Yesterday was my brother and his wife's anniversary. Since we were all home at my parents' house for Thanksgiving, I made sure to make a cake for them so we can all celebrate the next day. It was a chocolate cake with white chocolate IMBC, covered in MMF that also had dark chocolate cocoa. I'm pretty newbie to caking; this is the first fondant covered cake I made for my entire family. We cut it, serve it around the kitchen table where we're all sitting and start digging in. I was pretty proud of the cake because the fondant went on well, so it looked smooth. As we're eating, my mom asks me, "Fondant isn't edible, right?" My husband and I were a little baffled. I was even a little hurt, but I'm not sure why! I could only respond with, "Why would I cover a cake to give to us in something inedible?" Ugh! I know she's seen Ace of Cakes before ... like I said, I'm not even sure why I was hurt.

Has anyone asked you if fondant was inedible??

of course!

common.

think of it as an adult high-end version of AirHeads candy -- chewy, sugary goodness for the sophisticated palate

Awww... sorry that your mom hurt your feelings. Just remember, there are a lot of people out there who just don't know anything about cake.

I think when people think fondant as inedible, they think doesn't taste good so you don't want to eat it, not that you actually can't eat it. I'm sure she must have heard many times fondant taste bad and just got the ideas mixed up. What a surprise it was to her to eat delicious chocolate MMF that you made!

Mmmmm. Airheads

People still have noooooooo idea about fondant and what is going on with cakes nowadays. Just last January you could have asked me about fondant, and I wouldn't have known, and it was on my wedding cake! This Thursday I made a pumpkin cake with fondant and all my relatives asked what the fondant was and yes, if it was edible.

I have friends who were married this past September in Newport, RI. This was an elegant affair with top local vendors. I was shocked (but not too shocked because I read CakeCentral) that the cake decorator told them they could choose buttercream or fondant for their cake, but the fondant would have to be peeled off before being served! I can understand when someone who knows next to nothing about baking and cake decorating is unsure about just what fondant is and how it is used, but it is pretty sad if a professional decorator doesn't know the basics. Perhaps the baker may prefer using buttercream and thus tells a few white lies about fondant to her brides. I don't know if that is better or worse than not knowing how to use the stuff correctly.

yep my first fondant cake and my brother looks at it and says "nice..........can u eat it?"

My family didn't think it was edible the first time they encountered fondant. Now, they actually specify that they want it and what flavor they want My mom always asks for the leftover scraps that didn't go on the cake, and takes them home to eat like candy. It's just a matter of them getting used to it.

Maybe they were referring to Wilton fondant I've have my doubts about it being edible!!lol!!

Fondant generally has a bad rap on the market because of the disqusting fondants out there. Fondant doesn't have to taste bad!

I think people just think that cuz most don't like to eat the bad fondants.

Jen

Fondant goes waaaay back. My mother (86 yrs old) remembers making fondant with her mother when she was little (1920's) and they would make it into balls to eat as candy! Very edible.

I really have to taste some of this Wilton fondant!

Don't be offended, be flattered that she ate yours! I never liked fondant till I made my own. I still can't believe that "professional" bakers can't get it right.

I could be in left field here so just ignore me if that's the case.

Was that question a little sabotage-y? A little jealous-maybe??

I mean considering the fact that you were hurt by it and that Mom asked it out loud in front of everyone--I don't know--just a thought.

Sometimes families have a hard time with their own artistic members.

I hope it's not the case but...heads up!

yep, have seen them do it several times...........although I've noticed Duff serving cake and it appears he just cuts and plates (with the fondant) so...not sure if they just say it just in case people don't like the taste??

I tell people gumpaste is edible too, just not palettable (sp?) meaning, you CAN eat it...but it doesn't taste good!
Fondant on the other hand, I tell people it's sweet and chewy and some don't like it...but you def. need to try it and see. So far I've NEVER had anyone (besides myself) that prefers NOT to eat it!

my 2 year old loves fondant, so did my older son when he could eat it. I have to watch my youngest like a hawk if I have fondant pieces drying on the table because it never fails, he gets ahold of something and bites into it. He sits in a chair beside me while I'm working and grabs the scraps as I move them to the side. I mostly use fondant for decorations so I usually grab the wilton stuff. He doesn't care.

wow , i get question alot abt what is fondant and is it edible lol. i just explain and go abt my merry way

thank you all for your supportive posts. i talked about it with my husband and we think it was that my mom had seen fondant peeled off cakes so she assumed it was inedible. she definitely didn't mean to hurt my feelings; i feel better about the whole thing. i was also a tad sensitive since this was my first fondant cake to be served to my side of the family.

i'll keep on caking and look forward to experimenting with more flavors for fondant!

Ok, I'm an artist, a photographer, an event planner and a caker and I can tell you that getting approval from family members has been an almost unattainable feat to achieve. Finally I've come to a place in my life where they are starting to admit that I have some artistic talent! Imagine how my jaw dropped recently when my mom was found praising my cakes to the heavens to a stranger?! She barely says a word to me about it. The same has always been about my other artistic work too. Recently, when I planned my own wedding, my family finally said "wow, she really knows what she'd doing with this stuff, huh?" like they were amazed! Gaining approval is a waste of emotion and time but, hey, I can't help it. I think that's why you were hurt...that your own family didn't have the faith in you to know that you wouldn't serve something they couldn't eat. It took me years to get over the fact that my validation would have to come from friends and strangers cause I sure wasn't going to get it from my family. I called my mom on it last week. Made the golf cake in my photos here for my dh's b'day and my mom sat at the table and didn't say a word about it. Finally I looked at her and said "what? your not even surprised anymore, these are just my "regular" cakes now?" LOL...she laughed and said, "well, your cakes are always so amazing now I thought it went without saying"...well, NO, artists STILL need validation, especially from family.

I can't tell you not to be hurt, just be prepared for it. As for the fondant, yup, Wilton sucks but homemade MMF is wonderful. The chocolate MMF I made for the golf bag was incredible and everyone kept asking for more...of the fondant! LOL!

I watch Ace of Cakes regularly and have never heard them say fondant isn't edible..gumpaste figures sure but not the fondant..I'm gonna have to listen closer from now on!

When I do cakes for the girls at work, I can't get most of them to even taste my homemade fondant. So I've been doing BC with fondant decorations. I think that may change as my most recent cake had a fondant bow and one of them started nibbling on it telling everyone how good it was.

I made a cake for my husband's family that was covered with MMF a few weeks ago. It was my first fondant cake served to his side of the family. I was so nervous I explained as we were slicing it that some people don't like the taste of fondant and I won't be offended if they peel it off. But they loved it. His cousin exclaimed "This is the best fondant I've ever tasted!" That made me feel pretty good ... perhaps that's another reason I was so shocked when my mom asked if it were edible.