I thinned some fondant for piping on my last cake...loved the look but found it difficult to work with. It was gooey. So what is the right consistency and how do you know when you are there? I would greatly appreciate your help. Thanks in advance.

I don't believe that you can thin fondant for piping... If you can, I'd also be interested to know how.

I have never heard of thinning fondant either. I would be interested to see if anyone has had success with this.

Wilton gives directions on thinning fondant for some of their cake designs. This is where I got the idea. There directions are not very detailed so I was looking for some help from you pros out there. I piped fondant on the cake included in my photos 'fondant romance'....the border and scroll work.

Did you start with poured fondant or rolled fondant?

Hmm, i've never heard of thinning fondant for piping before. Doesn't it get all slimy?

Leahs, The directions called for thinning of rolled fondant with water until it reaches a consistency for piping, let set for several hours, recheck consistency and then use for piping. I was hoping someone out there has used this method and could let me know what is the 'piping consistency' of thinned fondant? I really am not sure if I was able to achieve the optimal consistency. As I said I really like the look and the fact that you can cut through the design without it falling off the cake like royal or dried up bc.

Have never heard of thinning rolled fondant until its of piping consistency. Totally new one on me!

I haven't heard of thinning fondant but I'd be interested to know how it's done.

I've only come across thinning fondant for use as a glue- from my Wilton books. I'de also like to know if it is possible to pipe with.

Would putting crisco inside the decorating bag help with the slimyness?

You guys are sure you're not supposed to be using poured fondant?????

I don't know about thinning fondant for piping either, but am curious as to why one would want to do this?

Just recently i came accross a tutorial that calls for poured fondant. It is supposed to start with rolled fondant. you are supposed to microwave it to make it thin and runny. you can then use it to cover cupcakes and such. Anyway, apparently this does not work with every fondant. i tried it with some i had home that i made (MMF) and it was also very gooey. That didn't work well.

I have actually used the one that Wilton provides (yeah I preach against Wilton all the time . . .) but generally have to add a wee bit more powdered sugar because I like it thicker. If for petit fours, put a smear of bc on the top, freeze, then skewer from the bottom and dip to cover. Now here's the cool part. Put a cooling rack (grid) up on glasses or similar to elevate it. then drop the skewer through the rack and pull it out and the petit four is cooling on the rack and you haven't touched it.

Ladies, Instructions for this are on pg 115 of the book Wilton Wedding Cakes, A Romantic Portfolio. Thanks.

Nicholas Lodge also shows how this is done in one of his videos. I believe he thins it with piping gel and goes on to state this is preferred over royal icing as it doesn't get as hard as royal which make it easier to cut and also the piped border color will be identical to the cake since the same colored fondant is used.

This is a neat idea - I think I'll have to try it!

have done this a number of times - use water to thin down rolled fondant until piping consistency - didn't let it sit - - takes a lot of working the water in - have to start with a little at a time - piping consistency is as stiff as possible without breaking your hand! - I only use scratch-made fondant - don't know if this makes a difference or not....

I tried this over the weekend. I needed piped accents on a fondant bandana. Either I didn't work it enough or add enough water, but it was very very stiff and hard to pipe. It kept breaking. So I gave up and used BC. I'll have to try it again some day when I'm just playing around!

It would probably break if used with water that why Nick uses piping gel. Also, he mentioned using this for borders only. You would probably be better off using royal icing for the design.

Thanks sugarlove - i'll try it w/ piping gel next time!

Very cool trick, Leah; I've been wondering what one does to avoid fingerprints and the frustration that goes along with them.

Do you use a Wilton recipe for the poured fondant or is it a product that you buy and mix?

I'd love to try making petit fours.

Marianne

I used it between layers on a tiered cake. I did a tiny beading. I had seen the Wilton article and just watered my fondant that I used for the cake. It was a little slippery but it worked fine. I never thought of using piping gel with it and I'll try that next time.

I did it!  I thinned fondant for piping!  I kneaded Crisco in till it was pretty much the consistancy of chewing gum.  Then I put it in the piping bag with a number three tip.  It still was a bit hard to pipe so I put it in the micro wave for a few seconds.  The metal tip was no problem.  It was still a little sluggish, but the bag was hot, so i dipped the tip in boiling water for a few seconds, then dried it off.  I only wanted to pipe a few words.  I piped them onto parchment paper and let them harden.  When they were hard, I just lifted them off and put them on the cake right where I wanted them!

Use Crisco or Trex depending where you live.  It can be used for piping or lettering.  Use a metal pastry tube and your selected tip, highly recommend a simple piping tip.

AI use the Wilton recipe for poured fondant., found in most of their books.