Which do you prefer and why,

Buttercream or Fondant?

Marc and I have this conversation all the time at the bakery.


Would love to hear what you all have to say!

Reva and Marc
mercibeaucoupweddings.com

For the most part I prefer b'cream. I have learned fondant and it's not bad but mostly I can ice a cake in b'cream at least twice as fast as I can do it in fondant.
Fondant (up until aobut 2 yrs ago that I know of) isn't well accepted in this area.
I got at least a dozen order in b'cream to one fondant.

Buttercream, because it's more productive compared to the waaaay too time-consuming fondant work.

(I'm normally a very patient person, but not so much with fondant!)

in my neck of the woods, people prefer buttercream! That is all I decorate with but use fondant accents.

The question of Buttercream or Fondant reminds me of this question:

Do you ride the bus to school or carry your lunch.

YES to both!!

I do much more buttercream, but LOVE to model fondant.. it's just a joy to have both to use!

BOTH!

different cakes call for fidd mediums.

I like the taste of bc but like the look of fondant more. Maybe when I can "master" Sharon's buttercream dvd I might enjoy working with bc more too.

I'm like wendyintx- all BC cakes w/fondant accents. No one around here likes the taste of fondant, soooooo.....

Buttercream icing with fondant and gum paste accents are my personal favorites and about 99% of my cakes are done this way. My problem with fondant is that fondant that is easier to work with tastes like paste and the yummier kind of fondant is SO frustrating to work with. So I just spend extra time to get my buttercream as smooth as fondant. It does limit me in terms of design every once in a while - so I really should learn to use fondant - but I always need a glass of wine and a nap by the time I am done trying to cover a cake! Maybe I need a Reva lesson - you always look so calm when you are doing it!

dupl thread .... see add'l responses at http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6483782-.html#6483782

I like both, but am also still learning both. Buttercream with fondant/gum paste accent is more often than not what gets requested around here (rather than all fondant), and is probably my comfort zone.

I love the look of all fondant, but covering a cake often makes me yell. I like the idea of a glass of wine while rolling fondant. Maybe that's what I need! One before, one during and one after. It might not look any better, but at that point I won't care!

Though really? If I could do buttercream flowers like Marc? I might change my mind to all buttercream. I can do a decent rose, but nothing as lovely and victorian looking as what he manages. Yet.

Buttercream for sure. I think Fondant tastes like paste and so do most of my clients. I do love the look of fondant but, if I pay good money for a cake I want a good layer of buttercream on it not paste...lol

Mooj I love your work! What buttercream recipe do you use that you get as smooth as fondant?

Fondant! I think it looks great and keeps the cake fresh.

I love buttercream! Fondant is very pretty on a cake but most people do not like the taste of it. I have only used fondant a couple times and will put plenty of BC under because most people just peel the fondant off. I think a cake looks really nice if the buttercream could be smoothed to get the look of fondant.

Thanks for the compliment! I don't really have a special recipe for smooth buttercream - it's more of a method. I've done it with all kinds of buttercream recipes. I smooth it with a scraper and let it hang out for about 10 minutes or so. Then I smooth it with a spatula dipped in boiling water. Keep dipping and wiping it dry and then smoothing until you get it the way you want it. The secret is not to press too hard while smoothing the buttercream. If I make a mistake, I just add more buttercream and re-smooth - voila!

Thanks for the compliment! I don't really have a special recipe for smooth buttercream - it's more of a method. I've done it with all kinds of buttercream recipes. I smooth it with a scraper and let it hang out for about 10 minutes or so. Then I smooth it with a spatula dipped in boiling water. Keep dipping and wiping it dry and then smoothing until you get it the way you want it. The secret is not to press too hard while smoothing the buttercream. If I make a mistake, I just add more buttercream and re-smooth - voila!

Thanks for the compliment! I don't really have a special recipe for smooth buttercream - it's more of a method. I've done it with all kinds of buttercream recipes. I smooth it with a scraper and let it hang out for about 10 minutes or so. Then I smooth it with a spatula dipped in boiling water. Keep dipping and wiping it dry and then smoothing until you get it the way you want it. The secret is not to press too hard while smoothing the buttercream. If I make a mistake, I just add more buttercream and re-smooth - voila!

Holy smokes! I have no idea why that message posted three times - sorry!

About 2 months ago I found a recipe on this site for White almond sour cream wedding cake(WASC). We were planning an engagement party for my daughter(which was this past weekend) and she wanted me to make the cake. I did a trial run and made half the recipe. It was fantastic and this was the cake she wanted for the party. She asked for me to make a square cake to look like a gift box. I made 1 1/2 recipes for two 12 in squares which I cut to four layers. After piping buttercream around the edges I filled the layers with seedless raspberry jam. After applying buttercream to the entire cake I covered it with marshmallow fondant.
After tasting the Wilson fondant I decided to give the marshmallow recipe a try. It also was fantastic! The cake came out beautiful and everyone of our guests raved about it. I urge everyone to try making the marshmallow fondant recipe, it's easy and very tastey.

I like both! It all depends on what I have to do.

Even though I'm a newbie, I've found I prefer fondant. I just can't seem to pipe well at all and get so frustrated - but I have fun (usually when working with fondant. Now if I could just get the cakes covered smoothly everytime...

The majority of my cakes are fondant. It's very rare that someone asks for all buttercream. I prefer fondant because it's easier to work with and you can do so much with it. Buttercream.......too much work and I'm just not very good at it. With fondant you just "slap" it on and off you go, kwim? lol

The majority of my cakes are fondant. It's very rare that someone asks for all buttercream. I prefer fondant because it's easier to work with and you can do so much with it. Buttercream.......too much work and I'm just not very good at it. With fondant you just "slap" it on and off you go, kwim? lol

I mostly use buttercream because of the taste of fondant. You go through all that trouble and the customer peels it off. Maybe I'll try the marshmellow fondant someday. Does Duff on Ace of Cakes ever use Buttercream? Just a thought.

I mostly use buttercream because of the taste of fondant. You go through all that trouble and the customer peels it off. Maybe I'll try the marshmellow fondant someday. Does Duff on Ace of Cakes ever use Buttercream? Just a thought.

I think it's a matter of personal opinion! It's like to like tomatoes on your burger or not!!

I do a good mix of both and when people like the look of fondant but still want to have the BC flavour like a traditional cake I crumbcoat in BC and fill with BC...That way you get the look and the taste you want because every bite will taste like frosted cake! Also if you get some people who just detest the taste of fondant they can peel it off their piece and still have the cake and icing combo!