How to:
Sculpting 3-D Circles
By molding the edges of what was an ordinary sugar paste circle into a cup shape, you can add a 3-D quality for added volume. Arrange them in a uniform fashion as I did on this cake, or place them on the cake more randomly for an organic feel.
TOOLS:
- light green Sugar Paste (page 59)
- cornstarch in a muslin bag for dusting
- silicone rolling pin
- damp tea towel wrapped in plastic wrap (see page 134)
- small circle cutters or large pastry tips
- foam board
- small-medium ball tool
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- paintbrush
- powder dye
- Royal Icing (page 64)
Knead a plum-size amount of sugar
paste on a nonstick surface to bring to room temperature. Dust your
surface with cornstarch. Using the silicone rolling pin, roll out
the sugar paste to a thickness of ¹⁄16 inch. Rotate the paste evenly as you
roll, as you would for a piecrust. If the sugar paste begins to
stick, dust more cornstarch on the surface. Cover with the
plastic-wrapped tea towel to prevent the sugar paste from drying
out.
Cut out circles using a variety of
small to medium cutters. You can also use a large round pastry tip.
Place each one in the plastic-wrapped tea towel as you work.
Working with one at a time, place a
circle on a cornstarch-dusted foam board. Use the small ball tool
to make gentle circular motions to thin out the circle while
creating a cup shape. I encourage working these circles as thin as
you can—the more translucent the circles, the more luminous the
overall cake will appear. Place the shaped circles on a baking
sheet lined with parchment paper and let dry for at least 48
hours.
Dust the edges of the circles with
turmeric (or any desired powder dye) for a contemporary look. To
apply to a fondant cake, dab the circles with a small dot of royal
icing. If applying to an iced cake, use a small amount of the same
icing as the cake.
Gently press the circles onto the
cake. With such a small amount of icing, they should set very
quickly.