# Favorite fondant recipe? For molding and covering?



## jnjsqr (Sep 8, 2011)

Hey all!

I was hoping some people can share their favorite recipes for rolling and molding fondant. Do you find you need different recipes for each purpose? Any thoughts on bought fondant?

Thanks for any help!


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## loulimar (Mar 31, 2012)

I much prefer home made fondant to the bought stuff - it looks whiter too. I like the straight forward simple recipe below:

450g icing sugar / powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons liquid glucose
1 egg white
Selection of food colorings (optional)
[h4]How to make it[/h4][hr][/hr]
Place all ingredients into a large bowl, using a wooden spoon mix until a soft dough is formed.
Cover your work surface with powdered sugar and knead the icing until it is soft and pliable.
If you wish to color the icing use a cocktail stick dipped into the food color knead the icing after to distribute the color evenly, repeat until the desired color is reached!
Easy peasy /img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif
[h6] [/h6]


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Your question reminded me of when i made my one and only wedding cake and made the fondant a little like the one described here - i was using the Cake Bible and followed this recipe but in the past i had made it by the boiling the sugar and water and scraping and kneading.  I really prefer boiled fondant, but was afraid to try it on such a big cake and such an important one. 

Does anyone use boiled fondant?  I find the texture so appealing, especially with a soft cake and soft creamy filling.


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## prettycake (Dec 23, 2011)

I have my own Marshmallow fondant recipe.. very simple:

1 bag of mini marshmallows

1 bag of powdered sugar (sifted)

3 T shortening

5 T water

Heat the marshmallow, shortening and water...for about 3 mins in the microwave...until marshmallows puff up.. add the powdered sugar and knead.. let is rest about 1 hour then roll out and use..

I used Marshmallow fondant on these cakes:


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## prettycake (Dec 23, 2011)

siduri said:


> Your question reminded me of when i made my one and only wedding cake and made the fondant a little like the one described here - i was using the Cake Bible and followed this recipe but in the past i had made it by the boiling the sugar and water and scraping and kneading. I really prefer boiled fondant, but was afraid to try it on such a big cake and such an important one.
> 
> Does anyone use boiled fondant? I find the texture so appealing, especially with a soft cake and soft creamy filling.


When you say boiled , do you mean the kind you pour over petite fours ?


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Prettycake said:


> When you say boiled , do you mean the kind you pour over petite fours ?


Yeah, but you can also knead it and roll it out.

you boil sugar and water, in certain proportions, to a certain temperature, pour on marble slab, let it start to cool, then scrape it up with a large metal scraper until it turns white. It's amazing how it works, and the taste is just sugar, and it has a very interesting texture. No crap in it, just sugar. Basically it;s the way fudge is made, without the extra ingredients.


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## prettycake (Dec 23, 2011)

well whatever works for you.. or floats your boat. 

When I went to California Culinary Academy (San Francisco) years ago, we made it w/out the Marshmallow. It had gelatin, corn syrup and it was smooth like silk.


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## loulimar (Mar 31, 2012)

I made my son's wedding cake using the simple fondant recipe - it was delicious /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif maybe more to the UK taste though!

I'd like to try the marshmallow fondant recipe - what kind of weight is a bag of marshmallows and a bag of icing sugar?


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Nice looking cakes Loulimar.

@ Siduri : My poured fondant is simple: 2/3 to 3/4 cups water, 3 Tbls corn syrup, 2 lbs conf. sugar, 1 tsp almond extract. I heat it till everything melts but does not get overly hot. Prior to that the cake has been in freezer, taken out, cut into squares, crumbs removed , then pour melted fondant. Some recipes can get very technical but in all honesty they don't need to be. The joy with making them is in the little accents of decorations.

 The color and thickness is just like this pic.


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## prettycake (Dec 23, 2011)

Thank you on the info on the *POURED* fondant.. I assume that you did NOT or CANNOT knead this..


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

That is right, there is not much else you can do with it but pour. When I posted,  I had Siduri's idea in mind, not having anything to do with kneading, just basic components.

Petals.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Thanks petals, but have you tried poured fondant made with boiled sugar syrup, scraped on a marble counter? 

i think the texture is something else entirely.  You have to knead it a little, but then you can store it, and take it out and roll out or thin and warm and pour. 

It cools to be something amazing - chewy.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Siduri,

I have not made it that way but I would like to try it so as to get a feel for it. The idea that it cools like that is interesting.

Petals


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

It's kind of magic to make it.  YOu pour the syrup on a slab, let it start to cool, then with a bench scraper, keep scraping it towards the center.  At a certain point you'll find a trace of dry fine crystals on the slab, which is the first crystals that are drying out, and they are tiny, not like the sugar you started with.  The fineness of the crystals is very different from the fineness of powdered sugar.  These are full crystals, but smaller, while the powdered sugar is just ground up crystals.  (Such is my understanding).  It becomes a sort of malleable mass, that has a chewiness.  Have you ever had those afterdinner mints, that look like they were poured into small disk shapes?  they;re sort of chewy.  It also resembles fudge, whicb has the same principle (saturated sugar solution drying out in tiny crystals). 

I particularly like a soft white cake in layers with whipped cream and strawberries filling it, and a layer of this on top - the sweetness and the chewyness is a nice contrast to the sharpness of the strawberries and the softness of the cream and cake.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Siduri,

Now this is something very interesting, the fact that its pliable is fantastic. I like the description you gave about it, as soon as I read it I knew exactly what type of effect this would have. Love the cake you described, right up my alley.

I'm going to try this out. There are probably other treats that can be used or incorporated.

Petals.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Yeah, Petals,

I used to make it a lot and just keep some in the fridge in a tightly closed container.  The other, made with powdered sugar, has most of the visual qualities, but none of the eating qualities, in my opinion.  When people say they just peel the fondant off of things, they're probably referring to the unboiled version or the commercial versions. 

I remember a few years ago fondant was unheard of in american baking.  I think it gained popularity because it's a whole lot easier to get a smooth frosting finish on a cake with it than to use buttercream.  But its eating qualities can be an unusual touch to add a layer of texture.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

I think before fondant it was royal icing. It used to be an event to watch my grandmother pipe with royal. She was raised in Gloucester and as a child , right into her 20's she was very much into cake decorating , mainly with royal. She did some fascinating bridgework, or curtailing as we call it today. Stringwork was her forte along with brush embroidery. Some of her decorated cakes (mostly wedding) would take a few days and she would be at this day/night.

I never knew how much talent she had. Her sugar mediums were very basic , I guess in its purest form because in those days they only had sugar , egg whites, water to work with. I don't believe there were other ? Chocolate yes, but that is not what I am referring to here.

Buttercream of course.

It is incredible to think where the journey of sugar has taken us . In Royal Courts (100 years ago and before ) the pastry Chefs were well ahead of their time. Pulled sugar was a must to work in those kitchens.

Petals.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Well, royal icing is great for decorating but not much fun to eat/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

your grandmothers cakes sound wonderful.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Thanks Siduri,

She was decorating cakes right into her 60's and then stopped. As far as royal goes....looks great but thats about it (she said the same) /img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif


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## azusena (Dec 8, 2011)

Hi,

When you said 3 T shortening and 5 T water, did you meant tablespoon or tspn?


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

Not positive it is always accurate, but I was taught T=tablespoon and t=teaspoon



Azusena said:


> Hi,
> 
> When you said 3 T shortening and 5 T water, did you meant tablespoon or tspn?


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## azusena (Dec 8, 2011)

I see when you poured the fondant over the cake, that the cakes have a layer of fondant or buttercream. I'm not sure which but If I were to pour the fondant I must a have a layer first. Is this correct? I would think it would be fondant since buttercream will melt away once you pour over the fondant. Thank you for your help. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


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## azusena (Dec 8, 2011)

Thanks for clarifying the  T's difference.  I'm a novice.  Learning the fundamental of baking treats.  I picked up baking sweets as a hobbie and learning as I go.  I am in love with this site.  You guys are kind and patient in giving advice, suggestions and recipes.  Keep up the good work.


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## prettycake (Dec 23, 2011)

You do not pour "poured fondant" over something that is already covered in fondant...  I just do not see the need for the poured fondant if there is already fondant on the cake or petit fours.

The buttercream is usually used as a filling in between the sponge cake layers but can also be on top as a thin layer and very cold.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Azusena said:


> I see when you poured the fondant over the cake, that the cakes have a layer of fondant or buttercream. I'm not sure which but If I were to pour the fondant I must a have a layer first. Is this correct? I would think it would be fondant since buttercream will melt away once you pour over the fondant. Thank you for your help. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


In school your taught to put the crumb coat first . (this is a thin layer of buttercream which coats your cake and traps all the crumbs, at the same time its a great medium ( helps make the fondant stick) when applying the fondant.

Poured fondant is great for dipping cupcakes into or drizzling over a cake , depending consistancy, you can smooth it out.

Many cake decorators enjoy the fondant as it serves not only as a protective barrier but when applying different sugar art (sugar mediums) to the surface its much more tolerable than other cakes without it.

ps In another thread I showed the technique for buttercream, did you see it ? Once that stage is complete and your cake is buttercreamed, you then proceed to applying your fondant, then decorating it.

Petals.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Prettycake,

We posted at the same time. I agree with your entire post.

Petals.


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## azusena (Dec 8, 2011)

Thanks for the clarification.  I'll check out the other thread.


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## schokolade (Mar 26, 2013)

I'm trying to use callebut dark chocolate for filling molds.   I have big chunks of it.  I do prefer a slightly sweeter and less hard and waxy mouth feel. Can I achieve this by adding sugar to the melting chocolate when I am tempering it? I want the finished product to be homogenous but it's okay if it has a slightly grainy feel, as long as it still looks pretty after I un-mold it.  Any suggestions?


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## minas6907 (Aug 14, 2012)

What kind of molds are you using? Are they the flexible plastic, or hard polycarbonates? The amount of chocolate work I do is very limited, but I'm inclined to say that I wouldnt mess with the formulation of the chocolate, I'd find one you do like. Though I'm sure Foodpump can give some insight on adding sugar to chocolate thats going to be used for mold/shells.


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## schokolade (Mar 26, 2013)

Flexible plastic molds. Thanks for you r reply.  I was impatient so I tried adding powdered sugar and it worked pretty well but I still would like to find better chocolate with less or no lecithin that is not too hard but not all creamy.  I used to get chocolate Easter candy from a company named Bortz.  They got swallowed up by bigger companies and the good stuff they made disappeared off the shelves.  They made chocolate that was dark but sweet and it would melt in your mouth but wasn't all creamy with that slimy after feel of lecithin.  What's worse it that nasty PGPR that all the cheap companies are adding to chocolate, now.


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