Making the world a little sweeter one pastry tip at at time.
Pastillage is a very hard sugar dough used for decorations and show piece work. It can be molded, rolled out, and pressed into forms. It dries very hard and can be sanded if needed to smooth out any rough spots. While just about all recipes …read more
A friend asked me recently if couverture and chocolate were interchangeable terms. They are not (chocolate is a general term; couverture is premium chocolate with a specific amount of cocoa butter inside) but this made me think of other pastry terms that were vague or …read more
JEM – of JEM Cutters and jemcutters.com – is a South African based company that produces pastry cutters specifically designed for sugar paste art. According to their website, the name JEM comes from the owner’s name: Jill Elaine Maytham. JEM’s petal paste recipe is included in some of their special cutter packs, and if the literature is lost, the recipe is hard to track down.
Here is the basic recipe for JEM sugar petal paste that can be used for both floral displays and other decorations. The JEM petal powder is a binder or thickener for sugar paste recipes, and if that isn’t available use Tylose powder (which is readily available in the U.S. in candy and decorating shops). Also, note the recipe contains raw egg whites which should not be eaten so save this recipe for show pieces for decoration only and not for consumption.