I want to begin baking cakes professionally and I noticed that many cakes have fondant icing on them. So, I was wondering if any of you use fondant icing on your cakes. If so, does it taste good, or do you prefer cakes with normal icing?
Do you use fondant icing on your cakes?
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Rosyrain
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Fondant is kind of a gummy type icing and it is good in small doses. I like it when there is a layer of buttercream frosting underneath . You can make some amazing looking cakes with fondant. I would just recommend to keep the fondant layer thin.
pattyk
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I use fondant all the time when decorating fruit cakes; I put a layer of marzipan or almond paste between the cake and the fondant, and I brush the marzipan with a little brandy before covering as this will help it to stick and not move or slip off when you go to cut it - believe me I've seen it happen!
If you want to put fondant on a chocolate cake I recommend doing a crumb-coat of chocolate ganache and allowing it to firm up in the fridge before you cover it with the fondant. For a vanilla or white cake, a layer of vanilla buttercream as a crumb-coat, and again firmed up in the fridge, will give you a sharp and professional looking finish to your fondant topped cake.
Hope this helps.
If you want to put fondant on a chocolate cake I recommend doing a crumb-coat of chocolate ganache and allowing it to firm up in the fridge before you cover it with the fondant. For a vanilla or white cake, a layer of vanilla buttercream as a crumb-coat, and again firmed up in the fridge, will give you a sharp and professional looking finish to your fondant topped cake.
Hope this helps.
Rosyrain
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PattyK- sounds like you are a professional at this and I bet your cakes taste amazing. What is a crumb coat? I am thinking that this means enought icing so that your cake does not start to crumble, but I may be totally off in my thinking. Do you make your own fondant, or buy it premade from the store and then just roll it out?
Alunny
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Never heard of cakes being made not to be eaten @sklauda1, unless you're talking about window cakes but I always assumed they were sold eventually or fakes ha ha. I wanted to get into using fondant too but I was really worried about the taste.
I wonder if there's an alternative or a way to get such a great finish without using it? Specifically the smoothness, or if not, creating a texture that is appealing.
I wonder if there's an alternative or a way to get such a great finish without using it? Specifically the smoothness, or if not, creating a texture that is appealing.
pattyk
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Hi Rosyrain, I'm not a professional - but thanks for thinking that I am!
Seriously though, I just love cooking, baking cakes, decorating cakes, and pretty much anything to do with food. Anyway, a crumb coat is what you put on your cake before you put your top coat of icing on. It's a layer of buttercream that you smooth out onto your cake, and it catches any loose crumbs that might be knocking about after you've baked and/or trimmed your cake. You don't want them to find their way through your icing so that they're on show when you serve it, so the crumb coat will seal them in for you. Once you've applied your crumb coat, put it in the fridge to firm up; if you've smoothed it out well, you will end up with nice sharp edges that will help to give your final top layer of icing a beautifully edged and smooth finish. When firm, apply your top layer of buttercream or fondant, and that's all there is to it really.
About the fondant, I confess I mostly use ready made and roll it out myself. I've had a go at making my own, but I'm not that good at it yet. So for now, the shop made stuff is perfect, and tastes just as good as any I've made myself. I do like to colour my own though.
I hope this helps
queenbellevue
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Fondant looks great but tastes awful in my opinion. It's mainly used to decorate cakes, especially when you see those shaped cakes. I like food for the taste so I prefer traditional icing by far
ReadmeByAmy
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Nowadays cakes with fondant icings are attractive because of its colorful icings,designs and cake accessories. I had watched one time a baking show making a tutorial how to do it. And it is different from making an ordinary icing. I had not yet tried this kind of cake and what I am usually doing is just an ordinary icing for my cake.
Rosyrain
Veteran
Hi Rosyrain, I'm not a professional - but thanks for thinking that I am!
Anyway, a crumb coat is what you put on your cake before you put your top coat of icing on. It's a layer of buttercream that you smooth out onto your cake, and it catches any loose crumbs that might be knocking about after you've baked and/or trimmed your cake. You don't want them to find their way through your icing so that they're on show when you serve it, so the crumb coat will seal them in for you. Once you've applied your crumb coat, put it in the fridge to firm up; if you've smoothed it out well, you will end up with nice sharp edges that will help to give your final top layer of icing a beautifully edged and smooth finish. When firm, apply your top layer of buttercream or fondant, and that's all there is to it really.
About the fondant, I confess I mostly use ready made and roll it out myself. I've had a go at making my own, but I'm not that good at it yet. So for now, the shop made stuff is perfect, and tastes just as good as any I've made myself. I do like to colour my own though.
I hope this helps
They have a cake decorating/baking section at Michael's Crafts and I saw that there is ready to make fondant there and all you have to do is add the coloring to it and roll it out. The only confusing part to me is that the fondant was already in it's dough form, so I imagine that you would need to use a gel or powder coloring and knead the coloring in the dough; this would be time consuming. I am excited to give it a try as I want to learn how to fondant a cake.