After reading the thread about how awful Wilton Fondant is, I'm really not looking forward to spending time and money on it. I'm going to be taking Course 3 in a week and a half. Do I have to use Wilton Fondant or can I use something else? I'm assuming, since it's a Wilton Course, I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and make something no one will eat, but man! What a waste!

Becca

My instructor told us to bring fondant. She told us that Wilton was available, but we could bring whatever kind we wanted. I made MMF @ home & brought it w/me.

I've only had a few bring something other than Wilton. I haven't yelled at anyone or thrown them out of the class, but I do prefer for my students to use the Wilton Fondant in class.

While not everyone loves the taste it is a good first fondant. It is a great texture to learn on. If someone brings in a homemade fondant it could be too hard or too soft.

I decided to email my instructor and ask her. She said that I could bring whatever I wanted, but that homemade Marshmallow Fondant doesn't seem to work well for students. I'll check around and then decide. Thanks for the input.

Becca

I would suggest using the Wilton fondant for one night so that you get the feel/look of it before making your own. I've had students make their own for the first time using fondant and I've seen everything from a thick soupy fondant to rock hard brick of fondant

I agree with your instructor. When I was teaching I always gave out the marshmallow fondant recipe because some people wanted to save money and not buy the Wilton fondant, but there were always huge hassles working with it in class - it was too hard, too soft, had dimples, tore easily, etc...... Most students were very frustrated having to mess with it and it slowed the class down for me to try to help them get their fondant useable. For the sake of the class and learning to work with fondant it's nice to use the Wilton - it's consistant and easy to work with so you can focus your class time on learning fondant tools and techniques and not worrying about the issues of working with a homemade fondant. Maybe before class 4 you can try marshallow fondant and get the consistency right on it and bring that to those lessons. It would just help you to get the most out of your class time.

Don't forget your 40% off coupon!

I recommend using the wilton fondant at least until you get the hang of what fondant is supposed to feel like. I always put buttercream icing on first so that if no one wants to eat the fondant they can peel it off and still have icing on the cake.

One thing I can say about wilton's fondant, it ALWAYS performs well for me. Satin Ice is also good. Marshmallow fondant tastes good but doesnt always work well, it depends on the weather. I also like Sophiebelle's jello fondant, it tastes great and seems to roll out pretty nice (not as perfect as wilton).

Good luck!
ginger

I brought Satin Ice to class and had no issues.

I prefer that everyone use the Wilton fondant because

a) It's the same for all. When someone branches out to bring their own then everyone else wants to also and it makes for a disaster trying to fix everyone's fondant and there is my two hours of teaching time.

b) It's a great beginner tool. It is almost never fail. By bringing your own you chance not having a cake that turns out like you want it to look.

When I agree to letting them bring their own it I let them know that if it is holding up their class time then I'd like for them to opt out and use the Wilton for class and mess with their own on their own time because troubleshooting fondant to get it right will take away a huge amount of my class time.