Why do you think this has happened? I know it takes some of my enthusiasm away. There is no way my friends and family would ever be interested in eating fondant. And I understand you can only put a crumb coating of buttercream fondant. Maybe I need to find a new hobby.

What makes you say that it has lost popularity? 99% of my cakes are bc. Maybe it is the region.

I still do 95% buttercream cakes. The fondant cakes on tv aren't representative of what I actually sell. I think that fondant is more versatile in terms of decorating show cakes, but when it comes down to it people don't want it most of the time. Some decorators only use fondant and don't do buttercream, but my customers don't want it most of the time.

It seems to me all cake magazines,shows, and pictures on here are more and more focusing on fondant. i am just curious why?

The media may focus on fondant, but I have only done 2 fondant cakes ever! Most people that come to me say that they want fondant because they like the way it looks. But, once they see just how smooth and neat buttercream can be they change their mind. Long Live Buttercream!!!

I might be wrong, but I think that fondant has been popular for a long time in other countries, and the reason that it's become so popular here lately is because we can all exchange ideas and techniques and photos so easily on the internet. It's not totally a recent thing...ten years ago about half the cakes in the Wilton yearbook had fondant, I think. But even the older books from the UK and Australia are full of fondant-covered cakes.

The other reason that fondant has become so popular is that it doesn't take a lot of skill and practice to make nice-looking things with it. Buttercream is an art form and fondant is just a matter of having the right tools and techniques. And most of what I do is fondant, so I'm not trashing those who use it.

Anyhow, my mom thought that she wouldn't eat fondant. She used to complain that it was funny tasting and tough. Two years later, she takes home my leftover fondant scraps to munch on. And yes, everyone in the family has gotten used to eating it on cakes.

I too have only done a couple fondant covered cakes. I'm just now getting brave enough to try it. Since most of my cakes that people have ordered have been sheet cakes, they have been covered with buttercream. I like to use fondant roses and daisies though but that's because I can't pipe a buttercream rose that suits me.

I'm just a hobbyist, but all of my cakes are BC with fondant accents. My family loves their creamy buttercream. Usually, in my little corner of the world, cake isn't cake unless it has frosting...with a couple of exceptions, like angel food or pound cake.

I really wish I had the opportunity to try my hand in a totally fondant cake.

You can put more than a crumb coat of BC under fondant. I put a full layer of BC under my fondant.

I think there is room for both mediums in the biz. I actually love working with fondant, but if I didn't, then I'd find a way to promote the awesomeness of BC. Do BC and rock it...

The majority of the cakes I create are covered in fondant, but I do a lot of sculpted and 3D cakes. In my business I do all desserts so I still work with buttercream. Your customers will be more receptive to fondant if you are. Find a good brand or a good recipe. Slowly introduce fondant as decoration on your buttercream cakes. Your customers will discover that good fondant tastes good. I've been working with fondant for over a decade and love it!! But if a customer wants buttercream it's cool with me. However, since I am the decorator the final design decisions have to be mine. Some designs cannot be done in buttercream, and I will not do a bad cake in attempt to make a design work in buttercream. There's room for both, and knowing how to work with different mediums can only increase your skill set..and your bottom line.

The wilton books are full of fondant cakes because they want you to buy their fondant.

I have over 300 photos on my Flickr site and about 3 of the cakes are fondant.

Don't let the media tell you what's "popular" ...... go by what your brides are actually ordering. Media tells me that square cakes are "coming back". What? you mean they were OUT? Huh! Glad my brides who ordered all of those square cakes didn't know that!!!!

I've decorated cakes for 46 years and have only done one complete fondant cake and that wasn't the bride's choice, but she wanted the icing to be red and I told her, I thought we needed to go with fondant for the red. I hope it's my last. I'm not a fan of fondant even though I had ordered a pricier brand. I use a lot of fondant accents such as swags, bows, other decorations, but they want the icing to be my buttercream. Most every bride that comes in says "I don't want that fondant stuff on my wedding cake". Good, you've come to the right place. Recently I even had a bride say "well, it has to be done in fondant, right?" I said "no, why do you think that?" She said "well, that's what another cake decorator told me and that it couldn't be done in buttercream". I said "in my opinion, she probably didn't want to take the time to smooth it and get it looking nice so told you fondant and so she can charge more, too". The bride was so happy. I am actually happy because I think I am getting a lot of brides that don't want the fondant who've been told buttercream is no longer the thing to have. I'll take all the buttercream cakes you can give me and I'm in the midwest about 30 miles from Kansas City.

I'm with the pp that uses more buttercream - I'm a full coater too.

I don't personally know one single person who likes fondant. To eat it that is, and I've made the homemade Michelle Fosters Fondant, and still as the PP said most everyone thinks cake should have frosting not sweet chewy stuff. I love the way fondant looks and I like to play with it but I am also regretful that it ever became popular here because it does seem media promote fondant 90% of the time.

In Australia it's mostly fondant and royal icing used to cover things like wedding cakes, primarily because of the heat and humidity - buttercream doesn't hold up all that well. But on the other hand, our fondant is traditionally rolled very thinly - about 3mm thick. That way you don't have the vast amounts of chewy sugar.

I also put a full regular layer of BC on under my fondant. And I rollit thin...no thicker than 1/16th of an inch.

Lookie here.....mine is barely noticeable. Coupled with a thick layer of BC...most people don't even notice it's there. As long as your fondant tastes good too!

When I read your thread title I had to laugh. Not one person that has ever called me wants a fondant covered cake. I have had to do two cakes covered completely in fondant, and that was because of the design.

One of the two bakeries where I live won't even do fondant. I use it for decorations only. I think a lot of it is where you live. Seems to be more prevalent in the northeast, or maybe that's because I've watched Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss.

Rhonda's Ultimate MMF is the only kind that tastes good to me.

Thanks everybody. I guess your right, buttercream is not a dying art.

Well, there are times when fondant is absolutely necessary. Some people say pishaw to that, and that's why we have our daily laugh---Cakewrecks!

I would say that 98% of my cakes are fondant. I put almost a normal layer of SMBC underneath. I love working with fondant.

I don't eat fondant. Well, I don't eat icing either, but if I have to use it, I'd rather use a quality, real buttercream that WT icing.

I say buttercream has a lot of popularity. A lot of my cakes are made with buttercream. I think that the magazines have more fondant photos cause they are
more delicate and my guess is that most of them are dummies. But that doesn't make the fondant more wanted.
Edna

I was tought with fondant couldn't use anything else.
I don't know how you make your butter cream but here I have iced my grand kids birthday cakes with icing,method,icing sugar some butter and a little milk to mix then add colour if wanted, but usually has to be eaten on the same day or next as icing goes very soft and yucky,I carn't see you using this type, the cakes in pictures here done in bc are so smooth.
When using fondant you don't have to rush the cake, it can take me a up to 6 weeks to do a cake depending on size and I only use fruit cake with my almond paste under fondant.
Never had anyone ask me for anyother type of covering.

Not all people charge more for fondant... me for one. I see the time it takes to really smooth a BC cake vs the little added cost of the fondant as a total wash, and if I was going to charge more for either option it would be for BC since it takes more time to get it satisfactory for me. I am very picky and no finger marks or spatula lines (no matter how smll) would be acceptable to me. I can do both. I can smooth SMBC like it's nobody's business, but I like working with fondant. So not all people who recommend fondant don't want to take the time to smooth their BC. I love the look and it's part of my style so I promote its use. Just like someone who loves woking with BC would promote the use of BC. I also don't talk down buttercream users. I say "it takes skill to make a perfect BC cake and, let's face it, we all know people eat cake for the buttercream and that is why I frost your cake with a full layer of vanilla bean buttercream and top it with a thin layer of fondant. This way you get the best of both worlds... the rich flavor of buttercream and the porcelain finish of fondant". It's part of my schpeal every time.

I work with a VERY non-crusting BC so there truley are times when fondant is necessary for me. Outdoor weddings is one. I don't care if it's hot or not, there are so many little things floating around and those things would get stuck right onto their cake... dust, dirt, little flying insects... with fondant they just float on by or, if they do settle, they can be easily swished off rather than instantly glued down. I guess I take (very) mild offense that the assumption is that fondant users don't want to take the time to work with strictly BC... not always the case. Some of us can smooth and pipe with the best of them... we just choose a different route.

I do think that there is a call for both BC and fondant cakes. Plenty of room in the world for both to be done well and promoted.

Edited to say that I really do kow how to use periods... it's just that CC seems to make them disappear if they follow oneo their pop-up terminology things. They are there... they just don't show up. *sigh*