Modern cakes are real confectionery masterpieces, as their designs amaze the imagination with originality and elegance. In addition, they are decorated with a variety of mastic products - bows, which are most often found on wedding cakes, are especially popular. However, such a bow can be easily prepared at home.
Making a bow
To make a beautiful mastic sugar bow, you will need mastic, 1 egg white, powdered sugar, a rolling pin, a brush, kitchen napkins, a plastic bag, cotton wool, scissors and a knife. The mastic mass is placed in a plastic bag and rolled out with a rolling pin into a thin layer. The cotton wool is wrapped in a napkin in such a way that two rollers are obtained. The rolled mastic is removed from the bag, cut into four identical strips and begins to form a bow, placing a cotton roll in the center of one strip and smearing its edges with a mixture of powdered sugar and egg white. If desired, you can add flavor to the pastry mastic using cocoa, lemon juice, or vanillin.
Then the edges of the strip are bent and glued together, squeezing the glued part in half so that a smooth bend is formed. Lubricate the sides of the bend with a mixture of powdered sugar and protein, glue all parts of the side together and cut the edge of the loop of the resulting bow. Similarly, make a second loop, lubricate the sections with a protein mixture and glue both parts into one bow. Then take the third strip, bending it until a notch is formed in the center and the edges are squeezed towards it. The loops of the bow at the junction are lubricated with a protein mixture and a third strip is placed on top, bending the edges back and forming the middle of the bow. The fourth strip is cut in half by squeezing the top of each piece and gluing these pieces to the bottom of the finished bow.
Secrets of working with mastic
First of all, the mastic must be protected from moisture, and also not overdosed with sprinkling with liqueurs or sugar syrups. In this case, the mastic should not be too dry, otherwise it will warp and become covered with cracks. The damp mastic should dry out. When rolling out the mastic, you should not be zealous - 2-3 millimeters of thickness will be enough so that the bow does not break. In addition to a plastic bag, sugar mastic can be rolled out on a smooth table sprinkled with starch or powdered sugar. Products made from mastic retain their freshness from two days to a week - if they are stored in bags or plastic containers.
To make the sugar mastic bow shine beautifully after finishing the cake decoration, you can gently cover it with honey, which is dissolved in vodka in a 1: 1 ratio. To do this, you need to take a soft brush, moisten it in a honey-vodka solution and carefully smear the bow on both sides. After a few minutes, the vodka will wear off and the bow will acquire a beautiful shiny finish.
