Sugar paste

Sugar paste icing is a sweet edible sugar dough usually made from sucrose and glucose. It is sometimes referred to as sugar gum or gum paste, but should not be confused with fondant. It is used to create decorations for cakes.
Sugar paste hardens so it is ideal for creating cake decorations. By contrast, cake fondant is softer and more ideal for covering cakes.
One of the biggest advantages of the commercial sugar paste is that it can be stored for up to a year. The disadvantages of homemade sugar paste is that it is not as easy to manipulate, doesn't store as long and is difficult to make pure white.
History.
Evidence for its use in various settings dates back to at least the 16th century. 
The first sweets to go into the first Christmas crackers were made from sugar paste, and would be stamped with words and short phrases.