Making Fondant
So, I learned to cover a cake with fondant by watching Cake
Boss. Yes, that is right. No culinary school. No Wilton Fondant course (I did
take the beginning one and I was not impressed). I tell my children all the
time that they will rot their brain by watching too much TV, but perhaps I am
being a little harsh. In the winter of 2010, I was a religious watcher of Cake
Boss, Cupcake Wars, and The Baby Story (I was 8 months pregnant). We had not
bought the bakery, although I was deep in the over analyzing phase of “I want to
own my own business and not teach school”. I was also planning the owl themed baby
shower of my good friend, Amber. “It can’t be that hard to make fondant” I
thought one day as I was watching Cake Boss. So I searched until I found a
recipe that I had all the ingredients for in my kitchen and headed to work. It seemed
so daunting that I wrote down two pages of directions to accompany the recipe. It
is the recipe we still use at the bakery and it really isn’t difficult,
although weather will affect the quality of the fondant:
Marshmallow Fondant
One 2lb bag of powdered sugar
One big bag of marshmallows
2-5 Tbs water
*crisco
*optional: 1-2 teaspoons of extract
First cover all bowls and utensils with Crisco. You will be
happy that you did. Melt the marshmallows and water in the microwave at 30
second intervals, stirring each time it beeps, for 2 minutes or until the
marshmallows are melted. Dump the marshmallows into your mixer with the
extract, if desired. Using the greased dough attachment add about ¼ of the bag
of powdered sugar and mix until combined. You can color the fondant either
while you are adding the powdered sugar or while you are kneading the finished
fondant. Slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar until as much is combined as
the mixer can possibly handle. It will be strained. Turn out onto the counter
and knead in about a teaspoon of Crisco until smooth. Put powdered sugar on
the counter if the fondant is sticking. This is really the only tricky part, as
the amount of Crisco and powdered sugar will depend on humidity and
temperature. The fondant should not be sticky, it should feel like firm play
dough and have some stretch. Wrap it in plastic wrap until ready to use. It
will keep well wrapped in the plastic (you may want to double bag it) for a
month. If it seems too difficult to roll out, it can go in the microwave for a
few seconds until it is soft (don’t over do it). Use powdered sugar on the
counter when you roll the fondant. If you have a plastic rolling pin, it will
work better than wood. This fondant won’t dry quite as stiff as store fondant,
but it tastes WAY better!
I hadn't decided to try this fondant cake until about three days before the shower. Don't get me wrong, I had never intended to buy a baby shower cake, that just isn't my style. I have been a "do-it-yourself" kind of girl since way before Pinterest made it cool. I am the person who crochets, sews, paints and reads the farmers almanac like a 90 year old woman as opposed to the 30 something that I am. And don't even get me started on how my choice of music has never fit into the norm (when Kelly Osborn came out with Papa Don't Preach, I though it was an original). Believe me, it isn't cool when you grow up in a small Appalachian town and beg to take private art lessons but the only teacher is one who talks to her collection of baby dolls. For whatever ingrained reason, I insist on making things on my own. So, I made baby Caroline her first fondant cake.
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| Baby Shower |
Here are Caroline’s first and second birthday cakes so you want to see the progression of skills one can have over a few years of continuous practice (and diligent TV watching).
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| 1st Birthday |
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| 2nd Birthday |
What I learn from each fondant cake I design (and I have made a lot) is that I have more to learn. The actual process of covering a cake with fondant can be a bit tricky. I will post
pictures of the process in a future post, but the only way to really understand
how to cover a cake is to give it a try.
