Well today I tried something new. I made a chocolate fondant icing and tried to decorate a cake with it. As a beginner with this technique, I obviously had some struggles. First off, I had trouble finding a chocolate flavored fondant recipe. I finally found a chocolate marshmallow fondant recipe but while preparing it, it turned out too crumbly so I added corn syrup and vegetable shortening. I thought I had it pliable enough to use. Not so!!! The fondant still seamed to be too tough and didn't lay on the cake very well. I also had trouble with getting the fondant to stick to the cake. I crumb coated the cake with frosting but the frosting dried out and hardened before I put the fondant on. That mistake is something I can easily fix. Is there a good recipe for chocolate fondant icing or should I resort to buying pre-made fondant? I really would like to learn and strengthen this technique and use it for an upcoming birthday cake I need to make.
It would be a lot easier to start with regular fondant than chocolate. It's tricky to make chocolate marshmallow fondant.
I tried to substitute corn syrup for water in the recipe I used. I think the corn syrup reacted with the melted chocolate chips just like water does resulting in the tough, crumbly texture. Since I'm just a home baker, can I get fondant in 1 gallon pales and how long with it keep? Does it freeze good?
I"m not sure about 1 lb , but I buy a lot of my less used colors in 2 lbs. Michaels and probably any of the other craft stores carry them. With the 40% or 50% off coupon they run weekly it's very affordable and as long as you keep it wrapped up and the container sealed it will last months. I have never tried freezing it.
A few tricks I've learned about mmf, cause I've ran into this problem soooo many tines...
this time of year you should be able to find chocolate marshmallows. I buy them, French vanilla, and a few other flavors to tide me over til next year... So I use that as a base, I add half the chocolate chips called for, and the water is essential. My recipe calls for both water and corn syrup. And instead of a full 8 cups of ps, I also cut that back too. It doesn't keep really well and you may have to nuke a few times, but only for about 10-20 sec depending on your microwave. If you have the crumbly fondant, the trick ive found is meltng it back to almost liquid in the microwave. Mine does this in about 1 min. It's HOT so let it chill and coat with ps well as it's still sticky. I've found that working with straight marshmallow fondant, I get the best results when it's warm, not to mention my hands don't tire as quickly. I've also learn with mmf, less ps is awesome for covering cakes. It doesn't hold it's shape on it's own, so don't try to sculpt with it, but it rolls out beautifully and smooths out sooo awsome and it rips less. I've also been told it tastes sooo much better as it doesn't dry out like it's more sugary counterparts.
When it comes to the fondant sticking to the cake, get some piping gel or those little decorating gels they sell in the grocery store cake aisle. Put a thin ring around the outer edge of the top and along the base. Make sure the fondant is thin enough too, I've done that a few times and it didn't come out pretty.
And my last tip, don't work in a cold cold room! my cake studio is inan addition that I think they skimped on the insulation. I can't even make mmf in there if it's less than 60 degrees outside. Add to that we have gas heat so whenever I'm working with fondant, I run a humidifier about 2 hours before I start working and it keeps my mmf from drying out.
Thanks esangston. Those are the suggestions I was looking for. I'll keep the room temp. in mind the next time I try mmf. The chocolate marshmallows is a great idea. I'm pretty sure I ended up using too much ps. I found the recipe I used on this site and it had mixed reviews. Too much ps was the biggest complaint so I made sure I used less than what the recipe called for and it was still too much.
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