The sugar sheet technique is probably one of the most striking cake decorating techniques out there! Using only 4 ingredients, it comes together relatively easily and adds that wow factor to your cake!
Will the sugar sheet last in humid weather?
Now the problem with sugar sheets is that they’re made out of sugar. This means their structure can be compromised when placed in/or exposed to humid weather. As a result, they can wilt/bend if they extend above the top of your cake and are unsupported.
After some trial and error, I found a recipe that could withstand the test of time.. and heat! This recipe has an ingredient in it called tylose, also know as CMC. Tylose is a hardening agent, so it’s going to strengthen up the sugar sheet so that it holds up without wilting.
Whether you’re in humid weather or not, I would highly recommend using tylose as it adds that extra assurance that your sugar sheet will stand the test of time!
Can I make it the day before decorating my cake?
Because the sugar sheet hardens up quite quickly, you unfortunately cannot make it ahead of time. This is because the sugar sheet will be too hard to wrap around your cake, and will break. You can soften it up by using a blow torch, but I’ve never tried doing this to a whole sugar sheet before!
Sugar Sheet Technique
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (450 g) white sugar
- 2 tsps tylose powder
- 4 tbsp glucose syrup
- 2-3 drops (2-3 drops) gel food colour
Instructions
- Mix sugar and food coloring together until sugar is completely coloured. This can easily be achieved by putting the sugar and food colouring in a snap-lock bag and then using your fingers to move the sugar around (see video below for demonstration).
- Transfer sugar mixture into a bowl and mix in the tylose until well combined.
- Melt the glucose syrup slightly until it is a liquid texture by putting it into the microwave for 10-15 seconds (this may take a little longer depending on the strength of your microwave).
- Mix the glucose syrup into the sugar using a spoon at first (as the glucose syrup may be hot). Once the sugar and glucose syrup is mostly combined, use your fingers to mix the rest of the mixture until it is completely combined. Once you reach a sandy texture, your mixture is ready to roll out.
- Working quickly, transfer the mixture onto a piece of baking paper/parchment paper/silicone sheet (anything non-stick that can go in the oven). Put another sheet of baking paper/parchment paper/silicone sheet on top of the mixture and using a rolling pin, gently roll out the mixture until the desired length/height is achieved. Be careful not to roll out the mixture too thin, otherwise the sugar sheet may crack, and the chances of the sugar sheet wilting in humid weather is higher.
- Once your sheet is rolled out, inspect the sheet to ensure no pieces of the sheet have become detached from the main sheet. If this has happened, just use your fingers to re-attach the parts which have separated and gently re-roll it.
- Let the mixture air dry for 45 minutes and then place it into the oven for 8 minutes at 90 degrees Celsius (194°F).
- Once the mixture is removed from the oven, use a sharp knife to cut a straight line on one end of the sugar sheet to act as the bottom of your sugar sheet. This will be the side of the sugar sheet that will wrap around the bottom of your cake so that it is flush with the cake board. Work quickly, as your sugar sheet will begin to harden up after being removed from the oven. See note 1 if your sugar sheet becomes too firm
- Gently wrap the sugar sheet around your cake (see note 2). You can finish off the tips by painting them with an edible metallic gold/silver, and continue to decorate your cake however you like!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
15 Comments
Hi Maryam
Really enjoying your channel. Your eggless chocolate cake recipe got rave reviews from my friends.
I’m planning to try this sugar sheet on a carrot cake. How thick should the sugar sheet be for best results?
Hi Julie! 🙂 So happy to hear you’re enjoying the recipes and that your friends loved the eggless chocolate cake 😀
For the sugar sheet, a few mm thick should do the trick. The sugar sheet itself won’t be eaten, so even if its on the slightly thicker side its okay. You just don’t want it too thick otherwise it may be hard to wrap around the cake. Hope that makes sense 🙂
Hi Mrs. MK!
My name is Adyson. I’m trying to decorate a cake for my mom for Mother’s Day and I wanted to decorate it with this recipe, but I can’t use the tylose and glucose, so I wanted to know if you had any suggestions on how to exchange those ingredients and how it would change it over all if I need to watch out for anything in particular because of the substitution?
Hi Adyson! 🙂 My apologies for the delay in reply. You could get away with not using the tylose, however the glucose is crucial to the recipe. You could try substituting the glucose with corn syrup, though I haven’t tried this myself so can’t say for sure how it’ll hold up sorry! Hope you managed to have a wonderful Mother’s Day with your mum 🙂
Thank you so much!!! I tried corn syrup and it work pretty well!!!! Thanks for the great recipe!!!
Awesome! So happy to hear it worked well 😀
How do you wrap around fondant or pastillage cake? Do you need to use some sticking like water or it will stick by itself due to its structure? Thank you
Hi Val! 🙂 The sugar sheet sets very quickly, so as you wrap it around if you hold it for about 30 seconds it should start to hold its shape and will stick on its own to the fondant/pastillage (just kind of push it in gently). You could use some edible glue, but I would recommend not using water as this can affect the structure of the sugar sheet. Hope that helps 😀
Hi ma do u also give classes??
Hi Kiran! 🙂 Unfortunately I don’t conduct classes but I do have a few courses that you can check out here: https://cakesbymk.com/courses/
Hi ma, I want to purchase your online beginners course. But I don’t know how to do that I have master card naira because I’m from Nigeria..
Hello Aishat! When you click to purchase the course it should come up with the option of entering a credit card 🙂 try this link: https://momence.com/Cakes-by-MK/course/Layer-Cake-From-Scratch%3A-Ultimate-Beginners-Guide-to-Cake-Decorating/486
Hope that helps!
Tested and approved !
Success since the very first attempt, that’s cool !
I have tried without tylose : the mixing part is easier (because the tylose hardens very rapidly) ; but the result is not as good, in a European « fine weather »
Thank you
So happy to hear the technique worked well for you Biale 😀
That was so elevating it was so cool . It took me a few tries to actually not ruin it