How do you make fondant?

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

Get a professional look with homemade fondant if you know how to make it

With all of the cake decorating shows now on TV, more and more people want to create cake masterpieces with fondant. Unfortunately, buying fondant is expensive. Most of us know how to make frosting, but how do you make fondant? The answer is easier than you think.

Below are two easy fondant recipes you can use to make fondant at home for a faction of the price of commercial fondant. The first is a non-traditional marshmallow based recipe, and the second is a basic bakery fondant recipe.

Ready to create your own perfect cake?

Easy Marshmallow Fondant

This simple, three ingredient recipe comes from the Piece of Cake website, a North Carolina wedding and special events bakery

Ingredients:

1 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows
3 tablespoons of water
2 lbs. powdered sugar
Optional: candy or baking flavoring

Directions:

Put marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl
Add the water
Microwave for 2 minutes
Stir marshmallows making sure it?s all melted
Add your flavoring
Mix in powdered sugar until dough is workable (not too sticky to handle)
Knead dough on a powdered sugar surface and keep adding powdered sugar to make dough less sticky and more workable
Allow fondant to set up overnight, covered at room temperature
Before you use, microwave for 30 seconds and knead until smooth and pliable

Traditional Fondant Recipe

If you want to know how do you make fondant that’s more like the kind you buy in tubs at cake supply stores, here’s the recipe for you.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon glycerin
2 pounds 10X powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon original Crisco (white, unflavored)
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Directions:

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl
Let it rest for 2 minutes to soften
Place the bowl in a microwave for 30 seconds on high, or until the gelatin dissolves
Add almond extract, stir to blend
Add corn syrup and glycerin
Stir until mixture is smooth and clear (if mixture is not both smooth and clear, microwave for an additional 15 to 20 seconds on high and stir again)
Set aside 1/2 pound of sugar
Sift remaining sugar into a large bowl
Using your hand or a wooden spoon, make a hole in the sugar and pour in the liquid
Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes sticky
Sift some of the remaining 1/2 pound of sugar onto a smooth work surface
Work additional sugar into the dough until it can be handled without sticking to hands
Knead the fondant sugar to form a smooth, pliable dough
Use hands to knead shortening into the fondant
Wrap finished fondant in plastic wrap and place it in a tightly sealed container (to prevent it from drying out)

Using the Fondant

To use the fondant, make sure you have a clean work surface and a smooth plastic or marble rolling pin. A lazy Susan will make placing and smoothing the fondant onto the cake easier, and a fondant pad will keep it smooth as you roll.

Make sure your homemade cake is completely cooled and has a rough coat of frosting before you try to apply any fondant.