How to cover the cake with mastic? Tips for Beginners

Mastic is a very tasty and beautiful decoration. Most of the confectionery shops are filled with culinary masterpieces, seeing that it's hard to believe that such a miracle can be created by oneself. However, the original and bright cake is easy enough to do on your own.

Technology of preparation

For mastic, you need sugar powder and water, as well as lemon juice and gelatin. Some masters in their recipes use oil and glycerin, this is done to ensure that the mass lasts to be suitable for work and does not dry. Prepared mixture should be stirred for at least 15 minutes.

It is recommended to carry out kneading on a table, which is previously sprinkled with powdered sugar or starch. This is done to prevent the adhesion of the mass to the surface and hands. Mastic home is beautifully painted with juice of carrots, beets or spinach. Pigments that are sold in stores are also excellent. In order for the mass not to dry before work, it must be packed into food film.

Mastic from marshmallow

For cooking, you need 100 grams marshmallow, 1 st. L. Butter, 350 grams of powdered sugar and a variety of dyes. The first two ingredients are combined in one container, then they are heated in a water bath in a microwave until they increase in the volume of the marshmallow. Further in this mass is added a powdered sugar, and the mixture is mixed until it resembles the composition of clay. If you need to color the colored elements, the necessary dyes are added to the composition.

Chocolate mastic

For cooking, you need to have 100 grams of dark chocolate, 100 grams marshmallow, 1 tbsp. L. Butter, 35 grams of 30% cream and 350 grams of powdered sugar.

Chocolate breaks into pieces and goes to pre-warmed cream. Then you need to wait for the complete dissolution of the products. Further, the oil and the marshmallow are combined, and, as in the first recipe, the mass is heated up to increase the marshmallow in the water bath. Then we collect all the ingredients in one container. After we interfere with the sugar powder and bring the composition to the state of plasticine.

How to unroll?

There are several options, how to work with mastic, so it turned smooth and beautifully covered the product.

1. To do this, you can use a rolling pin and roll it out on a flat surface with pre-poured starch or powdered sugar.
2. Another convenient way is to use two polyethylene sheets. Before starting work, they are lubricated with vegetable oil, and a mass is laid between them. After rolling and shaping the top layer is removed, and the coating is transferred to the product directly on the second sheet. After the tightening, all the excess is removed.
3. There is also a special silicone mat, to which the ingredients do not stick.

How to cover the cake with mastic?

1. Cut off the right amount of mass and knead well.
2. Using the ruler, the tip of the cake and its sides are measured. Further on the table, which is sprinkled with powder or starch, the layer is rolled out a bit more than the measurements, with a thickness of 3.5 mm.
3. With special spatulas the surface is leveled, and the excess powder is removed with a brush.
4. Then the cake is covered with mastic, for this it rises from the table with the help of a rolling pin, which it was previously wound, and then gradually laid out on the product.
5. Using a special tool or palm, smooth the top of the cake, starting from the center and moving to the edges.
6. Further it becomes more clear how to work with mastic, so the same procedure is performed with the side parts. In this case, the mass should be slightly stretched during application. Smooth the tightness is very carefully so that folds do not appear.
7. Surplus coatings are carefully cut with a sharp knife or tucked under the base.
8. If the cake needs to be patterned or embossed, then this is done immediately, until the mass is frozen.

Making figures

After it became clear how to cover the cake with mastic, you can start making various jewelry.

Since the mass of the structure resembles plasticine, then with the active imagination the necessary fragments are formed. To connect the parts, they are moistened with a small amount of water and fastened together. To add color to elements, it is not necessary to use color mass, you can also sculpt figures from white mastic, and then simply paint. It is better to make large decorations in advance so that they can dry well. Such details as flowers, laid out immediately before filing, but to understand the technology of fastening the figures will help the master class. Cakes with such ornaments should not stand long in the refrigerator, otherwise they can absorb a lot of moisture and just fall down.

What products can and can not be decorated with mastic?

How to cover the cake with mastic at home has already become clear, but there are some conditions that must be adhered to when making culinary masterpieces.

This coating can not be laid on all kinds of cakes. Those desserts that emit moisture are not suitable for jewelry in this way. But if there is no way out, and you want to take the favorite cake as a basis , then before you wrap the product, it needs to be smeared with a thin layer of cream or caramel. The oil base is mainly used.

Cakes-souffle is not recommended to decorate with such heavy masses, as they can simply fall off. Also, mastic is not spread on the cream of whipped cream, sour cream or yogurt, because the tubercles may appear.

Still need to figure out which cakes are covered with mastic? One of the best options is a dry biscuit without strong impregnation and desserts that have an oil base.

Tips for Beginners

The majority of housewives, when decorating culinary products, have one question: how to cover the cake with mastic. Therefore, below, the main recommendations will be considered.

1. It should be noted that the mass is of two types: for molding and for hanging. The first one is designed for modeling figures, but it can also fill the product, it is more universal. The second is used only for its intended purpose. It also has its advantages, it is flexible enough and soft, does not dry and does not become covered in drops in the refrigerator.
2. As a basis, it is recommended not to take "wet" cakes, namely sponge cakes or butter cream.
3. For other desserts a layer of special cream is used, which can be:
- boiled condensed milk;
- chocolate ganache;
- oily cream with condensed milk;
- a layer of marzipan.
4. To level the surface, an iron blade is used, soaked in hot water.
5. For ideal coating, the mass is rolled from 2-3 mm. For those who want to learn how to do this well, it's better to attend a master class. Cakes with a more delicate covering can deform and lose its aesthetics.
6. If the material starts to harden during work, then you can fix the situation by heating it a little in the microwave oven.
7. To beautifully trim the edges, it is best to use a special cutter with a roller, as the usual, most likely, will leave folds.
8. If the mastic accidentally broke, then you need to take a wide brush, moisten it with water and cover it with light movements.
9. To make the coating shine, it is smeared with a solution of vodka and honey (1: 1), after which the alcohol will fade, and the shine will remain.
10. After you learned how to cover the cake with mastic, you need to remember that the finished product is stored in a cool place, but not in the refrigerator.
11. If there is a desire to give a dessert a shade, it is best to use gel dyes. They will help to get the required color without losing the structure of the mass for modeling.