Hi All,

As a newbie I've been thinking about this post for a few days now and finally want to put it out there to see what kind of feedback I get. I find that the cost of my first fondant cake was a bit more than I had expected. Because it was my first cake I didn't want to experiment with too many recipes (making fondant, making buttercream, making batter, etc.) - was this my mistake? The pre-made things I purchased cost the following:

Wilton Fondant - $11.99
Wilton Buttercream Mix - $5.99
Piping Gel - $5.99

Would it be more cost effective to make all of it? Additionally, how do you deal with leftovers? For instance I have a few bits of fondant left and a majority of the piping gel. How do you store? Or can you?

Any information you guys can provide me would be great. I'd like to be as cost effective as possible so I don't run out my budget on making unnecessary cakes that only get 1/2 eaten (BF doesn't like sweets!).

Cheers,
Caike ^-^

Don't buy Wilton fondant for a cake that someone intends to eat. Also, it is the most expensive fondant, and the grossest tasting to boot. Making your own will save you a lot of money.

Piping gel stores in it's container, fondant is sealed in a ziplock for future (very near) use.

Search out some recipes in here. A lot of people start off making MMF (marshmallow) for their frist time, and graduate to MFF (Michele Foster)...good luck!

Ok - I wondered if it was just me regarding the taste of the Wilton fondant...not the greatest thing in the world at all. I have a two tier planned within the next two weeks to try out some stuff from the site - I will make the fondant this time and see how things go.

Wilton fondant is the most awesome stuff in the world for covering dummies with, I love it's consistency and smoothness. If it tasted great, shoot...it would be perfect as far I'm concerned.

Wilton products do not always taste best, but they are great teaching tools, so by all means, use them to learn with, then, like Jamie said, move on to something else.

I see you are in Ontario. Are there any chain-type craft stores near you? If so, see if they have a website that offers a mailing list with coupon offers. Even if you have to buy Wilton, with coupons, you can save up to 50% off the price.

I would stay away from the buttercream mix. Take a few of the buttercream recipes from the section here on CC and experiment with them to see which you like best. You'll get a lot more from a scratch BC recipe than you will from the mix.

Theresa

Thanks all!

Does anyone have a breakdown of a cake they've made recently and what the cost was piece by piece? Let me know; I'd be interested to see the end results to know if I'm wasting all too much, etc.

If you plan on doing this as a business, I suggest you buy some software that is compatible to your needs. One of our members sells Cake Boss, which does all that and more.

Theresa

Hi Caike,
I'm in Ontario too, where are you? Golda's Kitchen or McCall's are the best places to buy your supplies. They both have websites you can check out. Wilton stuff is great for learning--as mentioned--but no good for cost effectiveness. I started out making Michele Foster's fondant (recipe on here--only one "l' in Michele) and it works great for me. Plus you can manipulate the flavor any way you want. HTH!

Oh--forgot to mention...go to flyerland.ca to print off the weekly Michael's coupons.

Golda's is outside of Toronto but they have really reasonable shipping rates. Their website can be slow but it's so worth it. You might spend nearly as much time on it as you do Cake Central!

Go for it and good luck at the fair!

Where outside of Toronto is Golda's ? I've been to McCalls, and their warehouse. And spend way too much money everytime!

It's in Mississauga on Argentia Rd. Exit Winston Churchill off the 401. They've got more than cake decorating supplies but there cake stock is huge. It's easy to blow the bank there!

Thanks alanaj ! I'll be heading there soon!