I just recently started making cupcakes including the toppers to fit certain themes. I usually use Satin Ice Fondant vanilla MMF mixed with a little bit of tylose powder so they hold their shape - I then use either powder food color or americolor.

Kids love eating them, but I've had mixed responses from adults. Is it because some adults just don't like fondant, is the tylose powder and coloring changing the flavor too much, or are adults expecting them to taste like those premade sugar topper things you can buy in the store? I've worked with gumpaste in the past and don't really care working with it. Fondant & tylose have been easy to work with. I've heard people also use modeling chocolate/candy clay. Maybe I'm making them a little to thick. Any thoughts/preferences?

Most of the people who eat my fondant toppers like them. I personally don't really like the taste of them when I add Tylose but what can ya do!

My opinion, but Satin Ice is great to work with, but honestly it tastes terrible. Or, it's OK on the 1st bite, but that's all you really want of it. I'm not a big fan of MMF, it's just super sweet. And yeah, when you add coloring to get dark colors all you taste is food color.

I was making my own buttercream or white chocolate fondant (Michelle Fosters), but I recently discovered Massa Ticino, which is imported from Switzerland. It's a little more expensive but if you were ever going to eat fondant, you'd eat this. I am getting really great response from my customers too.

Anyway, if you want fondant that tastes really really good, look into it.

Jen

if you don't care for the taste of fondant plus tylose, you can also use a 1/2 fondant 1/2 gumpaste mix.

http://designmeacake.com/tgprec.html

I use Edna's recipe. It's easy to work with, and easy to make.

Kat

This is the one I use & I love it

Nicholas Lodge's Tylose Gumpaste Recipe

The following recipe will make approximately 2 pounds of gumpaste.
4 - Large Egg Whites
1 - 2 lb. bag 10x powdered sugar
12 - Level teaspoons Tylose
4 - Teaspoons shortening (Crisco)
1. Place the egg whites in a Kitchen Aid mixer bowl fitted with the flat paddle.
2. Turn the mixer on high speed for 10 seconds to break up the egg whites.
3. Reserve 1 cup of the powdered sugar and set aside.
4. Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and slowly add the remaining sugar. This will make a soft consistency royal icing.
5. Turn up the speed to setting 3 or 4 for about 2 minutes. During this time measure off the tylose into a small container.
6. Make sure the mixture is at the soft peak stage. It should look shiny, like meringue and the peaks fall over. (If coloring the entire batch, add the paste color at this stage, making it a shade darker than the desired color.)
7. Turn the mixer to the slow setting and sprinkle the tylose in over a five second time period. Next, turn the speed up to the high setting for a few seconds. (This will thicken the mixture.
8. Scrape the mixture out of the bowl onto a work surface that has been sprinkled with some of the reserved 1 cup of
powdered sugar. Place the shortening on your hands and knead the paste, adding enough of the reserved powdered sugar to form a soft but not sticky dough. You can check by pinching with your fingers and they should come away clean. Place the finished paste in a zip-top bag, then place the bagged paste in a second bag and seal well.
9. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours if possible before using to mature the paste.
10. Before use, remove from refrigerator and allow the paste to come to room temperature. Take a small amount of shortening on the end of your finger and knead this into the paste. If you are coloring the paste, add the paste color at this stage.
11. Always store the paste in the zip-top bags and return to the refrigerator when you are not using the paste. Will keep under refrigeration for approximately 6 months. You can keep the paste longer by freezing. Be sure to use zip-top freezer bags. If you will be freezing a batch of paste, allow it to mature for 24 hours in the refrigerator first before placing into the freezer

Thanks for the recipes, I can't wait to try them out! Since it has to be stored in the refrigerator, how does that effect the final product? ie: dried flowers or figurines??? Do they also need to be kept cold or are they okay left out? Thanks for your help!