How to store fondant, cakes and figures made from fondant

What is mastic and what types does it come in?

Confectionery mastic is used to cover cakes, make flowers and all kinds of figures. There are several types of material:

for applying to the surface of baked goods - sugar;
for making jewelry and floral elements - floral;
for creating figures - Mexican.

Novice confectioners can purchase paste in specialized stores for use at home. Experienced craftsmen share numerous recipes for making the product.

Mastic can be prepared at home based on:

milk;
gelatin;
chocolate;
marshmallows, etc.

Dairy

To prepare the paste, you need condensed or powdered milk. For kneading, instead of flour, use sugar, crushed into powder. The result is a soft and plastic mass that is pleasant to the taste.

It has a long drying time. This quality is indispensable when you need to cover a cake, make figures and flowers.
Milk paste has a drawback: if you put a little less powder in it, then the layer on the cake will turn into porridge.

Note to the hostess
To prevent the situation from getting out of control, part of the powdered sugar is replaced with starch.

To prevent the coating from tearing, it should be rolled out no thinner than 2-3 mm, and the powdered sugar in its composition should be very finely ground without sugar grains

Gelatinous

The mastic contains gelatin and powdered sugar. It is suitable for creating large volumetric compositions, flowers, and shapes. The downside is that the paste dries quickly. This creates difficulties in the manufacture of thin and small elements, which break off when dry.

Do you know that…
Gelatin fondant is not suitable for covering a cake because it eventually becomes hard. Good results are achieved by using gelatin paste and marshmallows together.

Chocolate

The following is added to the chocolate variety for decoration:

chocolate without fillers of any color;
marshmallow;
powdered sugar;
butter.

Mastic is pleasant to work with because it is very plastic and dries well. It is used to make any decoration elements, and is also used to cover cakes. It's delicious on its own. White chocolate produces a creamy paste that can be colored in different colors with food coloring.

Tip of the day
While preparing the chocolate mastic, stir in the powdered sugar carefully. From excess, the mass crumbles.

From marshmallows

Marshmallows are candies in the form of marshmallows or marshmallows that came to us from America. From them, with the addition of powdered sugar, a soft plastic mastic is obtained, which is used to cover the surface of cakes and cut out decorative elements.

If you add more powder, you get a mass for sculpting figures. Colored candies make mastic of different colors.

It is not necessary to look for candies with the name “Marshmallows”, just the word “mallows” on the packaging

How long does mastic last?

Decorating baked goods is a painstaking job. The entire mastic coating is not always used. The remaining part is used later. This means you should find out how long the mastic is stored.

Storage of purchased products

Manufacturers of confectionery mastic are interested in long-term storage of their products. For this purpose, preservatives, stabilizers, flavors and other substances that are not very useful for consumers are added to it. When choosing a product in a store, you should pay attention to the composition.

Storage will not cause trouble if you follow certain rules:

Ready-made mastic is sold in packaging. To work, take part of the mass with a clean spatula. Cover the remaining paste immediately to reduce exposure to air.
If there are any leftover pieces after decorating, do not throw them away. Wrap leftovers in parchment or foil to prevent sticking.
The main task during storage is to avoid heat and moisture. Due to elevated temperatures, the mass dries out and loses its plasticity. Hygroscopic in its structure, it becomes liquid from humidity.
The mastic can be stored in an airtight container for a month. Wrapped leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for a week.

Note to the hostess
If the mastic has lost its elasticity, you can add lemon juice, diluting it with water in a 1:1 ratio.

Storing Homemade Pasta

Recipes for making homemade mastic include natural products, which is important when decorating desserts for children's parties. The risk of allergic reactions is reduced. Their correct ratio allows the product not to deteriorate or lose its properties for a long time.

What to look for:

Allow the prepared mastic to rest for a day in the refrigerator. Cover the pasta container with cling film and make several cuts. During operation, it will absorb less powdered sugar.
If the paste turns out wetter than necessary, do not rush to add powder. You can try drying it in a warm kitchen or near a radiator for two hours. You just need to use this mastic right away.

Store homemade pasta for 2-3 weeks.

To make the coating without wrinkles, you need to roll it out with a large margin, then it will smooth out under its own weight

Storing marshmallow mass

Mastic made from toffee candies, like any other, is sensitive to drying out and excess moisture:

Evaporation of water will lead to loss of elasticity and brittleness. Decorative elements will crumble, making it impossible to form a layer to cover the cake.
But the absorption of excess moisture will turn the paste into an unsightly mess.

Wrap the mastic in cling film, then in a plastic bag. In a closet at a temperature no higher than 25 degrees, supplies will last 3-4 days. If you put them in the refrigerator, nothing will happen to them for 2 weeks.

Do you know that…
If marshmallow mastic is purchased in a store, it can be stored for 6 months at a temperature no higher than 3-5 degrees. The long period is explained by the presence of preservatives in the composition.

Shelf life of figurines

Due to its plasticity, mastic is used to make figurines for decoration. Cakes are decorated with figures, since under the influence of temperature they do not spread and do not lose their shape.

Properly packaged figurines can be left in the refrigerator for several months and they will be suitable for consumption. If you leave them in a container or box, the figures will dry out and can only be used for decoration.
Before placing decorations on the cake, they need to be dried at room temperature for up to 8 hours, and then in the refrigerator for several hours, and only then placed on the cake. The figures will have a dense texture, soft on the inside and slightly dense on the outside. The mastic should not spread and should not dry out too much.

When placing the figures on the cake, you should make sure that the air humidity in the room is not high. If you feel that the temperature is not suitable, it is better to install the molds before taking out the cake, so that the figures will retain their original appearance.
Any shapes or decorations made from sugar paste should be topped with icing, chocolate or cream. First place the cake in the refrigerator for several hours. You can increase the shelf life of mastic and figurines made from it by placing and carefully packaging it in cling film. This method will preserve the product and will be ready for use.

To secure the figures, you should use egg white; it sticks well and connects the joints of the cake well.

The mastic must be rolled out well, avoiding the formation of bubbles and folds. The finished mastic must be carefully distributed onto the product. If unevenness occurs, they must be removed immediately, and if bubbles appear, do not worry, they can be pierced with a needle and smoothed out. In pastry shops you can buy the necessary tools: spatulas, knives, wheels, with which you can easily cover the cake with decor.

How and where to store the product at home

To preserve mastic, regardless of whether you bought it or made it at home, you need:

Pack the product in a container with an airtight lid and put it in the refrigerator; this way it will keep for 2 weeks.
After consumption, combine the pieces, shape them into a ball or oval, wrap tightly in film, then in a plastic bag and put them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator; they need to be used within a week.
Keep away from vegetables and open containers with liquids.
When you need to use the mastic again, remove it from the refrigerator in advance and keep it at room temperature for 10-12 hours to soften; then mix thoroughly, this will restore its elasticity.
The product can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

To make the mastic on the cake shine, it is greased with a solution of honey in vodka in a 1:1 ratio.

After finding out how long mastic can be stored in the refrigerator, you need to understand whether it can be frozen. Experts assure that confectionery paste can be stored in the freezer for 2-3 months. How to do it:

Divide the lump into small portions.
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, plastic bag, foil, parchment, or place in a container with an airtight lid.
Place in the freezer.

To proceed, defrost gradually: first place on the refrigerator shelf overnight, then leave at room temperature until warm. Knead well before use.

Note to the hostess
To speed up heating, you can place the mastic mass in the microwave or hot oven for a few minutes. Just make sure it doesn't start to melt.

Marshmallows and funny figures

A favorite type of marshmallow that came from the West, it has increased stickiness, which is important in making mastic. Similar to marshmallows, marshmallows contain a large amount of gelatin and contain no eggs at all.

Making marshmallow mastic at home has several nuances:

When heating marshmallow candies, monitor the temperature. They should swell and melt slightly. If the mass comes out too sticky, add powdered sugar and mix again;
Mastic that is too hard should be heated and kneaded again;
When the paste turns out dry, lemon juice diluted in water will add plasticity to it.

If these rules are followed, marshmallow mastic is considered ready for further use. It is ideal for sculpting decorative figures that can later be used to decorate a confectionery product.

Shelf life of marshmallow mastic

The finished figures and the paste itself are stored in separate ways.

The mastic is placed in a closed container and sent to the refrigerator or place with limited humidity.

The figures must be placed in a container, separated from each other. In this form, the easiest way is to store them in the freezer.

The reason why the mass and decorative products need to be preserved in different conditions is simple - the main marshmallow paste, after being in the cold, will harden. And in order to knead it you will need to warm it up and sprinkle it with powdered sugar. And the finished products that will be used to decorate the cake do not need to be defrosted. The main task is to preserve their original shape. The freezer will help with this.

How to store mastic cakes

Mastery in making mastic cakes comes gradually. Each test of your strength will be better than the previous one. A cake using mastic decoration is prepared in advance, because it is not known how long this or that operation will take. The main thing is to preserve the resulting beauty before the celebration begins, so it is important to know how to store a cake covered with mastic.

Application technology

To avoid trouble, you need to properly coat the cake with paste:

You should not be overzealous with soaking the cakes. The excess moisture will cause the mastic to melt. Sponge cakes covered with a mastic layer behave ideally.
The top cake should be dry. To do this, it is coated with ganache, marzipan layer or butter cream. The coating must dry or harden. In the case of cream, the cake is placed in the refrigerator.
The mastic should not be overdried, otherwise it may warp and crack not only during cutting, but also during storage.

For a master class on how to coat a cake, watch this short video:

Place and period of storage

Let's figure out where to store the mastic cake:

The cake, covered with fondant, is placed in a closed box. It should be stored in the refrigerator or other cool place.
Half an hour before serving, remove the cake to allow the coating to warm and become pliable when slicing.

Note to the hostess
Droplets of condensation may form on the dessert. Nothing wrong with that. They are carefully blotted with a napkin.

It remains to be clarified how long a mastic cake can be stored. Confectionery paste is sensitive to elevated temperatures.

During a festive feast, the dessert will lose its appeal within a few hours. Therefore, it is served just before consumption.
If the room is cool, this period will extend.
You should not keep a mastic cake in the refrigerator for more than 2 days.

Storing store-bought mastic

Nowadays, it is not difficult to buy all the semi-finished products for making confectionery products in the store. If you don’t have the time or desire to make mastic yourself, you can purchase it. But when buying ready-made sugar paste, you need to take into account that manufacturers add preservatives to it to increase shelf life. Also, such products contain a number of stabilizers and flavorings, which generally makes the paste unhealthy if consumed too often.

Storing industrially made mastic will not create problems if you follow certain rules.

When removing the required amount of paste from the package, you need to reduce the contact of the entire mass with air to a minimum. Remove part of the paste only with a clean spatula.
Do not expose the mastic to moisture or high temperatures. Excessive moisture makes it too liquid, and heat leads to drying out and loss of plasticity.
Leftover pasta can be wrapped in foil or edible wax paper to prevent it from sticking to the package.

Mastic in an airtight container can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month and will retain all its properties. Pieces in foil - only for a week.

How to store mastic figures

Decorative elements are made before baking the cake begins. This painstaking work takes a lot of time. Then they are dried, otherwise the figures on the cake will become deformed.

Parts of the holiday theme are first cut out of colored fondant for contrast. By using food coloring or coloring with vegetable juices, bright, rich colors are obtained. You will learn how to do this from the video:

Store finished parts in a closed box so that they do not touch; Place in a plastic bag with an airtight lid and store in a closet. Large figures can be placed in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf.

It is best to decorate the cake a few hours before the celebration, so that the details do not become damp or lose their shape. You can glue them using egg white mixed with a teaspoon of powdered sugar or thick sugar syrup.

Sugar mastic is a great way to decorate dough confectionery products. Knowledge of the subtleties and nuances of working with it will be useful for both novice confectioners and professional masters.

Store correctly and be healthy!

Results

Mastic is a great way to decorate a confectionery product so that its appearance will be remembered for a long time by everyone present. A photo can only capture the beauty of the cake, but the memory will preserve the wonderful taste of the dessert prepared with mastic for a long time. I would like to think that this article will help you understand how and how long you can store mastic and will help novice confectioners give a sweet holiday to adults and children.

Source

Sugar mastic is a plastic material from which experienced craftsmen create a variety of decorations for holiday baking. This type of decoration for confectionery products has been used relatively recently, but it has already gained popularity. Therefore, it’s time to figure out how to store mastic and cakes using it.