At anniversaries, weddings and - especially! - Children's birthday is important not so much the cake itself as its decoration. Very touching are the figures of the bride and groom, made from food mastic. And the kids will surely like the whole composition, based on the popular animated cartoon "Masha and the Bear" or the computer game "Angry Birds". You can, of course, go to the store and buy ready-made decorations for a cake made of marshmallows, glucose and glycerin. But, firstly, all these garlands, beads and bows with flowers do not bear the trace of your personality and creative imagination, and secondly, they are not cheap. Therefore, today we will learn how to make mastic from condensed milk. The recipe is very simple, and even a beginner will be pleased with the result. Maybe the first time you won’t be able to beautifully sculpt the figures, but the mastic will certainly turn out delicious.
Ingredients
What is needed for this? To decorate the cake with mastic, components that devastate the family budget are not required. All that is needed is a can of condensed milk, dried cream, powdered sugar and lemon juice. Well, food coloring, of course, unless you decide in advance that your cake will be uniformly beige. But now let's talk about the quality of the products, because the success of the business depends on it. Powdered milk or cream should be fresh, not stuck together in a piece, a pleasant cream (rather than yellow) color. It is advisable to take powdered sugar of the finest grinding so that the mastic from condensed milk does not crumble and does not tear, but is elastic. Keep potato starch on hand just in case. While sculpting, dip your fingers into it, then the mastic will not stick to your hands. Vodka will give your sculptures an appetizing shine. And finally, condensed milk. Take Belarusian or Ukrainian products. Condensed milk should be made from whole milk and sugar, not chemicals.
What cream for mastic with condensed milk to choose
Before we start making this complex ingredient, let's think: do we need it? After all, if the top of our cake is covered with sour cream, protein cream, or whipped cream, decorations made from condensed milk and sugar simply dissolve in a humid environment. For the same reason, mastic decor cannot be applied to cakes soaked in rum or jam. But even on the “naked” test, a coating of powdered sugar and milk will not hold. The cake must first be leveled. To do this, use oil cream, marzipan or ganache, already frozen in the refrigerator. Did you bake a honey cake? Here is the perfect cream for mastic. Butter, condensed milk and melted chocolate (all components in equal proportions) are beaten with a mixer until smooth. In a honey cake, we equalize the edges with a knife, knead the crumbs with a small amount of cream. It turns out quite a viscous mass. We put a spatula dipped in warm water and put it on top of the product and put it in the refrigerator. Then add the rest of the cream. Freeze again. The base for the mastic is ready. Now you can begin to cover.
Another cream for mastic
We mix butter at room temperature with melted natural chocolate without any fillers (preferably black, bitter). The proportions are approximately one and a half to one. When you get a uniform chocolate butter, you can mix a little boiled condensed milk. Beat the whole mass in a mixer to make a soft and fluffy cream. Put it on the top and sides of the cake. Milk mastic on condensed milk will hold well on this cream. But to do this, let him stand for several hours in the refrigerator.
Mastic with condensed milk: recipe
First mix bulk products. In a deep bowl, combine milk powder or cream and powdered sugar. It is best to sift both of these ingredients through a sieve, in order to avoid the formation of lumps. If they are present in the mastic, it will come out brittle and crack. In what proportions to mix cream with sugar? So far in equal terms - a glass. Knead well. We begin to pour in the condensed milk, constantly wielding a spoon in one direction (for example, counterclockwise). So that the mastic does not come out cloying, you can replace a bit of powdered sugar with starch. This component will give the whole mass the necessary viscosity. For taste, you can acidify the mastic with a teaspoon of lemon juice. We generously sprinkle the working surface with powdered sugar (about half a cup more). We shift the mastic from the bowl onto it. Continue to knead, adding powdered sugar from the periphery to the center, until the mass becomes elastic and stops sticking to the fingers.
Give the right color
Natural mastic from condensed milk is a solid, beige hue. To give it color, you need to use food coloring. They are sold in stores, often before Easter. After all, it is at this time that “flowered” eggs are needed. If the dye is dry, grind the powder and knead it with the amount of mastic you need. To do this, initially calculate how many green leaves, red, orange and blue flowers should be. You can act differently by working with liquid dye. First, we sculpt a rose. Then, with a pipette, drop a drop of red paint on top of it. It will turn out very original - the color will not be solid, but with tints from beige to deep scarlet. Do not be afraid to use natural dyes: raspberry jam syrup (red), carrot juice (orange), beetroot extract (Bordeaux), cocoa powder (brown), green tea.
How to store mastic
This product quickly dries in the open air, making the figures crack and sprinkle. In the refrigerator, uncoated milk mastic on condensed milk absorbs the condensate located there. From this process the stucco molding “floats” like melted ice cream. Which exit? If we use mastic for covering the cake (covering the top with an even layer), then you can apply it immediately. But sculpting figures is best before serving. And for the time being, the mastic needs to be rolled up with koloboks or sausages of different colors, wrapped tightly in cling film and put in the refrigerator. When you pull it out and start sculpting, you will find that the mass has become harder and crumbling. Do not be alarmed. Heat it in your hands and it will return to its former elasticity.
Sculpting figures
In order for the plasticine qualities of the mastic to fully manifest themselves, you need to wrap the colorful pieces in plastic wrap and let them lie in the refrigerator overnight. After that, get it and leave for half an hour. Mastic from condensed milk will go limp during this time. Before sculpting, we pluck off a piece and knead it with our hands. We try, what are its qualities? If the mastic sticks to your fingers, add the icing sugar. If the product is too hard and inelastic, add a little condensed milk, lemon juice or boiled water. We work on the surface sprinkled with powdered sugar - this way the products will not stick to the table. In addition to creative imagination, we will arm ourselves with a small knife with a sharp tip. If you want to connect two fragments of mastic, you need to moisten the bonding places with water or egg white. In this case, you need a silicone brush.
Some secrets for working with mastic
Small figures are best done shortly before serving, as they will dry out in the air. And on the cake or in the refrigerator, they can go limp. A volume sculpture composed of several fragments, on the contrary, must be done in advance and allowed to dry. Then it should be carefully wrapped in cling film and stored in the refrigerator until attached to the cake. Mastic from condensed milk will look like shiny glaze if it is lubricated with vodka or alcohol before serving. Also, these volatile elements can be diluted with powdery dyes and impregnated with them a lot before sculpting. If the mastic is too hard and rolls out poorly, warm it up for a couple of seconds in the oven or microwave - and it will again become like clay.
How to make a tight-fitting cake
The top and sides of the product are covered with marzipan, ganache or well-cured butter cream. We lay out a large piece of cling film on the table. Lightly sprinkle it with starch or grease with a brush with vegetable oil. Mastic for condensed milk cake should acquire room temperature. Roll it out with a rolling pin, powdered with starch or powdered sugar. The layer should be larger in size than the top of the product and its sides. Wet marzipan with cold water. Take the cling film over the edges and gently transfer to the top of the cake, wrap the sides, cut off all the sticking ends. Without picking up the polyethylene coating, we gently hold the rolling pin along the mastic to expel all the air bubbles. After this, the film must be removed.