Ok, got a question for everyone. I have been wanting to experiment with fondant. However, anyone that I would make a cake for has said that they would not eat it so why bother?? My question is, do most people that you make cakes for actually eat the fondant or is it mostly for a smooth surface and wonderful decorations? I have to admit, I have tasted several different fondants and I didn't like it at all and I don't personally know anyone who does like it. So, I was just wondering if most people just take it off when they go to eat their cake? Thanks so much!!!

My 3 year old likes it but no one else at home does. I haven't done too much with fondant but I have sent a couple to work with my husband and he says some people eat it and others peel it off. Try MMF, it's really cheap to make and some of the stuff you can do with it is really cool.

What is MMF, and how do ya make it?

MMF is a marshmellow fondant. It tastes better than the Wilton stuff, but either way, it's just not popular here. It is pretty much peeled off at parties and weddings. Even kids would rather have buttercream! But you can do so much with it!

Angie

MMF is marshmallow fondant

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1949-Marshmallow-Fondant-MMF.html

Everyone in my family just eats it........I don't think it tastes bad I just think it's way too sweet......but nobody has ever picked it off at my kids' parties..........however we are talking about people that munch away at gumpaste flowers too LOL!!!

I can't stand the stuff, but I haven't tried MMF yet. I did a cake with it once because the customer just HAD to have the "look". After the event she told me that all her guests peeled it off and left it on the plates. I wanted to say "told you so"

I would think if people are going to peel it off, you could but a little extra BC on the cake surface first, so at least the eaters are getting something besides just cake.

I personally would take it over buttercream any day of the week, but only good tasting home-made stuff, comercial fondant (at least the stuff I can get my hands on), is gross!

I've tired Satin Ice Fondant and it's not bad in my opinion. I've tired the MMF and I've also tired the Wilton's either one doesn't compare to the Satin Ice. I would suggest if you want to work with fondant and you would like your customers to consider it, you should buy a small container of the Satin Ice and have them try it first. I also suggest roll out the fondant b/c when you take it out the bag it's kinda of hard.

I've used it only once and it made a beautiful cake. It was the Wilton fondant and won't use it again because everyone peeled it off. I did make sure that I had plenty BC under it, which everyone loved. I'm looking forward to trying MMF because I get the feeling that it will taste better. Good Luck!!

I rarely use fondant, because every time I have had it, it was so gross, everyone just peeled it off the cake.

I used MMF for my daughter's birthday cake last month, and no one peeled it off. I even ate it, and I am not one to eat a lot of sweets, unless it's something I love. It didn't have any certain flavor, just sweet, but I had a thin layer of buttercream underneath it, and I rolled the fondant pretty thin, so it all tasted good together with the cake.

I think fondant is definitely just for the look, though. I've never heard of anyone requesting it 'cause they like to eat it.

Melissa

Wow anyday over buttercream? I think fondant is invaluable for accent pieces,special touches, things that dear old buttercream can't do. That being said I think it is pretty icky. I make the home made kind so it is better than store bought but the thought of covering a cake with the stuff and actually eating it.......yuck! I did a wilton baby cake for a friend of mine, the diaper on the baby was fondant. I asked my friend to cut and serve that part last if possible, hoping that by the time she got to that part every one would have already been served. The funny thing is all the ladies were facinated by this strange fondant they have never seen or heard of. And they all wanted to touch it and tast it. I don't like my name being associated with the tast of fondant.......ahhh!!!

I don't really like eating fondant that well. But if I use it when decorating cakes I just use the fondant for accents.

It is kind of funny we put something on our cakes that most people won't eat, lol. The MMF is ok, but I would prefer not having it on my cakes. I am a big buttercream fan and I think cakes should taste very, very good as the top objective, decorating second. Everyone else I know usually peels it off.

It all weighs in as decorative vs. taste and each occassion or purpose may force you to choose one over the other.

Here in Canada there is a place called McCalls. They make a really good fondant. Only problem with it is that it's REALLY soft, so you need to make it really thick to cover a cake.

I hate the Wilton stuff. Even the smell of it makes me sick.
But this fondant from McCalls is soooo good that I made a practice mother's day cake for my self and ate the fondant.

I personally love the MMF and eat it as a snack sometimes by itself! But, I am not a big buttercream fan, so I would choose MMf over butterream any day. Some people pick it off and some people love it. My mother hates buttercream, but loves fondant. It is completely a personal preference. I would say there are more people that are used to and love the taste of buttercream than fondant, but I have found many people that love MMF. As far as store bought, I have only tried Wilton, and I would rather use play dough.

Try MMF, roll it nice and thin, with a thin layer of buttercream underneath it. It compliments the buttercream well.

PLAYDOUGH!!!! HA,HA, HEE,HEE!!!!! That was funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I think that Wilton's fondant is GROSS... even if you add flavoring. My DH likes the cakes only with buttercream... I like MMF (Have not tried any other kinds of fondant) I also like the fact that MMF is rather inexpensive and easy to make.

I LOVE fondant, and it's very curious to read that a lot of people dislike fondant. Here in Guatemala, it's rare to find someone who doesn't go ..." fondant?? mmm, my mouth is watering ...", most of my customers love fondant, it's the price of fondant they don't like very much LOL. Another thing is that people here love the combination of "cajeta" and fondant ( by the way cajeta is similar to caramel), so i would say that buttercream is not a favorite amongst my customers, but everyone can choose wether to eat it or not ... too bad for those who don't ...

I have only used Wilton and MMF (no Satin Ice or Pettinice). Wilton fondant tastes awful. MMF is pretty good. I avoided MMF for quite a while because I didn't think it would be easy to make but it's actually very easy. It takes me less time to make a batch of MMF than it would to do the 10 minute drive to Wal-mart to buy some and it tastes 100 times better. People always pick off the Wilton fondant but they are pleasantly surprised when they taste MMF. At least in my experience, this is how it has been. Don't be intimidated by making it. I've made it a few times now and it's gotten easier every time. My only suggestion is to add the half the powdered sugar, then add more in a little at a time. I've never used the entire 2 lb bag. I use about 2/3 to 3/4 of the bag. Adding too much sugar will dry it out and you'll get frustrated. Give it a try sometime. The most you'll be out is a little bit of your time and the cost of a bag of marshmallows and powdered sugar. Good luck

I agree that Wilton fondat is icky. I haven't tried the MMF yet (I will) but I have used Satin Ice. It is way better than Wilton and from my experience whiter and just prettier with a smoother finish - it's properly named. They also make a chocolate fondant but haven't tried it.

Most people ate it at the wedding I used it for recently.

It's not all that cheap tho.

I think part of people's dislike of fondant is just what we're used to in the US. People aren't used to chewy sweetness with their cake.
However, I wonder if people in countries where fondant has been in common use a lot longer tend to like it more. Gabbs said it's popular where she lives. I would suspect that Brits and Australians tend to enjoy eating it more than those of us in the US. I wonder if that's true.

I've never tried Wilton fondant and hope I never will. I've never heard a single person on this board say anything good about its taste.

Marshmallow fondant is bearable if you like the texture and aren't adverse to very, very sweet stuff.

I tried Pettinice last year and thought it was OK, but it tasted too much of artificial vanilla. It was also really difficult to work with, I thought.

I like Colette Peters' fondant recipe. It's the best to work with of those I've tried and it tastes fine.

I'm planning on trying Satin Ice next.

I'd say about 1/2 the people I've served fondant-covered cake to have left the fondant. I always use a generous amount of buttercream underneath.

I just went to the store and bought me a bag of marshmellows... Guess I am trying this tonight when the kids are sleeping... otherwise I will have to share my marshmallows! LOL

HOLLYPJ - what you say about Brits enjoying fondant more than Americans I think (as one!), is true. We only really use buttercream as a filling in the UK, you won't find many cakes covered with it - it's usually either fondant (stuck to the cake using an apricot glaze), or a layer of marzipan covered with Royal Icing. You won't find many a Brit using a buttercream containing shortening either - bluuurrrggghhh! Pure butter for us ! The main brand of fondant in the UK is Regalice, and it tastes nasty to me, I'll always make my own!

Funny this thread should appear today because I've been thinking about this subject all day. What I want to know is this....in every book I've seen it tells you all about preparing the cake, using BC, rolling the fonant, putting it on the cake, decorating and, BAM, that's it. There is nothing about how to cut and serve the cake. I have steered all my customers away from fondant simply because of the horror stories about cutting it and how bad it tastes.

Ellen

I use MMF and have never had anyone complain about the taste or the texture. As a matter of fact, most people are very interested in it because of the novelty of it. As far as cutting it, I find it's very easy to slice through - the buttercream underneath keeps it somewhat soft - of course it does need to be rolled fairly thin. I have also tried flavorings in the MMF to match the flavor of the buttercream, and people seem to like that too.

I usually flavor my MMF with vanilla or almond flavoring, and family seems to like it just fine, but this last time I used butuvan (i think that is spelled right) and the stuff is delicious!!! It really tastes more like a confection center, maybe like a Russell Stovers creme center.

Sorry, I think the worst part of MMF is the texture, then the taste, lol. It does slice nicely though, always looks professional when plated. I will give it that.

Three things you can do that helps the taste and texture of MMF are;
1. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla (or almond or combo of each)
2. add 1 tablespoon of butter flavoring
3. add 1 heaping tablespoon of light corn syrup during the mixing together part.

I think that the Wilton fondant is nasty. I have tried the MMF as well. It was better but still did not care for it. I made a practice cake with fondant before. When the cake plate came back home there was picked off fondant left on it. Don't know if the rest was thrown out or if it was eaten.