How to make cake mastic with your own hands at home. Mastic confectionery

Mastic is a special plastic paste that can take the desired shape, intended for modeling, that is, for decorating confectionery products.

It is used in many industries, but in the confectionery industry it takes on a completely new dimension. It is used to make all kinds of decorations for confectionery products.

Confectionery– it’s not only sweetness and taste, it’s also a refined appearance.

Flowers, drawings, inscriptions, figures - all this becomes possible thanks to the skill of the craftsmen, including the use of mastic.

In terms of its composition, mastic is a mixture of gelatin, powdered sugar and water, using a temperature regime.

Gelatin is mixed with water, heated, then after filtering, powdered sugar is added to the mixture and brought to a plastic state.

Dyes are added if necessary.

Confectionery dyes can be purchased, but can be made from ordinary products.

For example, the juice of strawberries, raspberries, and currants will give a red tint to the mastic, and will also enhance the fruity taste.

If you don't need flavor, beet juice will do. An excellent solution is orange juice. It will create an orange tint and give the mastic a piquant sourness. Green color can be added using squeezed green juice.

Many have adapted to making mastic at home from chewing marshmallows (marshmallow - in other words). It is melted under high temperature, and then powdered sugar and lemon juice are added. This mass is also very plastic, it is easy to give it the desired shape. Well, if you don’t want to do all this, there is ready-made mastic on sale.

After the mass is rolled out and shaped, the mastic product must be dried for several hours so that this shape is fixed. Therefore, they begin to make decorations long before the cake itself.

Mastic is used not only for such small elements. You can cover the entire cake with it.

To do this, you need to roll out the mass into a thin cake, which approximately coincides in circumference with the circumference of the cake, lay it out and level it. It should fit easily and take the shape of a cake.

Now your cake is covered with a smooth yummy that will not lose its shape and will give the cake a special chic.

To make the sugar mastic covering your cake shine, apply a layer of honey-vodka solution (honey and vodka in a 1:1 ratio) with a soft brush.

Don't worry: the vodka will evaporate quickly and will not affect the taste or smell of the cake.

In terms of its taste, mastic resembles marshmallows - in a frozen form. That is why children's cakes are most often created with the obligatory use of mastic decorations.

Many children and adults love this taste and even prefer to eat mastic as an independent product.

For special lovers, you can store this delicacy in the refrigerator; it does not lose its taste due to this.

Here are some basic rules for preparing and using mastic cake decorations:

1. The most important thing - to prepare mastic, be sure to use very finely ground powdered sugar.

If there are sugar crystals in it, the layer will tear when rolling.

2. Do not under any circumstances cover the cake with mastic on a wet base - on sour cream, on soaked cake layers, etc.

When interacting with moisture, it quickly dissolves.

Therefore, there must be an intermediate layer between the cake and the mastic. This can be as a layer of marzipan or a thin layer of buttercream.

If you decide to use buttercream, before covering the cake with fondant, it should sit in the refrigerator until the cream hardens.

3. In order to glue different parts of mastic figures or glue decorations onto a mastic coating, the gluing areas need to be slightly moistened with water or you can use protein with a small addition of powdered sugar.

4. It is better to make voluminous decorations in advance so that they have time to dry thoroughly. Three-dimensional figures, such as bows or flowers, should be attached to the cake shortly before serving, otherwise, if they are immediately attached and the cake is put in the refrigerator, the figures will absorb moisture and fall off.

5. Marshmallow decorations can be decorated with food coloring on top.

6. If the mastic has cooled down and began to roll out poorly, then you can warm it up a little in the microwave or in a hot oven, so it will regain its plasticity.

7. Store the remaining mastic in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks, and in the freezer for 1 to 2 months, and it should be wrapped in plastic wrap.

8. Unused dried fondant decorations can be stored in a tightly closed box in a dry place. They can be stored for about a couple of months.

A perfectly smooth surface of the cake, almost like living edible flowers and figurines of your favorite cartoon characters - all this can be made from sugar dough (mastic). Working with this material is no more difficult than with ordinary plasticine, and it can be prepared from the simplest and most affordable products. Cake mastic is made in different ways: from chewing marshmallows or milk powder, with honey, condensed milk or gelatin.

This is the most popular and simplest mastic recipe. Its preparation requires a minimum of ingredients, and the finished product can then be used both for covering the cake, and for making flowers, and for sculpting various figures.

Since chewing marshmallow marshmallows are often already colored in various colors, colored mastic can be prepared without dyes, simply taking the sweetness of the desired color as a basis.

List of ingredients used:

• 90 g marshmallows;
• 15 ml lemon juice or milk;
• 100 g powdered sugar;
• 50 g starch;
• 5 g butter.

Mastic recipe step by step:

1. Mix powdered sugar and starch, sift the resulting mixture through a fine sieve. If the mastic will be rolled out very thinly, for example, for flowers, then it is better to sift it not through a regular sieve, but through a piece of organza.
2. Place marshmallows, butter and milk (lemon juice) into a deep bowl. Next, these ingredients need to be melted. This can be done in a steam bath or in the microwave.
3. Stir the melted marshmallows until smooth and, adding the sugar-starch mixture in small portions, knead the mastic like dough. Wrap a smooth ball of mastic in cling film to prevent it from winding, and let it rest for at least an hour. After this, it is completely ready for use.

Store marshmallow mastic in the refrigerator, without access to air, tightly wrapped in film. Before use, you will need to let it sit at room temperature for a couple of hours.

Cooking from egg whites

The basis of any mastic is powdered sugar, but an additional component is required to hold it together. Egg whites do this job perfectly.

But in order for the mass to remain plastic, you need to add glucose syrup to it, which can be replaced with molasses, invert syrup or liquid honey.

Ingredient proportions:

• 1 protein;
• 1 ml glucose syrup;
• 450 g powdered sugar.

Cooking sequence:

1. Lightly beat the whites. There is no need to achieve foam and peaks; it will only be enough to disrupt its structure, making it liquid.
2. Mix the protein with syrup and knead the sugar dough, adding small portions of sweet powder.
3. Knead the mastic and collect it into a ball, put it in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator for two hours.
4. Then take out the mastic and knead again. If it sticks to your hands, add powdered sugar. After this, the mass is completely ready for use.

Gelatin based recipe

The simplest gelatin mastic recipe includes only three ingredients: powdered sugar, water and gelatin. But it will be too difficult to mold something from such a mass, and it is not suitable for covering a cake. The only worthy use for this mass is to sculpt handles for baskets, bridges and other simple elements that must be rigid.

But there is another version of gelatin mastic, which is not inferior in quality to marshmallow mass:

• 20 g gelatin;
• 50 ml water;
• 100 ml glucose syrup;
• 20 ml glycerin;
• 1000 g powdered sugar (may use less).

Progress:

1. Soak gelatin in water. When the mass swells, put it on the fire and bring it to a homogeneous liquid.
2. Pour glucose syrup into gelatin and heat for 3 - 4 minutes until the mixture becomes homogeneous.
3. Remove the composition from the heat, add glycerin and some flavoring (for example, vanillin).
4. Sift some of the powdered sugar and make a well in it. Pour in the hot liquid component and quickly knead the mass. You need to knead the mastic very carefully so as not to burn your hands.

Chocolate mastic for cake

Chocolate mastic is by far the sweetest. Flowers and figures made from it smell like chocolate, and it tastes no worse than your favorite sweets. When preparing chocolate for modeling, you will additionally need glucose syrup, which can be replaced with liquid honey.

The main difficulty in preparing shokomastics is that chocolate and honey are different, so there are no exact proportions for their ratio; they can only be found experimentally.

The approximate ratio of ingredients will be as follows:

• 250 g dark/milk/white chocolate;
• 130/110/90 g of honey for each type of chocolate, respectively.

Preparation:

1. Melt the chocolate until it becomes a smooth, homogeneous mixture. This will happen when heated to 50 - 60 degrees. Heat honey to the same temperature.
2. Add honey to chocolate and stir. The mass should “curl” and turn into a flowing dough that will not stick to the walls of the dish.
3. Spread the chocolate over the cling film in a thin layer and cover with another piece of film on top. Using a ruler, make notches into portioned squares and leave the workpiece to stabilize at room temperature for 12 hours.
4. Then break off small pieces of chocolate mastic, knead it well in your hands and use it to create sweet figures and flowers. If the mastic sticks to your hands while working, this means that there is little honey in it. It can be saved by melting it and adding some liquid bee product.

To make chocolate mastic suitable for covering cakes, it is enough to mix it with mastic made with chewing marshmallows. This will help preserve the chocolate taste and the desired plasticity.

From powdered milk

Mastic made from milk powder is less sugary. A pleasant aspect will be the fact that during its preparation you will not need to heat or melt anything.

Milk mastic ingredients will be required in the following proportions:

• 150 g milk powder;
• 150 g powdered sugar;
• 150 g condensed milk;
• 5 ml lemon juice.

How to make mastic from milk powder:

1. Mix powdered sugar with dry milk and sift through a fine-mesh sieve.
2. Next, pour condensed milk and lemon juice into the dry mixture in a thin stream, knead the elastic sweet dough.
3. After half an hour of stabilization in the refrigerator, the mastic can be used for its intended purpose.
4. If necessary, it can be colored with food coloring by dropping a few drops onto the mastic and kneading well.

How to make from condensed milk

Condensed milk makes the sweet mass quite plastic. This allows you not only to sculpt figures from mastic, but also to cover cakes and pastries with it.

Along with powdered sugar, you can use baby food, dry cream or powdered milk as a base.

Composition of mastic based on condensed milk:

• 110 g condensed milk;
• 100 g powdered sugar;
• 100 g of baby food (milk powder or cream);
• 5 ml lemon juice;
• starch.

Sequence of actions:

1. Mix condensed milk and bulk ingredients (powdered sugar and baby food). At the end add lemon juice.
2. Sprinkle the working surface of the table with starch, place on it the viscous mass that was obtained at the previous stage, and knead until smooth. After spending 40 - 60 minutes in the refrigerator, the mastic will be ready.

Sugar mastic for cake

Any mastic in which powdered sugar serves as the basis of the sweet dough is classified as sugar. Above were recipes for sugar mastic made from gelatin, from marshmallows and from egg whites... But there is another, less popular, recipe for delicious fruit-flavored mastic based on marmalade.

To prepare it you will need:

• 700 g powdered sugar;
• 250 g marmalade;
• 50 ml water or fruit juice.

Recipe for making mastic step by step:

1. Cut the recipe amount of marmalade into smaller slices, fill them with cold water or fruit juice and send them to simmer in a steam bath. It is necessary to warm the mixture to 60 degrees and a homogeneous gelatinous state.
2. Next, pour the resulting liquid into the recess of the sifted powdered sugar and knead the plastic sugar mastic. This mass hardens and dries quickly, so during operation, it must be placed in cling film and placed next to a heat source.

Honey preparation option

Honey mastic is prepared from simple and affordable ingredients that can be found in any kitchen. Its consistency is suitable for any application (covering a cake, sculpting figures and creating flower arrangements).

An important point: the lighter the honey, the whiter the sugar mass will be.

Required products and their proportions:

• 15 g instant gelatin granules;
• 45 ml water;
• 125 ml liquid honey;
• 950 g of powdered sugar.

Preparation:

1. Pour gelatin with water and leave for the time indicated on the package. Then add honey to it and send these products to a steam bath or melt everything in the microwave in short bursts.
2. Combine the liquid base with powdered sugar, after sifting it, and knead the sweet dough. To prevent ready-made edible plasticine from drying out and absorbing foreign odors, it should be stored in a tightly closed bag.

The shelf life of honey mastic at room temperature, in the refrigerator and freezer is 3, 6 and 12 months, respectively.

DIY “flower” cake mastic

Mastic for sugar floristry should have the following properties: not crumble, not tear, dry quickly enough and keep its shape well.

A paste that meets these requirements can be obtained from the following products:

• 40 ml drinking water;
• 15 g gelatin granules;
• 15 ml of syrup (invert, corn, glucose or jam);
• 10 g fat (butter, margarine, cooking oil, coconut oil and any other solid fat without foreign odors);
• 5 ml of alcohol (liqueur);
• 475 g powdered sugar;
• 25 g starch.

Cooking steps:

1. Place the syrup, fat and alcohol over the lowest heat. Without allowing the mass to boil, bring it to a liquid, homogeneous state.
2. Remove the hot mixture from the heat and add the gelatin that has swollen in water into it and stir. Under the influence of temperature, the gelatin will completely “dissolve.”
3. Combine powdered sugar with starch and liquid base, mix the mastic thoroughly.
4. Grease the inside of a thick bag (for example, for freezing) with soft butter and transfer the mastic into it. If possible, release all the air and let the mixture rest for 24 hours.

For one serving of plastic marzipan mass you need to take:

• 300 g almonds ground into flour;
• 400 g powdered sugar;
• 2 egg whites;
• 2 – 3 drops almond or vanilla extract.

How to do:

1. Grind the dried and peeled almonds very finely in a coffee grinder, sifting them through a very fine sieve. Mix the resulting powder with powdered sugar.
2. Mix the egg whites with the flavoring and whisk a little with a fork. Then pour the resulting mixture into the bulk ingredients and knead the sweet plastic mass. Marzipan mastic is ready.

How to make mastic colored or shiny

In order for a home-made cake with mastic to be as beautiful as the creations of famous confectioners, the sweet mass for covering and modeling will need to be painted in different colors. For this purpose, you can use both professional food paints and dyes from improvised means.

1. To color mastic with gel food coloring, you need to break off a piece of white mastic, drop a few drops of dye onto it and knead well. The color will be evenly distributed and the mass will be colored. More intense color may require more dye.
2. When painting with dry dyes, you need to dilute them a little with vodka (it evaporates quickly) and mix with mastic. Here it will not be possible to achieve an intense color, since a large amount of dye will increase the amount of moisture in the mass, and it will begin to lose its properties.
3. If food coloring is not in the home confectioner’s arsenal, you can color the mastic with fruit and berry juices (carrots, cherries, beets, spinach, blueberries) or spices (cocoa powder, turmeric, paprika).

When working with mastic, you often have to dust it with starch or powdered sugar so that it does not stick to the working surface of the table. Because of this, particles of powder may remain on the cake, which spoil the appearance of the product.

To prevent this from happening, you need to moisten an artificial bristle brush in vodka and brush it over the mastic parts. All particles of dust will disappear, and the mastic will become glossy and shiny. The alcohol will evaporate in a matter of minutes.

Homemade cakes have a special energy: they convey the warmth of the hands of the mistress of the house, the special mood of the holiday for which they are prepared. It is ideal when this dessert is original and skillfully decorated. It will be very useful for a hospitable hostess to learn about the types of mastic and learn how to make mastic for a cake at home, and also make holiday decorations from it and surprise your family and guests. Let's look at the variety of recipes and find out how difficult it is to create such sweet beauty.

Mastic is an elastic confectionery mass whose properties resemble plasticine. The most ornate confectionery decorations are made from it, but working with this confectionery product requires a certain dexterity and skill, which will be honed with experience. From the very beginning, you need to know some culinary tricks on how to work with mastic.

The base of the mastic is powdered sugar, which is best sifted through a fine sieve before cooking. If unground grains of sugar get into the mass, it will tear when rolling. After preparing the mastic, wrap it in plastic and put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes - this time is needed for the mass to become more plastic. The finished mass, tightly wrapped in polyethylene, can be stored for 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer.

Dyes are added during the mixing of the sugar dough. If you need mastic of different colors, first knead the uncolored dough and separate a piece of the required size, and place the rest of the mass in polyethylene to prevent drying. Use your hands to form a piece of dough into a circle with a depression in the middle and, adding a few drops of dye, knead it until a uniform color is obtained.

At first, you will need culinary equipment, which is found in every kitchen. The mastic is rolled out with a wooden rolling pin on the table, the edges after covering the cake are cut with a round pizza cutter, some figures are squeezed out using cookie cutters. Skilled housewives use spoons of different sizes to make flower petals: they fill the cavity with rolled out dough, pick up the leftovers around the edges, and connect the finished petals.

When your passion for decorating cakes grows into your favorite hobby, it’s worth purchasing special tools. The first purchases may be a smooth plastic rolling pin for rolling out mastic, silicone mats with markings (larger for conveniently rolling out cake coverings, smaller for rolling out elements of figures). Stacks for modeling, cuttings for a variety of flowers, leaves, butterflies, and silicone molds will help in the work to form small figures of the same type - letters, buttons, beads.

It is very important that the base of the cake, which will be covered with mastic, is not wet: it must first be covered with butter cream and put in the refrigerator until completely hardened, because any contact with wet cream will dissolve the mastic. Crafts from mastic must be made in advance, preferably two weeks before preparing the cake, so that they have time to dry in the air. Finished jewelry is stored for several months in a tightly closed container.

Recipes for making homemade mastic for decorating cakes

First you need to figure out how to decorate, what idea you want to realize: for example, cover the cake with a patterned blanket, sculpt a sophisticated rose flower, or make a model of a sports car. Then you need to choose which mastic is best suited for these purposes. For many housewives, it is important that homemade mastic contains accessible, simple ingredients and has universal use.

Honey

This mass is softer than sugar, does not crumble or crumble, so it is very convenient to use for covering a cake and forming decoration details. Ingredients for cooking:

• powdered sugar – 900 g;
• honey – 175 g (in volume this corresponds to 125 ml);
• water – 45 ml;
• gelatin – 15 g.

We do this:

1. Soak gelatin in water for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the mixture of honey and gelatin in a water bath.
3. Set aside a glass of powdered sugar, pour the honey mixture into the rest, knead the sugar dough, gradually mixing in the remaining powder.
4. The mastic is ready if, when pressed, an indentation from your finger remains on it.

Sugar

Good for sculpting figures and flowers. We will need:

• powdered sugar – 500 g;
• water – 60 ml;
• gelatin – 1 tsp;
• lemon juice – 1 teaspoon;
• vanillin.

The process consists of:

1. Soak the gelatin for half an hour, then heat it in a water bath.
2. Adding lemon juice, vanillin. Adding powdered sugar little by little, knead the mixture until it becomes an elastic dough.
3. You must not allow the mass to become too hard, because it will then crumble during work.

Dairy

This mastic is made with the addition of milk powder, sometimes baby formula or dry cream is used instead. To prepare you will need 160 g of milk powder and other ingredients:

• powdered sugar – 160 g;
• condensed milk – 170 g;
• lemon juice – 1 tsp.

Cooking method:

1. Mix dry milk and powder in a container.
2. Add lemon juice, condensed milk.
3. Knead into a plastic dough.

Chocolate

To prepare it, they use dark chocolate - milk or bitter, but they also make mastic with a bar of white chocolate. One of the recipes:

• Melt 100 g dark chocolate in the microwave, add 1 tbsp. lie honey and knead.
• How to check readiness: tear off a piece of dough, roll it into a ball and flatten it with your fingers - the edges of the finished mastic should not tear. Chocolate roses made from this mass look very impressive.

This is how the chocolate mass is prepared according to a different recipe. You will need:

• dark chocolate – 100 g;
• cream 30% – 40 ml;
• marshmallow candies – 90 g;
• powdered sugar – 2 tbsp. false;
• cognac – 2 tbsp. false;
• butter – 1 tbsp. lie

Recipe step by step:

1. Melt the chocolate completely in a water bath.
2. Without removing from heat, add marshmallows, stirring constantly.
3. When the marshmallows are half dissolved, add cream, butter, cognac and stir until the mixture becomes homogeneous.
4. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar.
5. Knead until the mastic becomes like elastic dough.

From condensed milk

A frequently used type of mastic because, thanks to its oily, soft structure, it is convenient to use for covering cakes of various shapes and sculpting medium-sized figures. The mixture with condensed milk is tasty and is eaten with pleasure. In addition to 200 g of condensed milk, you will need:

• powdered sugar – 160 g;
• powdered milk – 160 g;
• lemon juice – 2 teaspoons;
• cognac – 1 tsp.

Mix powder and dry milk, gradually pour in condensed milk. Add cognac, lemon juice, knead the mixture well. This mastic will not be white; it always has a yellowish tint.

From marshmallows

Marshmallow mastic is very popular; to prepare it, it is better to buy plain marshmallow candies or separate them by color before cooking. You will need:

• 200 g marshmallow marshmallows,
• 500 g powdered sugar,
• 1 tsp. butter.

Step-by-step preparation:

1. Place the marshmallows and butter in a container and heat in the microwave for a few seconds until the marshmallows begin to melt.
2. Stir the mixture with a spoon until smooth, add powdered sugar in small portions.
3. The finished dough should feel like plasticine.

From gelatin

This type of mastic is called pastillage: it is indispensable when you need to make durable parts to decorate a cake, for example, handles for a basket, but it is practically inedible because it is very hard. If pastillage is dried, it retains its shape very well, so it is sometimes used to make templates for sculpting figures with fine details. Ingredients for cooking:

• powdered sugar – 240 g;
• starch – 120 g;
• gelatin – 1 tbsp. lie with a slide;
• cold water – 60 ml;
• citric acid – 1 tsp;
• honey, preferably artificial - 2 teaspoons.

1. Pour gelatin with water for 30 minutes, then melt in a water bath, add citric acid and honey.
2. Separately mix starch with powder and gradually add to the gelatin mixture until a homogeneous, smooth consistency is obtained.
3. Line a bowl with cling film, pour the mastic into it, wrap it in film and refrigerate until the mass stops spreading.
4. Before using the pastillage, you need to knead it well; if it is very cold and cannot be molded, you need to put it in the microwave for 5 seconds.

Floral

Knowing how to work with floral fondant is a testament to pastry craftsmanship because it is used to sculpt delicate, lifelike buds. This mixture is a leader in decorating wedding cakes. Ingredients for cooking:

• powdered sugar – 550 g;
• gelatin – 10 g;
• water – 50 ml;
• lemon juice – 20 ml;
• corn syrup – 60 ml;
• cooking fat (shortening) – 20 g;
• carboxymethylcellulose – 10 g;
• egg white – 2 pcs.;
• bleach for icing - optional, to give a snow-white color.

Cooking technology:

1. Add water to the gelatin and leave to swell.
2. Place powdered sugar, cellulose, bleach (if available), and lemon juice in a mixing bowl.
3. Heat the soaked gelatin in a water bath, stirring, add confectionery fat, then corn syrup.
4. Remove from heat, turn food processor on medium speed, and add liquid in a thin stream to powdered sugar.
5. Then switch the food processor to high speed, add the egg whites and lemon juice.
6. As soon as the mass turns white and becomes homogeneous, stop mixing immediately.
7. Place the mastic on a greased work surface, form into a sausage and pack tightly in cling film.

The mass is left to rest at room temperature for about 20 hours before starting to use it in culinary creativity. This mastic can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 months, in the freezer for up to 6 months. Before making the cake, you need to defrost it without using a microwave.

How to properly make mastic colored or shiny

Before you make colored mastic for, you need to determine exactly what colors will be needed and what dyes will be used: special store-bought or natural dyes made from fruits and vegetables. If natural dyes are preferred, they are made several days in advance and can be stored in the refrigerator.

To obtain vegetable dye, the berries are crushed, the vegetables are grated on a fine grater, and the resulting juice is squeezed through cheesecloth. When adding vegetable dyes, you need to be aware that they give a less saturated color compared to store-bought food dyes. If you add more natural dye to enhance the color, the mastic may end up with a bright taste of the added juice and will be more liquid, so you will need to add powdered sugar to achieve the desired consistency.

Plant ingredients give these colors:

• shades of red– juice of cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, red currants, various red syrups or red wine;
• rich pink color- beet;
• yellow– saffron infusion or lemon zest;
• green color- spinach;
• Orange color– carrot juice or orange zest;
• blue and violet dye– juice of grapes, blueberries, red cabbage;
• Brown color– cocoa powder, strong coffee or sugar burned in a frying pan (in a 5:1 ratio with water).

Purchased food colorings are divided into the following types:

• dry– they have a powdery appearance; before adding to the mastic, they must be diluted in water (take the paint on the tip of a knife for 1 tablespoon of water);
• liquid– it is better to add them to mastic instead of water;
• gel– thicker and more concentrated dyes than liquid ones, and more economical.

By mixing dyes, mastic of various colors is obtained. For example, yellow, green, and red dyes mixed together create a black dye that is added to fondant to give the dough shades ranging from light gray to deep black. The choice depends on both the product and the occasion: wedding cakes abound in white, pink, and golden shades, and children’s cakes – in all the colors of the rainbow.

After molding figures to decorate cakes, they often remain traces of starch or powdered sugar, which were used to roll out the mass. To make the mastic mass shine, you need to dissolve 1 tbsp. lie honey in 1 tbsp. lie vodka, apply the resulting mixture at the last stage of preparing the cake with a soft brush. The vodka will evaporate, leaving no taste or smell, and the jewelry will have a glossy finish.

Video

Forming various decorations for cakes is a confectionery art that even a novice housewife can learn. After watching our selection of videos, you will notice all the important nuances of preparing different types of mastic, see practical techniques on how to make a cake cover, patterns, glue pieces of mastic and beautifully process the seams.

Photos of beautiful cake decorations

On a birthday, a cake is the main decoration of the table; it in itself can be a gift for the birthday person and often reflects his interests and hobbies. For men, they often make cakes with decorations on the theme of fishing, sports, cakes in the form of a book, or a case with money. When the hero of the occasion is a woman, she will be pleasantly surprised by a cake with decorations in the form of a bouquet of her favorite flowers, a luxurious bow or weightless butterflies. If the occasion for the celebration is an anniversary, it is appropriate to decorate the cake with numbers according to the number of years of the hero of the day, using food coloring with gold or silver glitter.

There is room for your imagination to run wild when decorating a cake with fondant for a children's birthday. Desserts for the little ones are decorated with figurines of angels, and inscriptions are made indicating how old the baby is. Older children will be surprised by figurines of their favorite cartoon characters, cakes in the form of toys or cars, covered with multi-colored fondant. Such decorations are sometimes combined with decorating the cake with marshmallows. Pastila can be bought or also prepared at home. Cakes with themed decorations are appropriate for significant events, such as when a child goes to school.

Those housewives who have good practice in working with mastic can even bake a wedding cake at home. Multi-tiered wedding cakes are popular now. To harmonize with the wedding theme, they can be covered with colored fondant in a specific color and include matching decor. The primacy in decorating these cakes is occupied by floral mastic, which is used to sculpt elegant figures of doves or a variety of flowers that cannot be distinguished from real ones.

Sugar mastic is an invention of the 17th century, which was first used as candy, and only at the end of the 19th century, it became an element of decoration for confectionery products (see photo). Nowadays, mastic is often used in conjunction with other types of jewelry.

The texture of the material is very elastic, molds well and takes the desired shape. Its main task is to provide a smooth base on the cake for its subsequent decoration. You can also use sugar mastic to create a decoration for a cake, or various edible figures.

Sugar mastic is the best material for decorating desserts. It is ideal for covering cakes and sculpting edible figures, as well as other delicious decorations.

Types of mastic

There are many types of mastic that differ in composition and appearance:

Gelatin mastic, or as it is also called pastillage, is prepared on the basis of gelatin, it hardens well and quickly, and also becomes hard and elastic. This type is perfect for preparing flowers and especially delicate details.

Mastic with the addition of honey is usually used due to the fact that after hardening it begins to stretch rather than crumble.

Marzipan mastic is one of the softest types. Using it you can both cover the entire cake and sculpt figures.

Condensed milk mastic is used to cover the entire cake, or to sculpt large, round shapes.

Mastic with starch, often used for fine modeling, is ideal for making floral decorations.

Marshmallow mastic is used when sculpting small figures and details.

Industrial mastic is considered universal, but you can’t make it yourself.

How to cook with your own hands at home?

Making confectionery mastic with your own hands at home is not such a difficult task, the main thing is to strictly follow the instructions. This section proposes to consider options for preparing various types of this material for delicious modeling.

Option 1 - sugar mastic.

To prepare you will need the following ingredients:

• 200 g milk powder;
• 200 g powdered sugar;
• 275 g condensed milk;
• 2.5 tbsp. lemon juice;
• 2.5 tsp cognac

First you need to sift the powdered sugar. Then scatter the milk powder on the table and mix it with powdered sugar. Add condensed milk to the resulting mixture.

You need to knead the dough very carefully, and only after it is kneaded add lemon juice. Mix all ingredients for 15 minutes. The result should be a viscous mixture that is easy to work with.

The finished sugar mastic is wrapped in cling film. If necessary, you can add food coloring.

Option 2 - gelatinous mastic.

Ingredients:

• 2.5 g gelatin;
• 15 g water;
• 100 g powdered sugar;
• 3 drops of lemon juice.

Pour gelatin with water and leave for 25-30 minutes to swell. Then we take the swollen gelatin and send it to a steam bath, where it needs to be stirred lightly until the crystals disappear. But at the same time, everyone should not bring the mass to a boil! After the gelatin has completely dissolved, gradually pour powdered sugar into it and stir, first with a spoon, and after a while you can use your hands.

Option 3 - honey mastic.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 tbsp. l. honey;
• 5 g gelatin;
• 1.5 tbsp. l. butter;
• 260 g powdered sugar;
• 7 tbsp. l. water.

Pour gelatin with water and leave for 45 minutes. Next, place the resulting mass on the stove over low heat. When the gelatin dissolves, add butter and honey and mix the whole mass. Then you need to remove the mixture from the stove and give it some time to cool. Add powdered sugar to the cooled mixture in small portions and mix. Knead the mastic like dough. The kneading board must be sprinkled with powdered sugar. Work the dough until it becomes elastic.

Option 4 - marzipan mastic.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs;
• 180 g powdered sugar;
• 300 g ground almonds;
• 5 drops of vanilla essence;
• 1.5 tsp. lemon juice.

First, you need to beat the eggs and gradually add powdered sugar to them. The resulting mixture is sent to a steam bath and boiled, stirring occasionally, until it reaches the consistency of cream.

After this, remove the mass from the steam bath, and add almonds, vanilla essence, and lemon juice to it, mix all the ingredients thoroughly. This mastic is plastic only when warm, so it needs to be used quickly.

Option 5 - mastic from condensed milk.

Ingredients:

• 160 g condensed milk;
• 1 tbsp. powdered sugar;
• 1.5 tsp. lemon juice;
• 2 tbsp. powdered milk.

First you need to mix the milk powder with powdered sugar in a deep plate. Then add condensed milk to this mixture and use a spoon to mix all the ingredients. Sprinkle the place where the mastic will be mixed with powdered sugar. Place the mastic on the powdered sugar and knead it like dough until it is no longer sticky.

Option 6 - mastic from marshmallows.

Ingredients:

• powdered sugar (how much mastic will absorb);
• 250 g chewing marshmallows;
• 2.5 tbsp. water.

First, the marshmallows are placed in a deep bowl, and water is added there. This composition is sent to the microwave for 50 seconds. The mastic prepared according to this option will be elastic and tender. After the marshmallows have melted, add powdered sugar to the mixture, which had to be sifted in advance.

Powdered sugar should be poured until the mixture looks like plasticine. The prepared mastic should be wrapped in cling film and frozen for half an hour. After 30 minutes, you can safely work with it.

Storage of sugar mastic

Before storing sugar mastic, it must be thoroughly wrapped in film and placed in a tightly closed container. If you wish, you do not have to put this plastic material in the refrigerator. It is enough to protect it from moisture and air so that it does not lose its presentation. Sugar mastic can be stored for up to three months.

Secrets of working with material

Preparing mastic and working with it requires a lot of patience and perseverance, but there are secrets with which you can make this labor-intensive process easier.

1. To prevent the mastic from tearing during kneading, the finest powdered sugar is used.
2. The cake that will be covered with mastic must be dry, otherwise the delicious decorative element will dissolve when it gets on it.
3. To cover a wet cake with fondant, it is better to first place a layer of cold buttercream on it.
4. In order for the decor to stick to the cake with mastic, the place of their contact is slightly moistened with water. To connect the parts together, use egg white.
5. When the mastic is exposed to air for a long time, it dries out, so you should not delay working with it.
6. It is better to prepare large decorative elements in advance and let them dry thoroughly, then they will not go limp on the cake.
7. It is better to attach large-sized figures to the confectionery product immediately before serving; otherwise, if they are attached immediately and sent to a cold place, the figures will absorb all the moisture and will be spoiled.
8. The prepared figures can be decorated using food coloring, which is best diluted with alcohol or vodka.
9. If suddenly the mastic has cooled quickly and is difficult to knead, it needs to be reheated using a microwave (literally a couple of seconds) or in the oven. Then it will become firm and elastic again.
10. It is better to store the finished mastic in the refrigerator for two weeks, or in the freezer for about two months.
11. Once you’ve finished preparing the delicious decoration, you can take it with cling film and move it onto the cake, film side up, of course. Thus, you should smooth the mastic over the cake using cling film. While you work with it, it does not harden, and as a result there will be no cracks in the coating.
12. In order for the mastic to lay evenly on the cake, it is better to first cover it with marzipan.
13. In order to give the decor a glossy shine, it needs to be lightly greased with vodka.

Working with mastic is not at all difficult, and even very interesting. The main thing is to know some secrets and features that were given above. Then, as a result, you will not have any problems working with any type of mastic, and your confectionery products will turn out to be real culinary masterpieces.

Cold application mastic, or cold mastic, is a homogeneous mixture of bitumen with other components.

This mixture has the following properties:

• excellent resistance to water vapor;
• good adhesion to smooth surfaces and most porous ones;
• non-susceptibility to deformation;
• no cracks or peeling after use;
• high elasticity;
• high resistance to acids and medium concentration solvents.

Where is cold mastic used?

The range of applications for this mixture is quite narrow - it is mainly used for gluing various rolled materials. Cold mastic can be used for sealing cracks and seams, waterproofing pipelines and roofing systems, as well as when treating metal containers. With its help, you can seal both ordinary horizontal joints and narrow vertical seams. In some cases, it serves as an additional sealing material (for example, when installing bitumen membranes).

What materials does cold mastic consist of?

The main component of this mixture is bitumen. In different types of mastic it can be combined with different components: solvents, resins, etc. Cement and asbestos are used as fillers, and kerosene (or diesel oil) and varnish-kukersol are used as solvents. In the production of mastic, various elastomeric additives and inert materials are also used.

Cold mastic is well compatible with the following materials:

• concrete and reinforced concrete;
• asbestos-cement coating;
• brick;
• tree;
• almost any metals.

It cannot be combined with polystyrene, since this material is contained in the mastic solvent. It is also incompatible with petroleum solvents.

Types of cold mastics

Today, manufacturers produce four types of cold mastic. Each type has its own area of ​​application.

• Rubber-bitumen mastic. In addition to bitumen and solvent, it contains a corrosion inhibitor, plasticizer and antiseptic. Distinctive features of this type of mastic are frost resistance and excellent adhesive ability. It can be used for fixing various roll materials or polymer films. Rubber-bitumen mastic can be applied both to metal and concrete surfaces, and to wood.
• Waterproofing. This mastic is used to protect structures located in the ground (including foundations) from corrosion. In addition, it can be used for waterproofing pipelines and for creating seamless coatings in swimming pools and basements.
• Roofing. The name speaks for itself - this type of mastic is used for laying roofing materials, sealing seams and damage to roofing coverings, and insulating roofing systems. It contains a special herbicide that prevents the growth of lichen, moss and other vegetation. Roofing mastic is very thick, so it does not spread in cracks or seams.
• Rubber-bitumen. The finely dispersed rubber crumb included in this mastic significantly increases the strength and thickness of the main waterproofing layer. Rubber bitumen mastic should be used to protect metal containers and various pipelines.

Before using cold mastic, it is necessary to clean the surface of dirt and oil. The mixture should be applied using a roller or brush, which can subsequently be cleaned with white spirit. The mastic should be stored indoors, protected from excessively high and low temperatures. It must be taken into account that cold mastic is a flammable material, so it should be used away from fire and ignition sources.