Tools for working with mastics from A to Z

Today professional confectioners use mastic more and more often when decorating cakes . Thanks to the sweet plastic mass, you can create whole thematic compositions, turning a traditional festive dessert into a real work of art.

The process of decorating the cake with mastic can be divided into two stages:

1. Covering the cake.
2. The sculpture of figurines and other sweet elements of decor.

To successfully implement each of the stages, you will need certain tools for working with mastic. With their help, you can easily create sweet masterpieces of culinary craftsmanship even at home.

Basic tools for working with mastic

Before you begin to decorate the cake, you need to smooth the cream well on top, then the mastic will lie flat. To do this, you can use a long knife or buy special blades.

After preparing the basics, the cake begins to be wrapped in a sweet "blanket." It is necessary to have a basic set of tools for working with mastic. It includes:

1. Silicone mat - designed for rolling mastic. It helps to avoid sticking the sweet mass to the table.
2. Iron - helps to smooth the mastic on the cake and remove all irregularities and wrinkles.
3. Texture rolling pin - used to create a relief pattern. It can be inscriptions, logos, abstract images, geometric shapes, flowers and a variety of patterns.
4. Silicone mat - an analogue of the texture rolling pin. Outwardly resembles a silicone rug with a relief pattern, to create which on the mat you need to put a small amount of mastic and go over the top with a conventional rolling pin.
5. Roller knife - designed for cutting edges of mastic and cutting out of it various elements of decorating the cake. If necessary, it may well be replaced with a knife for pizza.

These are the basic tools for working with sugar mastic, with the help of which it is possible to tighten the cake qualitatively. This will serve as a good basis for further creativity.

Cuttings and plungers

For the creation of a masticatory test of flowers, leaves, butterflies, cuttings and plungers will be needed. They are metal and plastic.

When working with cuttings, they simply put on the rolled mastic and press the palm over it. After this, a pattern with perforated edges is formed on the test, which can be separated from the seam by hands or by means of a small roller knife.

Plunger is another tool for working with cake mastics, which is a modernized cutting with a button. By pressing it, a flower or petal is easily pulled out of the cutting, while streaks are imprinted on them.

When creating flower compositions on cakes, you can use patchwork. With the help of special cutting down on the test, an impression is made, then the "picture" is cut out and colored with liquid food colorings. At this stage, you will also need special brushes.

Silicone molds

When creating voluminous figures, silicone molds are used, which are called molds. It is not difficult to use them.

A small amount of mastic should be tightly dipped inside the impression and left for a few minutes, so that the dough dried and got the desired shape. After a while, remove the figure from the silicone mold. She can immediately decorate the cake or pre-paint with a brush. Molds come in many different shapes and sizes. With their help you can create figures of animals, babies and a variety of subjects.

A set of modeling tools

When working with mastic, it is necessary to use modeling stacks. They are two-sided wands with tips of different shapes. Such tools for working with mastic are universal and are used for tightening cakes and creating decor elements.

Most often stacks are sold in sets, which includes several sticks. Each stick of different shapes performs a certain function:

• "Ball" - allows you to give a natural form of petals and leaves; A small ball is used to form the eye cavities;
• "Star" - for the separation of the middle from the petals of the flower;
• "Shell" - to create an original pattern on the leaves;
• "Cone" - with its help you can make an accurate groove, and still this tool allows to give the petals a wavy form;
• "Groove" - used to simulate the sewing line, create parallel lines and smiles on people's faces.

This is not all the tools for working with mastic. But they are basic, and such a set will be enough to make the cake a real thematic composition.