Rolled Fondant – Cake Decorating Series

Of course you can buy fondant from any cake decorating store, but where is the fun in that? Learning to make your own rolled fondant is important for any cake decorator. You can control the flavor (I find my fondant tastes much better), the consistency and the color much better than any store bought fondant. It will allow you to take your cake creations to the next level; you’re only limited by your imagination!

So far in our cake decorating series we have made a red-velvet cake (view the cake recipe here) and we have made some delicious butter cream frosting (view recipe here).

Directions:

Yield: One Large Ball

1. In a medium saucepan, place the cold water. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and leave this mixture to sit for about five minutes to soften.
2. While the gelatin mixture is sitting, take a large plastic bowl and dump all but 1 cup of your icing sugar into this bowl. Make a small well in the center of the icing sugar.
3. After five minutes has passed, place the saucepan containing the gelatin mixture over medium heat on the stove. Stir the mixture until it melts and remove from the heat. It will not take long to melt so be careful to not let it reach the boiling point!
4. Add the corn syrup and mix. The corn syrup will prevent your fondant from crystallizing and will help to keep your fondant soft.
5. Add the glycerine and mix. The glycerine will also prevent crystallization, but it will also help the fondant to retain moisture which will prevent it from hardening.
6. Add the vanilla and mix.
7. Take the liquid mixture that we just created and empty it into the well in the icing sugar and mix together.
8. Once you are finished mixing, dump the fondant onto the counter and start kneading. You will want to knead the fondant exactly like you would knead bread dough. If your fondant is too sticky, sprinkle with icing sugar as needed. Watch the video below for best instructions.
9. Fondant works best if you leave it to sit for at least eight hours. To store your fondant, place in a Ziploc bag or plastic bag. Try to remove as much of the air as possible. Then place this bag in an air-tight container.

It’s that simple. Coming up next week, I will show you how to decorate your cake and cover it with rolled fondant. Enjoy!