This gumpaste antlers tutorial can also be made in white modelling chocolate which is actually pretty close to the color they are in nature. Plus it has the added advantage of making it easier to blend the joint between the two sections in which the antlers are made. In any case, the joint can be disguised with optional extra texturing you can add to the antlers at the end.
Gumpaste Antlers Tutorial: Materials
- white or beige gumpaste or modelling chocolate
- thick gauge wire (we’ve use 12 gauge wire but 18 or 20 gauge is fine too)
- sharp knife
- edible glue
Gumpaste Antlers Tutorial: Method
- Start by rolling your gumpaste into a short, fat carrot shape. (You do this by first rolling your gumpaste into a ball, then using the palm of one of your hands to roll one end of the ball into a pointed end.
- Next start to pinch out a “branch” from the side of the carrot.
- Shape the branch into a pointed end as you go.
- Continue to work outwards with your branch thinning it as you go.
- When you’re happy with the shape of your branch, push it up every so slightly towards the tip of the carrot so there’s less of an angle between the two “branches”.
- Try to get as sharp a point on the ends of your branches as you can and curve the branches towards you, supporting with tissue paper if needs be.
- For the third branch, move to the opposite side of the “carrot” and begin pinching out another branch.
- This branch can be shorter than the first two.
- Take a sharp knife an trim the bottom of the antlers.
- Take your thick gauge wire and thread it up through the antlers. You can bend it slightly to match the shape of the central branch if you wish to thread it all the way up to the top but you don’t strictly have to thread it up this far – an inch or two into the central branch is enough.
- Depending on the length of the antlers you require for your design, you can decide to stop here if you wish.
- If you’d like to create a longer pair of antlers then cover this first part with plastic zip lock bag before moving onto the next stage. (You’ll be joining the two sections together so you need your gumpaste to remain soft and pliable in order to blend the seam between the two parts.)
- Roll another short, stubby carrot shape. This time with the thickest end of the carrot pointing upwards start to pinch out the two top corners into two new branches.
- Continue working outwards brining the branches to a pointy end. Curve the pointed ends towards you and support with tissue paper if necessary.
- Trim the end of this section of antlers with a sharp knife.
- Remove the plastic from the first section and place it above the second section on your work surface.
- Thread the wire from the first section through the second section, as below.
- Brush some edible glue where the two sections meet and push them together. Using your fingertips gently blend the seam together. (You won’t be able to hide it completely using gumpaste.)
- You can finish at this step or you can decide to go one step further and add some texturing if you wish. Use a Dresden tool or shell tool to mark vertical lines on the antlers and you can add some pockmarks here and there with a piece of the thick gauge wire. (The texturing has the added benefit of hiding your seam further.)
- Make a mirror image set of antlers to complete the pair.
To create a distressed painted gold finish, you can use an edible gold paint or mix gold lustre dust with a few droplets of clear alcohol or rejuventor fluid. (Use lemon juice for an alcohol-free version, but alcohol does give a better shine.) The mixture can be a thick or thin as you like depending on whether you want a heavy metallic finish or a more watercolored effect.
- Apply the paint mixture with a flat artist’s paintbrush.
- Starting from the top of your cake, use downward brushstrokes (with the brush widthways), lifting towards the end of the brushstroke to create a feathered effect.
- Move horizontally along your cake one paintbrush width at a time, alternating between long brush strokes and shorter strokes to create a “drip” effect.
- Re-load your brush for each new brush stroke, to ensure the top of the cake gets even coverage and the paint can then run dry towards the end of the brush stroke to create the distressed effect.
Tip: Gold lustre dusts and edible paints come in varying colours and some times it can be difficult to get the right shade of gold you’re looking for. For tonal variations, try mixing your gold lustre with some pearl lustre dust and even silverlustre, which can tone down your gold alot to give a beautiful “gilver” shade!
