Delightful DecoGel!

It’s been awhile since we had a Products We Love blog, and I thought it was about time to share a product that I’ve been dying to share with you since way back in November after our Grand Holiday Open House! Yeah, I know… I’ve been holding out on your for FOUR whole months with this product! Well, sit back, relax and allow me to share all the reasons that I love DecoGel!

DecoGel is a gelatin-like decorating medium that has texture like a gummy worm or gummy bear. It is gluten free, sugar free, fat free, wheat free, soy free, and it is made in a factory that does not use nuts! Yay! It can be frozen, refrigerated, or left at room temperature. It has a light vanilla flavor, so it will pair nicely with any cake you make! ISAC currently carries DecoGel in clear, blue, and white (which is opaque). If you would prefer more color options, gel based colors work best in coloring DecoGel- if you need opaque colors be sure use the white, or if you would like clear colors, use the clear DecoGel! It will not run on buttercream or whipped icings. Not only is it easily colored, you can also use dusting powders to enhance its appearance. At our Grand Holiday Open House, Chef Nicholas made a strand of pearls with DecoGel, and dusted them with Super Pearl for a more realistic look. If you love airbrushing, DecoGel can be airbrushed too!

It comes in a square tub, and to use it, all you have to do is pop the container in the microwave for 15-30 seconds! Or, you can cut a bit of the DecoGel out, and melt that in a separate microwave safe container. The beauty is that you do not have the melt the entire container of DecoGel- only what you need! Oh and there is NO LIMIT to how many times you can reheat and re-melt the DecoGel! Well… I mean, until you run out of it. Once you have your DecoGel melted, you might be thinking, “Hold the phone! How hot is this stuff, Stephanie? Is my skin going to catch fire if I accidently spill it on myself like melted sugar or isomalt?” Nope! Even though the melted DecoGel looks like molten lava, it does not get very hot. It is much safer to use and handle than sugar and isomalt. Very little heat is needed to warm the DecoGel, as I said, start with 15-30 seconds in the microwave, and if you need it to be more melty, keep going at 15-30 intervals until you get the correct consistancy. Just don’t microwave for more than 90 seconds.

Ok, you have a tub of melted DecoGel. Now what? It can be poured into molds of all shapes, sizes, and materials. Once it sets up, (which, depending on humidity, can take 30 minutes up to several hours) all you need to do is pull it out! Again, it will feel like a gummy worm, so it can easily be pulled out of any type of mold. Chef Nicholas sticks his molds in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process (unlike isomalt which clouds, DecoGel stays transparent in the freezer). Once it is no longer feels tacky, the DecoGel is ready to be removed from the mold. If you have larger molds, the product can easily be poured right in; for smaller, finely detailed molds (if you have been to our retail gallery, you know we have loads of very small molds!), we have a quick, and neat solution for DecoGel application! All you need is a handy dandy syringe; pull some of the melted DecoGel up into the syringe, and then easily fill all the teeny tiny molds you want! Another option is to pour and spread DecoGel onto an edible image or icing sheet. Once the DecoGel sets, you can peel it away and the image will be transferred onto it! This is a very cool trick, and gives a wonderful fabric effects like drapes and pleats. If you are a gingerbread house baker/builder, DecoGel makes amazing stained glass windows! Pour out the DecoGel (colored or maybe marbleized colors!) and once it is set, you can cut it into whatever shape you need! Custom stained glass windows are guaranteed to impress everyone who sees your adorable gingerbread house! Another great use: make tiny droplets of water on the leaves or petals of gumpaste flowers for a dewy look. If you like more than droplets of water, you can use DecoGel to create a pond or lake on your cake!

Once you have made your DecoGel pearl strand, or berries, or heart, or stained glass window, it’s time to attach them to a cake or cookie, or edible house. Here you have several options. You can stick it right on; DecoGel pieces will often stick right onto a cake. You can also use a tiny bit of water or piping gel to adhere the piece to whatever tasty treat you have made. Another option is to use a bit of the melted DecoGel itself as glue, but honestly, this product is so awesome, I wouldn’t want to waste any as glue! One thing to note, because DecoGel is gummy in texture, it will stretch easily. However, when you are putting your products onto the cake, take care not to stretch it as you apply; small tears can occur. Just lay your piece onto the cake without pulling or stretching. Also, because it is a gelatin product, if left in the hot sun it can begin to melt. Luckily, the cake would melt first, so no one would notice melty DecoGel at that point!

Let’s recap: DecoGel is easy to use, easy to color, easy to dust or airbrush, easy to melt, safer than sugar and isomalt, can transfer images, easy to attach to cakes, and lasts practically forever in the fridge! I’m not really certain there are any cons to DecoGel! It’s even very affordable- only $16.99 for an 8oz tub. Chef Nicholas has featured DecoGel in his Grand Holiday Open House demonstration as well as in his two new Craftsy Classes: Sugar Flowers out of the Box and Romantic Garden Roses.

If you haven’t tried DecoGel, I hope I have convinced you to give it a go! It really is an amazingly versatile and easy to use product. It is a favorite of Chef Nicholas and the entire ISAC team, and I really believe that it will become a favorite of yours!

Sweetly yours,

Stephanie

Don’t just follow our blog! Follow Chef Lodge on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Flickr, and Tumblr!

Winner of the 2015 Craftsy Blogger Award for Best Craftsy Cake Decorating Instructor Blog