worked quite similarly to mine so if I needed a pre-made one that's what I'd pick. Oh yes the colouring aspect is huge! I picked that tip up from Ron Ben-Israel. So glad you've found everything useful!! Makes me very happy to hear that :)
I made your flower paste recently and I'm very unsure about it, it seems very grainy and doesn't knead to a smooth, elastic paste. Perhaps I have done something wrong, although I followed the recipe to the letter.
It sounds like it could be your ingredients. A few things to check- that your icing sugar is super-fine (10X), shouldn't have any lumps. Could also be the gelatin- try melting it more, this would also contribute to the lack of elasticity. Hope the next batch works out!!
@@FinespunCakes thank you, I used what is known as pure icing sugar here in Australia rather than the icing mixture which has added cornflour. I had to use fresh egg white as I'm not familiar with the meringue powder, and the directions regarding the gelatin were different around the heating of it. The recipe didn't say to heat it at all?
@@BigGen222 You can use the one with cornflour added- that's fine. As long as it's ultra fine in texture. Step one of the recipe is to bloom the gelatin then heat it in 20sec increments until gelatin is fully dissolved- this plus the icing sugar should solve it!
@@FinespunCakes thank you again, I will give it another try. Just to let you know, in the recipe substitutions that I was following as I used fresh egg whites, it says 'if not using meringue powder, add gelatin to water only to bloom and dissolve', it doesn't mention heating the gelatin again. Perhaps this is where I went wrong.
Hello friend are u from england?I like ur explane and very useful vedio. I think u have huge business.can u give the chance work in cake business.i have a certificate course and diploma.u can give the chance 🙏 i and my family very happy good luck
I’ve been using Alan Dunn’s recipe for many years until I’ve found your recipe and never look back. Thank you so much for sharing Alexandria.
I'll definitely try Alan Dunn's I'm a huge fan of his teachings!
I use Suzanne Esper's Gumpaste here in the UK and really love it. For me the flexibility is actually a plus. I find that it's less brittle and less prone to breakage.
I can certainly see that! I'm going to give it another try and roll it thinner because the colour turned out really beautifully.
I love Suzanne’s paste. I can roll it to see through without frayed edges. Good metal cutters make cleaner cuts than plastic. The greater flexibilty allows the petals not to break so easily, it veins and dusts beautifully. I like your paste well enough but for extremely realistic flowers, I find the Esper paste the best of all possible worlds.
I'll have to give it another try and roll it thinner! Yes I usually use metal but I do have a few plastic as well which I use frequently. The way it kept colour was beautiful so I'd love to make it work for me, too. Thanks for your input Deborah!
I've tried yours and Nicholas Lodges. For me, Nicholas Lodges was really hard to knead but it also didn't hold the veining for me. Like as it dried the veining disappeared. I love your recipe. That is so incredibly nice of you to share. How does it compare to Scott Woolley's recipe? Try his next!
I have made sugar flowers with Suzanne's paste. I do in fact have a sugar flower I made from weeks ago. It is slightly soft yet completely firm and holds its shape. Suzanne's paste is a thicker paste so it takes a bit to completely thin out but once thinned it is stunning. Her paste doesn't have a texture and it thins petal like yet never looks translucent. It also colors beautifully. If you used the same paint brush as you used with Nicolas Lodge recipe then that explains the blotches on Suzanne's paste. His recipe has Crisco in it and when that transfers to Suzanne's paste, it causes blotches (I know from experience 😞). Nicolas Lodges recipe was too brittle for me. Breaks easily yet it veined beautifully and thinned easily. I have a picture of flowers that I made using her paste if you'd like to see that. Honestly her paste is always sold out because its really amazing. Honestly haven't found anything on the market like it yet. Its brilliant. For people who live in a more humid atmosphere, popping your flower in a dehumidifier for a quick second wouldn't hurt. Yet I didn't have to use my dehumidifier while using her paste. I can't wait to try your recipe! Thanks so much! 🙂
I have tried NL and FSC but my choice is FSC. 5* for your recipe. I did tweak the recipe to suit my needs but definitely yours is the Best i found .thank you so much for sharing with us Alexandria ❤😘😘😘
I use NL’s gum paste regularly, and it is very easy to work with. There’s too much CMC powder or not enough egg, in yours. You can add a bit of egg white and it’ll usually soften up a bit.
I'll give that a try, thanks!
I have tried yours as well as Nicolas Lodge. I prefer yours. As like yourself , I found NL’s a little tough and had to roll the gum paste quite a bit to get it really thin. The positive on NL’s gum paste is that you can freeze it. I don’t know if you can freeze your gum paste .
Oooh I've never tried freezing mine but I should! I go through it so quickly it never crossed my mind haha.
I did and no issues here! Perfectly fine
I have been making your gumpaste for about a year now and will continue to use it. I have one question on the Gelatin, I noticed the last time I made your gumpaste the ingredient on the box, one say gelatin and the other one say beef gelatin. Does it matter which one I use?
Only if it's a different bloom number - but not every Brand mentions that unfortunately
Generic "gelatin" is usually beef gelatin. And yes also what Melissa said- if it has a different bloom number it will be stronger or weaker however I just use classic powdered beef gelatin (like Knox brand) which works well for my recipe.
How much more CMC would you add to your flower paste?
I love your recipe!!
Thank you!
U are an artist 😍😍😍😘😘😘👑👑👑👑
Thank you!
Hi gorgeous i am all ways like you're video. also Nicholas lodges. I will try again you're recipe. I have all ingredients. I trying my best .Nicolas one bit thicker.my flowers little bit bulky
I still enjoying flowers making my self. Very helpful you're video. thank you so much best .best of luck.
Thanks Geetha! Yes, you probably need to roll NL's a bit thinner to get the same effect of thin petals. My recipe is quite a bit easier to roll.
I have the same issues with NL as you have. When I tries to bake a ball it felt like it instead of a ball it felt it was getting folded like laundry. I have some in the freezer still. I'll make a picture. Suzanne Esper herself combines her gumpaste with extra fine gumpaste herself btw
Ahh yes, I think it's just a bit too much CMC for my liking. And really? That's interesting I'm going to look into Suzanne's mix!
I'm new to gumpaste so just bought a bucket of satin..to which would you compare to.I find it dries very fast. I'm in Toronto..does the room temperature matter when u live in colder climate. Im definitely going to try to make my own eventually. Also what are thoughts about rice based gumpaste?
I don't think I'd compare it to any handmade-type gumpaste- it will be much more difficult to work with unfortunately. A lot of people have issues with drooping flowers and find it very hard to work with so don't be discouraged when you're starting out! Just practice the techniques then when you're ready you can make a batch of gumpaste and it'll be much easier :)
I haven't tried rice based gumpaste but I know Five Two Baker has a recipe that looks great
@@FinespunCakes I think you have your own brand of gumpaste
I’ve been using the gumpaste recipe from Scott Clarke Woolley which uses fresh egg white instead of meringue powder. But, otherwise is very similar to yours. I’d be interested to see how you like that one.
I'll check that one out! Thanks :)
Thank you so much for this comparison, Alexandria! Your gum paste recipe is the first I ever worked with, and while I love it, I was curious to try a couple of others, namely Robert Haynes and Suzanne Espers. I do not think the Robert Haynes holds the veining or shaping as well as yours and Suzanne's. I also found that Suzanne's does not dry, sometimes for days! While this may be useful to prevent edges from cracking, it's not so useful when your flower droops after you think it's finished. I was just about to make a batch of Nicholas Lodge's, but I think I'll just stick with yours! What brands of CMC and meringue powder do you recommend?
I haven't tried Robert Haynes yet but I'd definitely want to give it a go! I use confectioner's choice (from Flour Confections) but if I can get my hand on some other brands I'll try to adapt my recipe to them since it's always different depending on the ingredients you use.
Thank you for this. I’m a self taught learning pandemic baker. The biggest challenge that I have is elasticity vs fragility. I like to have a very thin thickness in my petals like 7/8 on my pasta machine, (maybe I’m crazy on the thickness) which presents two challenges stability before drying and fragility after it dries, I’ve researched some flexible gumpaste recipes that involved a tapioca rice paste. However, my cheat Ive done is adding marshmallow. Usually just microwave some and add it to my gumpaste. I haven’t tried but I’m sure marshmallow fluff would work too. Thank you for your in-depth educational clips. I’ll keep playing learning and making flowers.
It's always a fine line! Since I use flowers for wedding cakes I can't make them too thin otherwise I'll have too much breakage. Generally 5 is what I roll mine to and I don't have issues with much with fragility.
For humid climate Nicholas L gum paste is fabulous 👍👍👍👍
I can see that! It's quite firm but seemed to have dried very hard and would probably be easier with more humidity in the air (I think my kitchen was around 25% if that when I made it!)
@@FinespunCakes I live in the east cost of USA by the beach and we can have 100% humidity in summer
@@FinespunCakes I love your work I had learned a lot with you Thank you 🤗🌸
I have made your recipe a multitude of times. Using the brands of CMC, tylose and/or meringue powder you recommend gave me the best results without cracking, drying out or drooping. I had the same type of outcome when I made a batch of Nicolas Lodges recipe. When I used the Confectionery Art’s International tylose, I had had better luck. The only pre-made paste I used didn’t give me enough time to manipulate, very hard to knead and had a strong scent of Play Dough. I think that temperature and humidity makes a huge difference as well! All and all… making your recipe, with all the brand’s you used allowed me the best results. The tips I have picked up from you and other sugar flower artists, such as using two layers of plastic wrap and a damp towel, have increased my work time, yay! Also using your advice about adding color in place of some of the water has been a game changer. It keeps my paste from becoming too sticky or almost separated, if that makes sense?!? Thank you so much! When I subscribed to Sugar Geek Show and caught your class… I became a woman possessed, 😂 That is when I discovered the beautiful world of sugar flowers 🌸🌹 Thank you for being so helpful and not to mention generous with tips and recipes! You have helped in so many ways 🙏🏻❤️
Totally agree about pre-made paste- can never go back! Although in a pinch Suzanne's worked quite similarly to mine so if I needed a pre-made one that's what I'd pick.
Oh yes the colouring aspect is huge! I picked that tip up from Ron Ben-Israel.
So glad you've found everything useful!! Makes me very happy to hear that :)
I made your flower paste recently and I'm very unsure about it, it seems very grainy and doesn't knead to a smooth, elastic paste. Perhaps I have done something wrong, although I followed the recipe to the letter.
It sounds like it could be your ingredients. A few things to check- that your icing sugar is super-fine (10X), shouldn't have any lumps. Could also be the gelatin- try melting it more, this would also contribute to the lack of elasticity. Hope the next batch works out!!
@@FinespunCakes thank you, I used what is known as pure icing sugar here in Australia rather than the icing mixture which has added cornflour. I had to use fresh egg white as I'm not familiar with the meringue powder, and the directions regarding the gelatin were different around the heating of it. The recipe didn't say to heat it at all?
@@BigGen222 You can use the one with cornflour added- that's fine. As long as it's ultra fine in texture. Step one of the recipe is to bloom the gelatin then heat it in 20sec increments until gelatin is fully dissolved- this plus the icing sugar should solve it!
@@FinespunCakes thank you again, I will give it another try. Just to let you know, in the recipe substitutions that I was following as I used fresh egg whites, it says 'if not using meringue powder, add gelatin to water only to bloom and dissolve', it doesn't mention heating the gelatin again. Perhaps this is where I went wrong.
Great tip is to use 1/2 of gum paste and 1/2 of fondant it gives a great texture and easy to work with
😍
Someone tried her recipe with a different ingredient brand - not confectioners choice?
I believe Lisa Anderson has! She left a comment here you should message her below her comment and ask :)
🇧🇷💞💞💞💞💞
Yours is way way better.
Thank you Aisa! Glad you enjoy it :)
Hello friend are u from england?I like ur explane and very useful vedio. I think u have huge business.can u give the chance work in cake business.i have a certificate course and diploma.u can give the chance 🙏 i and my family very happy good luck