Vegan Gumpaste Recipe | Sugar Flowers & Models
If you are making and decorating vegan cakes for family, friends or clients, it makes absolute sense for the decorations to be vegan as well. Unfortunately, traditional gumpaste is not vegan, it contains egg whites and some gumpastes contain gelatin, which is made from animal by-products.
By replacing the egg white and gelatin with alternative ingredients, you can produce a vegan version. This vegan gumpaste is by no means inferior, it dries hard, stands up to heat and humidity. It uses simple ingredients (which you will have in your cupboards) and is really easy to make!
JUMP TO RECIPE JUMP TO VIDEO
Vegan Gumpaste Flowers
Why No Gelatin?
Traditional gumpaste for someone who is Vegan, is an absolute “No, No!” Most traditional gumpastes contain gelatin. Gelatin is made from collagen, which is prepared from the tissue, skins and bones of pigs and cows. So let’s create a gumpaste that make beautiful sugar flowers and sugar models that Vegans can enjoy.
Gumpaste Without Eggs & Gelatin
This recipe is super easy and definitely contains no eggs and gelatin.
A few simple ingredients, will bring this homemade Vegan Gumpaste together:
You can choose to make this vegan gumpaste using a mixer, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry, it is totally possible to make it by hand. I made it by hand to show you how easy it is.
Make Sure To Use Vegan Food Dyes
This vegan gumpaste can be coloured, but not all food dyes are vegan-friendly or plant-based. Being in the world of cake decorating, I have known for a long time that certain food colours - red being one of them, is made from cochineal which is an insect which is crushed to create the natural dye carmine. Doesn’t sound good does it! Generally, any red or pink food colouring, will be obtained by this process.
There are also unfortunately companies that might be testing their colours on animals, which is a definite “No!”.
Fortunately there are actually quite a number of manufacturers that have created food gel colours, luster dusts and colour dusts on the market that contain vegan-friendly ingredients.
Sugarflair - I’ve been using Sugarflair products for years! The majority of this brands gel paste colours, luster dusts and petal dusts are vegan-friendly except their Fairy Dust Pink and Purple Sparkle from their luster dust range, since these contain carmine. Another bonus their range is also gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free and GMO-free. Their products are not tested on animals.
Wilton - Their full range of gel pastes are vegan-friendly. However, their colours are not natural, but made using chemicals. If using unnatural ingredients is not a problem, then Wilton is inexpensive and can be easily found at local craft stores. They don’t test on animals.
AmeriColor - Vegan food colours have been around for many years. Their variety of colours are quite wide, very concentrated and mix well with many consistencies. Like Wilton their colours are made mostly of chemicals, but generally only a few drops of colour is needed. So if you are of the mindset a few drops never hurt anyone, then this is a great option. Again, like Wilton they are easy to find at stores, inexpensive and the colours are vibrant. They do not test their products on animals.
Chefmaster – Make a range of vegan-friendly gel pastes that is derived from plants. None of their colours are tested on animals. Chefmaster can be purchased from Etsy.
Colour Mill - Make a range of vegan food colours, but the important thing to note is that only half of their colours are vegan. So make sure you read the label before purchasing. They do not not test any of their colours on animals.
*Here is a list of their vegan-friendly colours to date as of September 2021:
*Baby Blue, Black, Blush, Booster, Candy, Caramel, Chocolate, Clay, Concrete, Dusk, Emerald, Eucalyptus, Forest, Green, Hot Pink, Latte, Lemon, Lime, Mint, Mustard, Navy, Nude, Ocean, Olive, Orange, Peach, Purple, Red, Royal, Rust, Sage, Sea Mist, Sky Blue, Taupe, Teal, Tiffany, White and Yellow.
**COLOURS FROM COLOUR MILL THAT ARE NOT VEGAN
**Baby Pink, Bluebell, Burgundy, Lavender, Lilac, Midnight, Raspberry and Rose.
I’m sure there are many more brands, but these are some that are leading brands for cake decorating and other edible art. It will be easy for you to find out if there are other brands that are vegan-friendly.
CMC, Tylose Or Gum Tragacanth?
In my traditional gumpaste recipe, I also wrote about these 3 key ingredients for making gumpaste here.
Carboxymethyl Cellulose or CMC for short, is a gum thickener, binder and stabiliser found in a variety of foods. Tylose is the name brand for CMC. So CMC and Tylose Powder are really the same thing. They are the chemical versions of Gum Tragacanth. The quality of different brands vary, so you will need to find the one that you like. Purified CMC/Tylose is white to buff-coloured. While less purified is often off-white to light brown in colour. It is a tasteless and odourless powder.
Gum Tragacanth or Gum Trag is another gum. If you are looking for something natural, this is the one to choose. It can be harder to find and is more expensive than CMC/Tylose powder. Gum Tragacanth is derived from the sap of a plant found in the Middle East. It actives slower when added to fondant and has a slower drying time. It is best to leave it to dry overnight for best results.
When CMC/Tylose or Gum Tragacanth is used to make gumpaste or added to fondant it creates a stretchy paste (or ‘modelling paste’ when added to fondant) with great elasticity. Helping you to model wonderful sugar creations that hold their shape with precision.
I’ve broken down the why’s, explained the alternatives and the gums needed for Vegan Gumpaste. So, let’s get started with making some!
Troubleshooting
Lumpy gumpaste 2. Smooth gumpaste
IF YOU ENCOUNTER LUMPY GUMPASTE, FOLLOW THESE EASY STEPS:
Divide the gumpaste up into smaller quantities to be kneaded. Store the excess gumpaste away in a plastic bag, as you knead each quantity, so it does not dry out.
Dust the surface and the gumpaste with corn flour.
Genously apply some vegetable shortening to your hands to prevent the gumpaste sticking to your hands as you knead it.
Use your thumbs and fingers to press and pinch out any lumps that you find. It may take a bit of time, but patient kneading will pay off.
Once you have lump free, stretchy, smooth gumpaste, wrap it up in some plastic wrap.
Proceed to do the same process for all of your vegan gumpaste.
Storage
You can store the vegan gumpaste in an air tight container in the fridge for 1 - 3 months.
Remove gumpaste from the fridge - bring to room temp for 30 mins to 1 hour before using.
Sugar flowers or models, that have been stored well and protected from humidity will last 1 - 2 years.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you make this Vegan Gumpaste or vegan gumpaste flowers, please remember to tag me - #arisecakecreations - @arisecakecreations on Instagram or Facebook, so I can see your beautiful creation(s).
