Homemade Gum Paste Recipe

Many (most) of you are probably familiar with Cricut cutting machines. Years ago, and for only a short time, they made a version of their cutting machine specifically for cake and called it Cricut Cake.

Although it has been discontinued, my sweet husband surprised me with one at the time, hoping it would help with my cake-decorating adventures.

Included with the machine (or maybe on their website), I found a recipe for the gum paste that they recommended using with the machine.

The first time I made this homemade gum paste recipe, I was amazed at how easy it was and how quickly it came together.... although you do have to make it a day ahead and let it rest for it to have the best texture!

I can't find the original recipe online now to link to, but the source was Cricut. Anyway - it was the first recipe I tried for homemade gum paste and the last - it's that good!

cascading flowers with gold tall wedding cake with gum paste sugar flowers — *Cascading Gumpaste Flowers on a Luxury Wedding Cake*

Why You'll Love Homemade Gum Paste Recipe

Save Money. It's far more affordable than store-bought gum paste. If you make your own gum paste, you will save money!
Workability. It is very workable, and I am really pleased with how well it holds up compared to premade gum paste.
Great for Heat & Humidity! Because this homemade gum paste recipe doesn't use egg whites or meringue powder (which many recipes do) and instead uses CMC Powder (or Tylose Powder), it's holds up much better in hot humid weather. It also doesn't get sticky as easily in high humidity which is always a plus.

What is Gum Paste?

If you're not familiar with it, gum paste is a type of sugar paste most commonly used for making sugar flowers. Depending on where you are in the world, it's also called modeling paste, sugar paste, or flower paste.

It is edible. However, it's not usually eaten because it dries really hard.

It can also be rolled really thin, which is why it's a great medium to use to make flower petals and leaves and other cake decorations that have delicate detail.

You can use a ball tool and foam mat to make gorgeous and delicate sugar flowers - which seems to be the most popular use of edible gumpaste.

What is Gum Paste Made Of?

Most gum paste is made with tylose powder, CMC powder, or gum tragacanth. The gum in the recipe makes the paste dry rock hard.

This is terrific when you need to model something and have it hold its shape—such as gum paste flowers. But because it dries so fast and hard, it's also fragile if dropped.

Gum paste tea cup cake topper with fondant rose and hand-painting — *Gum Paste Teacup and Saucer Cake Topper*

Tools Needed

For this homemade gumpaste recipe, you don't need any special tools. You don't even need a stand mixer.

Small boiler or saucepan
Silicone spatula or spoon
Measuring cups and spoons
Glass Mixing Bowl
Smooth, clean work surface

Ingredients for Gum Paste

These are simple ingredients, and everything can be bought at a local grocery store except for the tylose powder. I always get it from Country Kitchen Sweetart or Amazon.

Unflavored gelatin (2 tablespoons)
Cold water
Melted shortening
White corn syrup
Powdered sugar (aka icing sugar)
Tylose powder - this is the most important ingredient
Gel color (if you want your gum paste to be any color other than white)

How to Make Homemade Gumpaste

Pour the water into a small boiler and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Allow it to soften for about 5 minutes.
Slowly heat the mixture, stirring until the gelatin is dissolved and you have a clear liquid. Do not allow it to boil! Turn off the heat.
Add the melted shortening and corn syrup. Stir until thoroughly combined.
Pour all but 2 cups of the powdered sugar into a large glass bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the gelatin/syrup mixture into the well and mix until the sugar is all combined.
Dump the mixture out onto a work surface (or silicone mat) that is lightly greased with shortening. Sprinkle the tylose powder over the paste, and, with greased hands, knead, incorporating all of the reserved powdered sugar and tylose.
Continue kneading the fresh gumpaste until it forms a soft smooth ball. Add additional sugar as needed if your dough is still too sticky.
Wrap the finished paste tightly in plastic wrap and place into a zip-top bag. Allow to rest over night before using!
Can be stored at room temperature for up to a month and in the fridge for up to 6 months. When ready to use, grease your hands, then warm small balls in the microwave no more than 10 seconds at a time to soften and bring to room temperature. Knead until smooth.
Roll out and use this edible gumpaste for beautiful flowers, modeled figures, ruffles, and other 3-D cake creations (see all of the cakes in this post and their captions).

Unicorn cake with ribbon and gum paste unicorn horn and ears — *Unicorn Cake with Gumpaste Ears and Horn*

Storage Directions

Always keep finished gum paste wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap or in an airtight container. If properly wrapped, it can be kept at room temperature for up to a month.

It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to six months.

If you have different colors of gum paste, you can wrap a small amount in individual portions before placing them in larger zip-top freezer bags in the fridge.

Be sure to bring it to room temperature before using it. Then put a little shortening on your hands and knead it into the gum paste until it's smooth and satiny. Then you can begin making gum paste flowers or whatever else you had in mind!

FAQ

Is gum paste the same as fondant?

No, it's not the same. Fondant takes much longer to dry and never dries really hard. But fondant has better taste, especially homemade marshmallow fondant!
Gum paste does not taste as good, dries fast and rockhard, and doesn't taste great.

How long can homemade gumpaste be stored?

Homemade gum paste has a really long shelf life. You won't need any kind of special storage - simple plastic wrap and an airtight container will do. I either wrap it once and then place it in a bowl with a lid or wrap it with several layers of plastic wrap.

It can be kept at room temperature for up to a month. However, I prefer to keep it in the fridge where it will keep for up to 6 months.

If you have different colors of gum paste, you can wrap a small amount in individual portions before placing them in larger zip-top freezer bags in the fridge.

Be sure to bring it to room temperature before you try to use it. To soften quickly, warm small balls in the microwave no more than 10 seconds at a time to soften and bring to room temperature.

Knead until smooth. Place a little vegetable shortening on your hands and knead it until smooth before using stored gum paste.

What can you make from gum paste?

Most often it's used for sugar flowers. For me, not so much. But that's only because my hands still hurt pretty often, even after my surgery, and making sugar flowers is very tedious and time-consuming work.

For that reason, I usually buy sugar flowers pre-made and in bulk for my wedding cakes (see below). But I still make other 3-D decorations.

But I still use it all the time for other small decorations and any time I need a decoration to dry hard or fast or both.

Here are a few ways I use it:

Sugar bows - like on this wedding cake.

Cake toppers (like the pineapple top on the cake below here and the rainbow at the very top).

Numbers on cakes

Teacups (as on the Alice in Wonderland Cake, this Shabby Chic Baby Shower cake and this doll cake)

Crowns and Tiaras (see this princess cake and this one and this one)
Unicorn horns and ears and I even used it for this "sheet of paper" on the typewriter cake I made recently down below.

How do you use gum paste?

Well, it depends on what you want to do with it. But the bare essentials are a clean surface, a rolling pin (usually a small one), and cornstarch to keep it from sticking.

If you're going to make character figures (sugar models), you'll want to work quickly. Keep any pieces you're not currently shaping covered. That will prevent them from hardening before you can put it all together.

The same goes for making multiple petals that you want to put together into one flower. Keep them covered as much as possible. A gum paste storage board is a great investment if you plan to work with gum paste often.

Gum paste doesn't really have a flavor, and since it's not usually eaten, I don't stress over adding any flavors. However, you can use gel pastes to make it any shade you need.

Should I use gum paste or fondant?

Gum paste and fondant can be interchanged in some situations, but there are also situations where one or the other is clearly the better choice.

I use gum paste for any decorations that need to dry hard, stand, or be really thin. For instance, using gum paste to make beautiful sugar flowers yields much more lifelike flowers than using fondant. Or for sculpting anything that needs to stand up.

Fondant is the better choice for covering large surfaces or making flat decorations because it doesn't dry hard and tastes better.

See examples below.

Is Gum Paste Gluten-Free? Is Gum Paste Dairy-Free?

Yes - this recipe is gluten-free. And yes, this recipe is dairy-free.

Pastel baby shower cake with gum paste bow, flowers and butterflies — *Butterflies & Flowers Cake with Gum Paste Bow*

For the first example, I used fondant to cover the cake above and gum paste for the bow and butterflies (they needed to stand out from the cake). I once tried using fondant for a bow. Sadly, I found that the loops would not dry hard enough to hold up. Instead, I now always use gum paste for making sugar bows, like the one below.

See How to Make Poofy Bow Cake Topper Tutorial Here.

Alice in Wonderland Cake with gum paste tea cup and sugar roses — *Alice in Wonderland Cake with Gum Paste & Fondant Decorations*

Another example - this Alice in Wonderland Cake. Some decorations can be modeled out of either medium - especially simple cake toppers or small sculpted figures for cakes. On this Alice in Wonderland cake above, I used fondant for the diamond pattern, the cards, the sugar pearls, the stopwatch, and even Alice's legs, because they were on skewers for support.

However, the teacup and roses were made from gum paste. I needed the teacup to stand on its own and the rose petals are much more realistic when rolled thin.

I would never use gum paste is to cover a cake in gum paste. When it dried hard, it would be terribly unappealing, very difficult to cut, and well... the taste is not all that appealing. Just don't do it!

Ruffles cake with gum paste tiara — *Ombre Ruffles Cake with Gum Paste Tiara*

Gum paste ruffles would've held their shape better on the cake above but it would've been nearly impossible to cut so I used fondant. I did however, make the tiara from gum paste so that it would easily stand on the cake.

See the Gum Paste Tiara Tutorial here.

tooti-fruiti cake with gumpaste pineapple topper and strawberries — *Tutti Frutti Cake with Gum Paste Pineapple Top and Strawberries*

Typewriter cake with gum paste sheet of paper — *Typewriter Cake with Gum Paste Sheet of Paper*

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