Passion for Baking: Having fun with fondant 1

So you want to impress your friends and family. Make a cake and otp it off with a lop bow. It's so easy!

I'm sure this simple loop bow will bring the "ooh" and "ahh" effect.

Have fun!

Tools you'll need:

Rolled fondant (you can make your own fondant too!)

Gumpaste

Rolling pin

Cutter

Cardboard

Waxpaper or paper towel

Shortening

Gel color

Toothpick

Step-by-step instruction:

Rub shortening or vegetable oil on your hands, then roll a piece of fondant ball and gumpaste ball into the size of tennis ball. Be sure you have enough fondant and gumpaste for your bow, because it will be hard to match the exact color if you run short.

Dip a toothpick in the gel color and apply dots of coloring into the fondant and gumpaste balls. Use a fresh toothpick each time you dip, because dipping a used toothpick into your color will contaminate the gel color in the container. Add the color a little a time until you achieve your desired color.

To tint the color, begin with stretching and folding your fondant and gumpaste mix till it has developed a smooth finish and even color.

Roll a sheet of fondant about 1/8 inches thick. You don't want it to be too thin, or the loops won't be about to hold their shape when they dry.

I use Wilton ribbon cutter with 1" width. (ruler and pizza roller and any cutter work just fine). I cut out 15 strips of 1" wide and 5" length-wise bow loops. (you can always make a couple of extras in case of breakage).

Lightly brush one end with gum-glue* and adhere the other end together. Repeat for all loops. Carefully cut the end together.

Stand the loops on side to dry on a cardboard. Leave it to dry overnight, depending on the temperature and humidity in your area, it may takes up to 2 days to completely dry.

To assembling the bow:

Cut a small round circle for the base. Put it on top of a wax paper (I used paper towel).

For the first layer: Wet the round circle. Lightly brush each bow loops with gum-glue and arrange them in a circle. The bottom layer of this bow will have 6 loops.

For the second layer, stack 5 loops on top. Arrange in a circle.

For the top (3 loops) and center loop (1 loop), apply gum-glue to the pointy side of the loop. Arrange in circle and make sure you have good contact with the glue on the bottom.

Sometimes, during the assembly process, the loops start to work their way outward. After assembled all the loops, gently put both hands around the bow and press inward to make the bow formation tighter. This is done very gently.