Hi CCers I am going to attempt my first totally covered fondant cake (I have just done buttercream with fondant accents so far) So my question is should I make my own fondant (I have done this with the accents I have made) or should I just buy the ready made and color it with americolor. I have had trouble before while rolling out my home made fondant and have expieranced cracking and have gotten a little fustrated with it. I plan to cover a 10X10 square and a 9inch round and would like as little stress as possible, any suggestions would be appriciated!!

I always buy. It is worth it to me. Plus I was never able to get that perfectly smooth texture...guess I'm fondant impaired.

Me too. I've tried several mmf recipes, and I still prefer the reliability of good store bought fondant (NOT Wilton)!

I make MMF to use as accents,to use on small cakes and if I need lighter colors. If need to cover a large cake or I need deeper colors like red, black or purple I buy fondant.

I have been making cakes for nearly 8 years and I have been solely using MMF for the past 3-4 years. I prefer top use if because it tastes better and has a better mouth feel than the retail kind. also, I flavor it to match the flavor of the buttercream as well. I have had less problems with the scratch MMF, I use it for everything.

Tip - If it's been setting for a while and has gotten stiff, I heat it in the microwave for 10-20 second intervals, knead it and roll it out when it is barely warm.

Best of Luck to You !!!

I've been making Michele Foster's Updated fondant and it's wonderful to work with. I would love the convenience of buying Satin Fondant but since I only bake for family and friends, it's too expensive. If I was selling cakes, I would buy not make.

My personal rule of thumb...if the cake is red, black, navy or dark purple then I buy it...for everything else I make it.

It's really a question of cost savings vs convenience. I enjoyed working with Satin Ice, but it got expensive. I am a friends and family baker, so I don't charge much, if at all. Satin Ice was just too pricey for a free cake So I started making it and had pretty good luck. It's easy, quick, and cheap. But I agree with the other posters. If you want red or black, definitely buy it. There is a receipe on here for True Black MMF. I tried it but must not have added enough black. It just came out really dark brown. If I had to do it again, I'd just buy it. They're both perfectly good options. If I had money to burn, I'd buy

Thank you everybody for your advice. I think I will buy the Satin ice in white and color it the blue my friend wants (she is paying me to do it) I just am scared if I make the fondant I will just be so stressed about the results that the cost savings just won't be worth it. Just one more question for you....does the gel color and flavouring I will have to add change the consistency of the fondant? And what should I do to make it right again?

My husband thought he was helping and purchased me several of the 5lb boxes of Wilton white fondant using the 40% off coupons in the newspaper. I personally don't like the taste of the fondant, but I did find a way to flavor it and make the darker colors. I take a bag of wilton candy melts in whatever color I want to make. I melt the candies until they are creamy and stir in 1/2 c. of light corn syrup. If at that point, I need a deeper color, I pour my Americolor into the mixture and mix really well. I mean I stir until it's smooth and it starts to harden. Then, I turn the mixture out onto wax paper and let it cool for 4 hours. Then, I knead it into 30 oz of Wilton fondant. The flavor is good. I get a lot of compliments on it, and the coloring is sooo easy. Just yesterday, I made red and black with very little work. Now if I'm making black, I use the dark chocolate melts. It's just easier that way.

If that is confusing, let me know. I'm sort of rush typing.

It can be soft but I live in a humid environment. I usually like to make it at least a day before I need it and then store it in a vacuum seal bag to set. If it's still too soft just need in some more of the Wilton fondant. Also, I prefer to knead in the candy melts in small pieces with small pieces of fondant. It's easier to combine that way. The color will deepen over night as it sets so be aware of that. Let me know what you think.

i haven't been doing cakes long but i realized pretty quickly that making all your own fondant is very time consuming - it just seemed easier to me to buy it. and for me the bought fondant was a lot easier to work with. cakesupplies4u has it the cheapest i've seen.

i make my fondant. even red and black. i use the powdered colours to get it going.. and it works really well! also, i make mmf, so if i know im making red, ill colour it dark pink in the cooking process, for black, i just mix all my multi color bits of fondant together, along with some coco powder, then add some black powder colour. it works great for me.

I make my own for three reasons...
1) its 20 thousand times cheaper.
2) fpre-made fondant isnt readily available where i am.. yes i know i can order online.. but im a wimp...lol
and 3) makes me feel better when i can say i made everything from scratch. =)

i experimented with making my own, and its just to much hassel for me, i prefer to buy it to get the same good quality control, much easier and for me, there isnt a great difference in price to buying it and making it