I have 3 birthday cakes to make for October 9th and I am trying to decide if I should try to make the fondant (i never have before) or buy already made? Opinions please....

oh dear... three?? I would most definitely make the fondant the week before. Store-bought is SO expensive.. especially if you want it to taste good. I always do marshmallow fondant. It took me a couple of times to get the hang of it, but now, making it is a breeze. I can easily whip out 3-4 batches within an evening after school.

I think i will try to make it this weekend and see what happens and if I fail completely.....I tried the Duff kind from Michaels and it tastes good, but it is pricy!!! We have a cake decorating store here in my town, but I have never tried theirs....

I always use the mmf too. Taste good and is a lot cheaper than the store bought. Good luck.

hands down make that fondant. It is so easy to do. and tastes great.

It's not too hard to make, and you will be happier with the taste and saving money!

I always make my own too, it really does taste better and is way cheaper, but I do have a question for all th MMF users. As of now I have only made 3 wedding cakes all have been off white weddings or colored specialty cakes. Whenever I make the MMF it is off white any trick to making it wedding white?

I buy satin ice either on line or from my local cake supply store!!! Satin Ice tastes pretty good too
http://www.cakesupplies4u.com/Departments/Brands/Satin-Ice/White-Vanilla.aspx?sortorder=1&page=1
pretty good price on there! Good luck whichever way you decide to do it! And have fun!

Definitely make the fondant! Once I tried it, I never looked back. I use the simple recipe on this site; marshmallows, water, vanilla, powdered sugar. It's great and people love the taste. Trial run it early to get a feel for it and make sure to let it rest. Now I would only use store bought in very small packages for accents if I need a lot of colors at once. Best of luck!

Wilton fondant is not gross like it use to be...and is so nice to work with I was shocked. Its nice to mix home made with that. Its very expensive to buy so I usually make it and I use Rhondas recipe. here it is
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

you could also use your coupon at micheals for either wilton or duff fondant

I used to buy Satin Ice, I tried making marshmallow fondant, it was too dry for me.
Lately I have been making Michelle Foster's fondant(in recipe section). it tastes great and is super easy to make.

http://www.cakeswebake.com/video/fondant-tutorial


Go to this link and watch this video if you are wanting to ry MMF. I made about 10 batches, and it worked okay, but never was quite right, until watching this video, and then it just clicked, and all my batches since then have turned out wonderfully! good luck!

I like to use marshmellow fondant , If its too dry I microwave it for a few seconds and its easy to work with. Otherwise I like to use Satin Ice fondant, tastes great and comes in many colors and is easy to work with. i found it quite reasonably priced at ultimate bakers website .

thanks everyone...I will watch the video and I think I will give it a try this weekend....how far in advance can I make it?

I see no need to buy premade fondant when making mmf is so easy and much cheaper. Once mixed up, we've kept it around for a couple weeks (make sure it's wrapped tightly and well in plastic wrap, otherwise it will dry out and make it hard to not have hard bits in there you'll want to pick out) to no ill effect... I've got a variety of fondant balls now from our last few cakes over the past couple weeks that, so long as they're not rock hard when I unwrap them, I'd have no qualms using up on another cake...

The only kind of fondant I'd be unsure about keeping around for much later use is chocolate fondant but that's only because I just made it for the first time this weekend but I think we have a ball of that wrapped too, so I'll see how it stands up to being made ahead of time (it's a bit drier than regular mmf to begin with). But regular mmf? Mix it up, wrap it good and it should be fine... when you unwrap it, it will be stiffer than when you left it, just grease up and knead it and it should be just fine.

http://www.cakeswebake.com/video/fondant-tutorial .this brings me right back here????.........lol...oops now its working haa

ok I may just try doing it this way, because mine is too looseusing crisco in bowl....I just add extra sugar until its not....but I will try it without greasing the bowl to see if its better...thanks for tip