Hi Everyone,
Like so many of you, I love looking at all the awesome cakes here at CC and wonder about all those beautiful fondant decorated ones. I've only worked with fondant a tiny bit and admire those of you who are so good with it.

My question though is after taking so much time and putting in so much effort for those designs, small details, characters, bows, etc, etc...and assuming nobody really eats that part, do you find it's really worth the effort? I'm not knocking it by any means. I really want to learn how to do it myself. But I fear that the cost for such detail and the fact that nobody eats it will detour me from making cakes like that.

I suppose anyone who orders that type of cake is most likely asking for such detail, likes fondant and can afford a cake like that but I continue to wonder if you as the decorater find it hard to see it all thrown away, put aside or whatever it is they do with it besides eat it?

I'd love to hear your comments on this and what kind of feedback you get from people whom you make these cakes for.
Thanks!
KimAZ

That's really cool that you brought up this subject. Being a new decorator myself I was also wondering this. I think that maybe that is why I can't bring myself to actually work with it yet. I need the additional motivation. I made one cake covered in fondant and my hubby didn't like the taste. But then again if it isn't fast food he doesn't like it.
Any way, I would love to learn to work with all different kinds of mediums but also need the reassurance that it is what people are going to want. And that they will enjoy it. I'll stop now cause I think I'm no longer making sense.

Lazy_Susan

I was watching a show on Food Network about Disney weddings and one of the chefs was talking about a certain cake they make w/colored fondant. She said that most people don't like the taste of fondant b/c it's too sweet but they like the look of it and she said that those people just peel it off and eat the cake underneath. I guess it's more of an aesthetics thing rather than a taste thing.

I don't know, seems like alot of work and money (for supplies to make or get fondant) for folks to toss it. Still have to try MMF and hope that is good enough to eat.

deb

I like the look of fondant and don't mind the extra work. But, I really don't like the taste. Bleah! My young daughter, who goes to lots of weddings, says "everybody" peels off the fondant. In fact - and I find this HARD to believe - she said she was watching some wedding planner show where the planner said that's how you can tell if the cake server is experienced...whether they peel off the fondant before serving or not. I can't IMAGINE that! Don't you find that bizarre?

It's interesting that there is so much written aobut how BAD fondant is. When I started working with it, having only read about it and not seen it much before, I always told people that fondant wasn't very good and they might not want to eat it. I was surprised when almost everyone left not a scrap. (Chocolate fondant is especially well received) I do put a light icing under the fondant almost all of the time, so people definitely could leave the fondant, but they don't. I've done about 30 cakes now with fondant (I know that isn't that many) and it virtually always gets eaten. It's a puzzlement. I don't know why my experience is so different than eveybody elses. I don't ever say anything aobut fondant not tasting good anymore. Sometimes I wonder if saying it is just a self-fulfilling prphecy......

Just my $0.02. Your mileage may may vary.....

Shalom,
itsacake

Wow, I've never heard of a server peeling the fondant before it's served. I really want to try MMF and hope I have good luck with it but I've seen a few threads here where people say they have had success with fondant they purchase online.

I've never heard of a server peeling it off either. Interesting.

I think fondant gets a bad reputation because of the nasty Wilton fondant. My thoughts are: that's what most people have tried if they've tried fondant- especially in smaller areas, and if the cake decorator hasn't been introduced to this wonderful board to learn about new things! It's the consistency that generally gets most people that aren't used to anything but buttercream. I use Satin Ice and FondX and they both taste pretty good. I've had customer who swore they hated fondant to try a little taste of those and admit that they liked it, or it wasn't what they thought it would be like. I also find that a lot of people who HATE fondant, haven't actually tried it, they just say that because that's what they hear others say.

-Suz

WEll, it is more for decoration, but I just love the high I get when people stop, stare in awe and say, "That's a cake??!!!" For example, the mardi gras cake I did yesterday: I had a lot of oohs and ahhs, and it was all fondant. People enjoyed looking at it. But when I started cutting it and serving it, I got a lot of, "wow, this cake tastes great...it is so moist." So, yes, it is worth it to me. That is what makes this job so much fun!!
I'm also on board with Susan: I make my own fondant, and I don't have a whole lot of complaints. I just make sure the cake is filled with excellent filling to make up for the lack of buttercream. Most people actually eat the fondant too, although it is too sweet for my tastes.

I don't mind the extra work - I think it's beautiful! If the customer is willing to pay for it - I'm willing to make it! Some people don't like the fondant because they can't get past the texture but i've found several people that LOVE fondant!

Debbie

actually since i ve switched to the mmf...i find people kinda fight for the decorations and eat them and some even get saved. like my baby shower cakes the lil babies got saved from what I heard. I love hearing how cute .......i cant cut it ......i think that before when i used regualr fondant i had alot wasted and put in the trash.

There was a Disney weddings special on Food Network I think. They showed this magnificent cake being made, covered in fondant. The servers peeled the fondant right off before they cut and served the cake. They did a good job of it too. Quick! I've never seen a cake sliced and served so quickly.

I have never used fondant to cover a cake. I have only been decorating for about a year now. At Christmas time I started playing around with fondant and gumpaste figures. My cakes are usually done for family and friend affairs. I'm so slow at it and will sometimes do a figure 3 times until I get it the way I want it. I don't think anyone would be willing to pay for the time it takes me to make a cake with fondant figures, but to me it is worth every minute I put into it when people are amazed that those figures were made from "icing" and are completely edible. (If they really wanted to eat it")

I would like attempting making a cake covered in fondant but have avoided it because I'm not sure if people in this area would go for it. Everyone here is used to BC.

Kim
The great majority of my wedding cakes are fondant. In Australia it is very widely used and much liked. Even though i love working with buttercream I find that it's not very popular here except for kids cakes, im trying my best to make it more popular. That being said, there are a lot of things that just can't be done in buttercream. A lot of people that make cakes, do it because it's fullfilling, when fresh flowers are put on cakes, they are just thrown away, with sugarflowers they can be put in a box and if stored correctly they can be kept forever. I really dont mind what the person does with the cake after they've paid for it, if they were happy with it, and i receive good feedback and i've been paid a fair price, wether they eat the icing or not, doesnt really bother me. I enjoy making it (except for my last cake which I HATE ), and the finished product always makes me happy, (well most of the time anyway )
I wonder if most people that have tried fondant tried it once, or tried just one type of it and gave up on it, because it was awful. I know that a lot of people do Wilton courses in the USA and i wonder if they are encouraged to use the Wilton fondant?? I used the fondant once, and was horrified with the taste of it, and texture and colour, urgh!! There are no Aussie fondants that get close to that horrible taste. I have tried one other fondant from the USA (FondX) and it has become my number one favourite to use. It has a lemony vanilla taste, it is just beautiful, it is excellent to handle, and when doing wedding cakes, if i have it on hand i will always use it above any other.
anyway that is my rant Nati

I like the flavor of MMF but I do not like the texture along with cake. I guess its more of a European thing that we Americans aren't totally used to.

I do get alot of compliments about the tastes of my fondant cakes but nobody ever really says if the fondant part was good LOL. I also agree I love when someone can't believe there is cake underneath! That's pretty much my goal in 3D cakes, is to make it look as "un-cake" as possible...I'm not there yet most of the time, but someday maybe!

Thanks Nati! But your cakes are some of the ones I am aiming to match...SOMEday!

You have an awful lot of artistic talent yourself!

I totally agree that fondant is worth it! I use MMF and everyone I make cakes for LOVES it. I was surprised because I had heard so many people say they dislike the taste. I am still not very good with it, but it is so fun to use. Plus MMF is very inexpensive if that is a worry.

Only bad fondant tastes bad. I LOVE working with fondant, but North Carolina isn't exactly known for being at the forefront of new trends. I started adding fondant elements to buttercream iced cakes so folks would get used to the texture and flavor. It's working like a charm. MY fondant gets eaten, not peeled off. Some of this is the power of suggestion. If YOU don't like it and aren't comfortable working with it, your customers won't like either. MMF is great. CalJava's FondX tastes like MMF...and is on sale until the end of the month. Satin Ice is very good. ChocoPan and Sweet Inspiration are white chocolate fondants flavored with caramel, raspberry and other delicious flavors. They're more expensive, but a wonderful compliment to a delicious cake.

I think the we as dessert providers have a responsibility to educate our customers. If we present the product correctly, most of your customers will be willing to give it an honest try!!

With my 3D cakes I usually don't give the customer a choice. If they say "I want a 3D (whatever)" I just say "Okay it will be this much" and then I make it as realistic as possible using whatever medium I think is best. If they specifically ask, then we talk about it, but otherwise I just do whatever I think I should do. Usually they are very pleased with the result. Anyway fondant does ALOT to make a 3D cake more sturdy I have found...I don't really even like doing the buttercream 3D cakes much although the "furry" ones have to still be buttercream.

Thank you all for the replies! I really do want to try fondant more. I've made my own MMF and it does taste far better than Wilton's. But I've not practiced enough with it yet to ever want to make a cake for someone else in it.

Besides just covering the cake in fondant, for those who do a lot of small figures and details that take a lot of time, ( all the sculpting and molding, not just using cutters) do you find that people actually eat those too? I keep seeing such awesome work from decoraters here and have no idea how long those details take but can assume it's a great deal.

How do you all work up the cost for that? I use a pricing matrix with my costs but never for my time. It takes me hours just to do buttercream. I can't imagine fondant.

Thanks again!
KimAZ

I think everyone's experience is different when it comes to fondant cakes. For me, the 1st time I made a beach cake for my daughter, I got lots of compliments on the fondant sunbathers and other accents I had created for the cake. I think they look beautiful and would do them over and over again. Taste wise, the kids loved it (except one) and some of the adults enjoyed it too. I had used Wilton fondant with lots of flavorings kneaded it and it worked fine for me. Now I am considering covering whole cakes with fondant and I will be practising with MMF soon.

I agree with golfgirl..that the wilton variety gives fondant a bad name..when we are new at this we see it on the shelf and grab it thinking thats our only choice..then as we see it is horrible ..we shy away from it, then after 100 customers ask about cakes with that lovely satiny smooth finish they see in all the magazines...we find out there are other choices! I love satin ice and mmf..tastes pretty good too. I also agree with Ddivas comment that only bad fondant tastes bad .

I used the wilton thinking it was gonna taste ok cuz it looked so cool! Ick! Several people from this website suggested I try the mmf...so I printed out the recipe from this site and went to town making some for a wedding cake...whatta difference! It was so awesome to work with and tasted great with the country pound cake (recipe from this site) and viva paper towel bc (recipe from this site) wedding I made. The mmf was kinda stretchy and it was WAY easier to smooth the sides out. I love all the figures all of you make...dunno if I would eat them but if I was looking for a cake to buy and wanted it to look as cool as the ones you all do, heck, I wouldnt mind payin' a little more!

I only just started using fondant myself. I used the wilton stuff in class, and will NEVER use that stuff again. I have used the MMF for several of my girls school events, and the kids fight over the fondant pcs. of course, we are talking kids here. Pre-teens who could live on sugar if you'd let them. But I find it tastes pretty good on cake or cookies (kind of strong by itself though).