Fondant Cake Decorating

It's Not as Hard as You Think!

Once you get the hang of it, though, fondant cake decorating really isn't hard at all. It is time-consuming, and there are a couple of techniques and tools to learn about, but it's also a really fun process and a great creative outlet as well.

So roll up your sleeves and get ready to get sticky!

So, What's Fondant?

And How Do You Make It?

If you don't want to stir until your arm falls off, you can process the fondant in a food processor for several minutes. It works just as well. Flavorings and food coloring can be added too.

If you add extra sugar syrup to this mixture and warm it up you'll get what's known as poured fondant. You can ice cakes, cupcakes or petits fours with this type of fondant. It has a lovely, shiny finish.

If you knead the mixture instead of adding extra sugar syrup, you'll make rolled fondant. This is the kind most people are familiar with. It's rolled out thinly with a rolling pin and used for covering cakes, making cutouts, sculpting little figures, and making all sorts of intricate and colorful cake designs.

There are a couple of not-so-traditional ways to make fondant too. There's the popular marshmallow fondant recipe (MMF) and another no-cook recipe which originated in England that we'll refer to as classic rolled fondant. We have a great, no-fail classic rolled fondant icing recipe that covers cakes beautifully. It calls for a couple of less common ingredients than the MMF recipe. There's also rolled buttercream fondant. Try them each and see which one you like best.

The main purpose of fondant (at least the kneaded and rolled kind) is decoration. Although it's certainly edible, many people find it too sweet, and rolled fondant is often peeled off the cake and left on the plate. The poured fondant, however, is a different story. It has a wonderful texture and taste (it picks up the flavorings better) and in our opinion, absolutely makes petits fours. Yum!

Both rolled and poured fondant can be made from store-bought mixes if you're pressed for time or low on motivation. But they're definitely not as good as homemade!

Working With Fondant

You can...

• cover a cake with it
• top cupcakes with it
• ice cookies with a very thin layer of it
• dye it any color you like with food coloring
• paint it any color you like with food coloring or food painting pens
• flavor it (vanilla, almond, and rum extracts come to mind)
• make decorative cutout shapes with it
• roll it into "pearls" and use them as a border
• braid strands of it and use it as a border
• twist strands of it and use it as a border
• drape it like fabric over a portion of your cake
• make cute little figures out of it