my hubby I need to take the Wilton Level III and IV classes

Thanks!
Brandy

Fondant is the big thing right now! People want it!! You should learn it. It's my favorite!!

Oh I want to do it!! He just said "That's for wedding cakesee and stuff. And you're not going to do that!"

I LOVE my cake classes. So much fun!

Thanks,
Brandy

I often wonder the same thing. I use SZ buttercream method that gets it so smooth and every bride I have tells me that they don't want fondant. However, I know that all the high end cakers use fondant. It does turn out a much more durable finish. And I agree it looks beautiful. Just seems like if you can do as well with buttercream than what's the point?

And what makes him think it's just for wedding cakes? I haven't done a wedding cake and I use fondant all the time. And how does he know you'll never do a wedding cake? Sounds a little selfish on his part.

Why would you want to limit yourself by NOT learning fondant. Even if you choose to specialize in bc and most of your custmers are happy with that, you wouldn't want to have to turn away someone who does want fondant because you don't know how to work with it. Learning how to work with it and taking some classes doesn't mean that you HAVE to put it on your cakes. It just means you have the option of being able to if you want to.

30 year buttercream-only decorator weighing in!!!

I think you'd use fondant more on little birthday and celebration cakes than you might on wedding cakes. As people want elaborate designs for little johnnie's big day, fondant figures and accents are just dominant in those designs.

I agree that 99% of my brides have no interest in fondant. But thanks to these evil CC'ers I went kicking and screaming into the fondant world.

And I have to say (under just a LITTLE protest!) that I really like working with it. Did my first flip-flop cake this past weekend and had a blast making it!

At the very least, you should take the class, or work with it on your own, so you can intelligently talk about it's assets and liabilities on a cake and why you can/can't, should/shouldn't use it.

Put it into something hubby can understand. Does he golf? Does he own more than one club? Why does he need more than one club? All he does is hit a ball with a big stick! All he needs is one stick!

Does he have tools? Why does he need 5 different pair of pliers? Why does he need 14 different screw drivers? What do you MEAN there might be a job that needs something different? (Like a cake that might need fondant?)

Good lord, my hubby has 5 lawn sprinklers and 3 different grills! And to hear him tell it, every one of those grills has a different purpose!

But a woman wants to learn a new skill pertaining to baking/????? Oh what a silly little waste of time!

If you're only allowed one skill, then he's only allowed one screwdriver!

Just bear in mind that Wilton products are for teaching and for the home baker's convenience. It doesn't taste very good, but it dries very slowly, which makes it the better choice for novices in fondant work, as they can take their time working with it.

Once you get the hang of it, you can go into the recipes section and look up other fondant recipes, then make one that you prefer.

Theresa

He's not selfish! He's a great guy!!

I think he thinks its just a waste of time and money when I can do the buttercream (and I'm getting good at it for a beginner, too! LOL)

Plus, its giving up a lot of Thursday nights...by the time I'm done with all four classes, it'll be the end of summer

So 8 hours of doing something you love is a waste of time? Does he spend time doing something he loves that doesn't involve you? The decision is yours but you asked for advice and that is exactly what we gave you. Maybe not what you wanted to hear but it's our opinions, take them for what they are worth.

You can charge more! Any questions?

You don't really need the classes to learn how to work with fondant. I haven't taken any classes and I've learned enough from CC and other online info to be able to do some neat stuff with it.

One great excuse to learn to work with fondant is the climate. If you live where it gets hot enough that you worry about taking your buttercream outdoors, then fondant is a great option. I played around with decorating with buttercream for 10 years (although to be fair I was working so many hours that I probably ended up getting to bake once a month) and never really progressed far in my skills. Then I came across a recipe for marshmallow fondant http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm and tried it, and I've been much happier with my cakes ever since.

Also you can make pretty cookies with it and a lot faster than using royal icing or a glaze. Cookies are much cheaper to make than cake and most people charge a lot for them.

Another thing though...if taking the classes is your way of getting out of the house and getting a break from the kids, don't tell your hubby you could probably learn without them

I'm just a hobby baker, and I debated on whether or not to take the fondant course too.

I ended up convincing myself the longer I thought about it! It's a medium that allows you to make more complex designs, and not everyone knows what it is so they get super surprised when they do see it. My co-workers are too used to Costco cakes, so they were floored when I brought in my fondant cakes. I even got cake requests which I had to decline since I don't have the time right now.

The Wilton course sorta forced me to make the time to practice, and it encouraged me to learn more about it. I definitely learned more on CC, but Wilton provided me with the basic knowledge to sort through the vast amount of info on CC (faster than I would have if I were fondant-naive). It helps if you have a good instructor too!