AI just haven't tried the right kind? I'm sorry, but to me it tastes like chocolate that has had something terrible happen to it - oh wait, it has - hahaha! I took a full day modeling chocolate workshop from Mike McCarey, so I know what kind of chocolate to use and how to make it like he does. He even required all of us to literally make some in the class.
Mike McCarey was wonderful - working with modeling chocolate was great and I use it from time to time (it's a little hot here) and the class was worth every penny. But if I'm going to eat chocolate, I'm not going to whip up a batch of modeling chocolate. The point of making modeling chocolate is not to make something delicious, but to make something you can use to decorate a cake.
Cake decorations have long history of not tasting as good as what they're decorating.
which is why i usually use almond bark (vegetable oil 'chocolate') for my modeling choco--it's an odd product with all that corn syrup in there why use premium $ chocolate--sometimes i do but it seems cross purpose to me--
cheetos & chocolate--not so much
but the best way to eat fondant imo is to let it dry out and crunch baby crunch--adding some flavoring before you set it to dry takes it over the top mmm
i ♥ baked fondant lol
I think the issue most people have with fondant is the texture, not the flavor. They can taste it on its own and they say it isn't as bad as they thought, but if you try to eat it on cake it's a nasty combination of cake and chewy.
Is anyone here English? They're the ones who used fondant to cover the Christmas cakes in the first place, so are you supposed to eat it or peel it off?
yes--texture on cake is not pleasing to a lot of american palates--
but texture as a crunchy candy is awesome
A
Original message sent by costumeczar
I think that a lot of bakers in my area tell brides that they have to have fondant regardless of the design, because when they come to me they're usually happy that they don't. I've never heard of anyone using it as a selling point, other than saying that they don't need it and they can use buttercream instead:D
This is a big advantage for me. I started out using buttercream first. Learning how to get it completely smooth and doing most designs in that medium. When people come to me they don't HAVE to have fondant. A lot of my competitors don't want to or don't take the time to smooth things or make modeling chocolate. I'm the lady who can "give you your cake without fondant"
AI believe it's from Austraia - this is the best article I've seen on it [URL=http://www.sugarartsinstitute.org/articles/2014/01/04/history-wedding-cakes]http://www.sugarartsinstitute.org/articles/2014/01/04/history-wedding-cakes[/URL] . In America, wedding venues commonly removed the fondant before plating.
[I][COLOR=blue]In the 1960’s, an Australian baker created a mixture of powdered sugar, glycerin, liquid glucose, gelatin and a small amount of vegetable fat. This mixture was dough like in appearance and texture and could be rolled out like pastry. This immediately took cake decorating by a storm and became the new fashionable frosting, for covering cakes. Known today as plastic icing (Australian name) sugar paste (English name) and rolled fondant, (American name). The new dough was rolled out and placed over the cake completely enrobing it, and therefore, alleviating the need for covering a cake in royal icing. This new product quickly spread to England and its colonies, and today, is the most popular method of decorating special occasion and celebration cakes.
Rolled fondant was introduced to the American market approximately 30 years ago. However, it has only become popular over the last decade with exposure from cake challenges on the television networks. The nature and texture of rolled fondant has opened the doors to much creativity and artistry. Today wedding cakes are both traditional and contemporary and are often seen not only in the traditional white and ivory, but also contemporary in style. Wedding cake are now displayed in a multitude of colors, shapes and sizes, with an eclectic array of edible bows, flowers, drapes, polka dots and stripes, swirls and curly-cues and designs to fit any theme imaginable[/COLOR].[/I] Prior to this royal icing was used. This was better because it didn't crack allover the take like royal icing
Quote:
This is a big advantage for me. I started out using buttercream first. Learning how to get it completely smooth and doing most designs in that medium. When people come to me they don't HAVE to have fondant. A lot of my competitors don't want to or don't take the time to smooth things or make modeling chocolate. I'm the lady who can "give you your cake without fondant"
Yes, exactly.
AAs a person who is currently torturing herself trying to get BC to look like fondant, I wish BC cakes could look like BC again! I went to an affair this weekend, the baker put fondant over BC, and I could tell that the cake was from a box (could taste the chemicals) the BC was shortening BC with some bitter tasting almond extract, this cake was top dollar in NJ! And the woman has a great business! I wish I lived in a populated area - with baking scratch and the yummy SMBC, I think I could build a very successful business in an area that actually has people!
So I'm with you about the fondant, but I use it as accents. I don't know how to make ribbons in BC, although I know it can be done, and I can't figure out how to make butterflies out of BC either!
BTW, I bought the excellent ebook on modeling chocolate from Wicked Goodies, Cake Decorating with Modeling Chocolate. It's a great, thorough book and the author is very responsive to questions! You can find it on her site.
Best of luck! Nancy
Quote:
Originally Posted by costumeczar
Is anyone here English? They're the ones who used fondant to cover the Christmas cakes in the first place, so are you supposed to eat it or peel it off?
I was reading this thread waiting for someone to bring up the British!
We as a nation don't do buttercream cakes like the US do, sugarpaste (fondant to you guys) is the norm for cakes, and ASAIK has been for a long time. We eat it, and those that don't like it and want a decorated cake peel it off. On fruit cake you eat it, but it also has a layer of marzipan under it which is extra tasty imo! Also fruit cake isn't very sweet so the sugarpaste kind of brings the sweet aspect.
I noticed one thing that K8memphis said though that caught me by surprise - do you guys have gelatine in your sugarpaste as standard? Maybe this is a part of the difference, I have not used any not veggie friendly sugarpaste, ever.
A
Original message sent by costumeczar
I think that a lot of bakers in my area tell brides that they have to have fondant regardless of the design, because when they come to me they're usually happy that they don't. I've never heard of anyone using it as a selling point, other than saying that they don't need it and they can use buttercream instead:D
but all my recipes
for fondant have gelatine--now i guess the store boughts are animal product free, halal and kosher and so...yeah i guess depends on which kind you use then--even in my english cake books it calls for greyslake gelatine-- but they have some stretchy and unmelty gum in there or something --marshmallow fondant has it too if you use regular marshmallows (which i never use this) but anyhow it's still common here
I've made sugarpaste a couple of times, but never with gelatine in them, its cheaper to buy here though most of the time and the one I buy (and I few others I know of) have nothing 'unmelty' just sugar, glycerine and glucose and some stabilisers and emulsifiers. No non-melty stuff at all.
AI feel like the only person in the world who likes sugarpaste aka fondant. It's really nice. My daughter hates it so she picks it off and I eat hers to.
I do think there has to be a major difference in the American version to the English as there seems to be a collective dislike of it over there.
Quote:
I've made sugarpaste a couple of times, but never with gelatine in them, its cheaper to buy here though most of the time and the one I buy (and I few others I know of) have nothing 'unmelty' just sugar, glycerine and glucose and some stabilisers and emulsifiers. No non-melty stuff at all.
Quote:
I feel like the only person in the world who likes sugarpaste aka fondant. It's really nice. My daughter hates it so she picks it off and I eat hers to.
I do think there has to be a major difference in the American version to the English as there seems to be a collective dislike of it over there.
Many of the books that I've purchased are from UK decorators. I've made Lindy Smiths Fondant and it's tasty. I added some Loran's Marshmallow flavoring and clear vanilla flavoring. 
A
Quote:
I feel like the only person in the world who likes sugarpaste aka fondant. It's really nice. My daughter hates it so she picks it off and I eat hers to.
I do think there has to be a major difference in the American version to the English as there seems to be a collective dislike of it over there.
Many of the books that I've purchased are from UK decorators. I've made Lindy Smiths Fondant and it's tasty. I added some Loran's Marshmallow flavoring and clear vanilla flavoring.
i would say all of my english cake books have gelatine in the fondant recipes-- oh dawns the light--so now i get it -- they've led us astray 
I can't stand the chew and smell of store bought fondant. Smells like play doh, talk about chemicals. If you roll it thin, there isn't much "chew" it dissolves into the buttercream. I think a lot of people have tasted thick, crappy fondant and think it all tastes that way or that's how thick you have to roll it. That's like saying all cuts of beef taste the same.
A
Original message sent by gabival
Thanks for all the replies!
Also, I'm new to this fondant thing. I've always used buttercream and I really like the look of it. Well, does anybody have a tip on how to make the green and yellow fondant candle that is shown in the picture?
Hi, i am copy pasting Flourpot's reply from another thread regarding this type of candle. HTH
That's an Andrea Sullivan style design... The pink section looks like buttercream, the texture looks natural, meaning nothing was done to it besides smoothing....the white drippy part looks like fondant. Here's a video she posted showing how to make her signature candle:
AI have o say the Satin Ice fondant is a lot nicer than the wilton fondant - it is softer and has a nice smell!
Quote:
Hi, i am copy pasting Flourpot's reply from another thread regarding this type of candle. HTH
That's an Andrea Sullivan style design...
The pink section looks like buttercream, the texture looks natural, meaning nothing was done to it besides smoothing....the white drippy part looks like fondant.
Here's a video she posted showing how to make her signature candle:
Thank you mattyeatscakes. ;)
Quote:
Here's the video I made showing how to make it. If you mix candy clay into fondant 1:1, or even less of the candy clay to fondant, it makes the fondant a little stiffer and more moldable, and it doesn't dry out as fast. Also tastes better...There are a couple of brands of fondant on the market now that have candy clay in them, but I've always just mixed the two together. One benefit of using the candy melts is that you can get them colored already so you don't have to deal with food coloring as much, too.
Thanks! ;)
AWow I just stumbled across this thread and, being from the UK, I didn't realise how much fondant was hated over there in the US. It's pretty much standard on most cakes here unless specifically asked for a buttercream cake which is rarer. I am interested to try some US fondant to see how it tastes because to my fondant (sugarpaste) is yummy and I would never peel it off whether is was a fruitcake or sponge.
Wow I just stumbled across this thread and, being from the UK, I didn't realise how much fondant was hated over there in the US. It's pretty much standard on most cakes here unless specifically asked for a buttercream cake which is rarer. I am interested to try some US fondant to see how it tastes because to my fondant (sugarpaste) is yummy and I would never peel it off whether is was a fruitcake or sponge.
Depending on what brand you buy, it's pretty nasty, lots of artificial flavorings etc. I make my own so I avoid all of that, but people here aren't used to the texture of it. I do run into people who really like it, but most people just aren't used to it. Decorators who don't know how to smooth out buttercream like it much more than clients 
A
Original message sent by costumeczar
Depending on what brand you buy, it's pretty nasty, lots of artificial flavorings etc. I make my own so I avoid all of that, but people here aren't used to the texture of it. I do run into people who really like it, but most people just aren't used to it. Decorators who don't know how to smooth out buttercream like it much more than clients :roll:
I would have thought it was harder to roll out and smooth fondant without getting any tears or creases than it is to smooth buttercream? Not that I can do either well. I'd love to try some of the recipe differences between US and UK cakes at some point.
Quote:
I would have thought it was harder to roll out and smooth fondant without getting any tears or creases than it is to smooth buttercream? Not that I can do either well. I'd love to try some of the recipe differences between US and UK cakes at some point.
I'm not saying they can put fondant on well, but they put buttercream on less well. 
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%