How to:
Making Sugar Garlands
Different colors symbolize specific holidays. The bright hues of these sugar paste garlands are in spirit of the Day of the Dead, but the flags of the garlands can be made in any desired color, shape, or pattern. I find it easier to create smaller garlands on short pieces of twine, rather than one long one, and attach the garland to the cake in multiple places with small pins.
TOOLS:
- different colors Sugar Paste (page 59)
- cornstarch in a cotton muslin bag for dusting
- silicone rolling pin
- damp tea towel wrapped in plastic wrap (see page 134)
- medium scalloped circle cutter
- pastry wheel
- mini petal cutters or a # 01 piping tip
- fine-tip paintbrush
- 1:1 mixture of water and corn syrup
- baker’s twine
- soft modeling tool
- parchment paper
- baking sheet
Knead a small handful of sugar paste
on a nonstick surface to bring to room temperature. Dust your
surface with cornstarch. Using a silicone rolling pin, roll out the
sugar paste to a thickness of ¹⁄16
inch. Rotate the paste evenly as you roll, as you would for a
piecrust. If the sugar paste begins to stick, dust more cornstarch
on the surface. Cover with the plastic-wrapped tea towel to prevent
the sugar paste from drying out. Use the medium circle cutter to
cut circles from the sugar paste. Place each circle in the tea
towel as you work to prevent the sugar paste from drying out.
Working with one circle at a time,
use the pastry wheel to trim ¼ inch off the circle to create a flag
with a flat top. Trim a little, about ⅛ inch, off the sides so that
only the bottom edge is rounded.
Working swiftly and carefully, use
the mini petal cutter or pastry tip to cut a pattern in the
flag.
Use the fine-tip paintbrush to dot
the back top of the flag with the water–corn syrup mixture.
Lay the baker’s twine across the wet
edge of the flag, with the flag in the center of the twine. Fold
the top edge of the flag over the twine, pressing gently with a
soft tool to close the seam.
Repeat this process, leaving about
an inch between each flag, making sure the flags are all facing the
same way. Alternate colors randomly for a playful pattern. Once
you’ve attached the desired number of flags to the twine, place the
garland on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let dry for 48
hours.
