Pastillage...or quick drying baker's clay



So, I've been wanting to do more decorations in my cupcakes other than a swirl of icing and handmade hand crafted topping (and I don't mean the edible kind). Remember how I said I wanted to be Duff? I tried my hand at fondant once. First, just so you know, I like to make things from scratch (just like my cuppies!) and so I made fondant from scratch. I've never made such a mess...and I mean while making the fondant AND the fondant I placed on my cake. I don't call it a cake disaster 'cause I had never in my life used fondant so it wasn't THAT bad either. After trying twice (yeah THAT many times), I resigned from fondant.

Years ago, I would visit this couple who were friends of mine. They made gorgeous wedding cakes. I used to love watching the husband roll out his "clay" and cut it out and place it on a flower wire. The next day when I visited, there were beautiful flowers everywhere. So, as I'm wondering how I can decorate my cuppies I remembered what he used for his flowers...PASTILLAGE!!

I went ahead and got a pastillage recipe (btw, it's pronounced "PAHS-tee-AHJ", just in case). Then I found some fondant tutes to learn from. Pastillage is a type of sugar dough that is used to create pastry decorations and whatnot. It's in a way like fondant (you kind of use it in the same manner...think Play-Doh), BUT pastillage dries quicker. A...LOT...QUICKER. My first rose came out bottom heavy (not that THAT'S bad) and it cracked a little on me. My second and third roses didn't come out THAT bad, except I wanted to put it on a wire, so they came out lopsided. THEN, since I had NOT learned roses quite yet I decided to try a fairy. A FAIRY.

Yeah, I know...I wonder about myself too sometimes. My fairy is still not done because unlike the flowers, she hasn't quite dried yet. But, she's chubby (not that THAT'S bad either) and has no neck. I also found some small Happy Meal Bratz dolls I had and I shaped a hat using one of them. I also made a high heel shoe. And all three I'm just waiting until they dry to see how they came out.

Honestly? I can happily say they look like crap. I can happily say there's no way in h377 I'd put that on ANY of my cupcakes. But, I can also honestly say...it was kinda fun. I wish it didn't dry so quickly (which makes me think I should try fondant again), but I went back in time for a little bit and played with my "Play-Doh". I forgot everything going on with me and just immersed myself in what I was doing. Sometimes that's what we have to do...not let our worries and concerns always, be with us. We should be able to take some time, no matter how small, and do something that we enjoy and let that something just completely distract us from everyday. It can also be a means to "defuriate", which is usually MY case. Let me tell you though, pastillage has not seen the end of me...pastillage is now also my cup of cake.

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