Learn All About How to Make Cake for Fondant: Find Steps, Tips and Perfect Cake Recipes

Cakes nowadays are nothing short of works of art. It started out as plain Jane and simple baked cakes then elevated to desserts with elaborate frosting. And now cakes can literally be of any design, all thanks to fondant. Fondant is a type of cake icing that is used to decorate or sculpt pastries and cakes. It is made after incorporating water, sugar, gelatin, glycerol and vegetable fat. There are two categories of fondant, one that is liquid in texture and is poured on the cake and the other which is rolled and placed on the cake. Irrespective of categories, fondant has been largely responsible for giving cakes unique designs. You can give your cakes any look by using fondant. Your cakes need not be the same anymore. You can have it look according to the occasion. Let us learn it more about fondants.

Fondant is surprisingly easy to make as long. There are certain rules pertaining to the technique of making fondant and as long as you follow those rules, preparing fondant for you would be a piece of cake. Fondant requires very few ingredients, all of which are easily available in any grocery store. The procedure is also a simple one that can be followed by anyone without a problem. Following is a recipe to make marshmallow fondant- the easiest and the most basic fondant. Follow this BP guide to learn how to make the best fondant and other factors associated with it:

· 200 grams or 4 cups of miniature marshmallows
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 450 grams or 4 cups of powdered sugar
• Food colouring( optional)

There are few things to keep in mind when adding colour to your fondant dough:

The second most important thing in a fondant cake is, of course, the cake base. You might have the smoothest and richest fondant but if your cake base is not up to the mark then your whole fondant cake will fall apart. The first and foremost requirement of a fondant cake base is that it be firm. Fondant icing has considerable weight and if the cake base is not firm enough, it might collapse under the weight of the fondant icing. You must also keep in mind the flavour of the cake base.

The flavour of the cake base must be complementary to the flavour of the fondant otherwise you will end up with a cake that is fit only for the showcase as nobody would want to taste that anomaly. Keeping these 2 points in mind, here are the recipes of the 3 most common cake bases that you can use for your fondant cake. The said cake bases are the basic vanilla cake, carrot cake and the chocolate cake. These are the three most versatile and popular cake bases and will add to the overall flavour of your cake:

It is quite tricky to manage fondant icing. There are certain rules regarding rolling, timing and colouring of fondants. Failure to abide by these fundamental guidelines will result in a botched fondant. Fondant is even affected by the climate of the place you are residing in. The following are 6 of the most important points to keep in mind when baking a fondant cake. Go through them so that you bake the perfect cake all the time:

We use fondant on our cakes after rolling them into a thin layer. If you do not allow the fondant dough to rest before rolling then cracks would develop on the fondant sheet. Thus, it is better to prepare the fondant way before you bake the cake so that it has ample time to rest. Preparing the fondant earlier also helps in better colouring. Add colour to your fondant the day before you are supposed to bake the cake. This allows the colour to sit on your fondant giving it a deep and rich colour.

Do not roll the fondant into a size that is too big for the cake. Let the size of the fondant sheet be proportional to the size of the cake. Excess fondant will make cake heavy and less easy to manoeuvre. Let’s say that if you have a cake of 8-inch diameter then roll a fondant of 20-inch diameter and not 40 inches. It is better to cover the cake with ganache or buttercream before putting the fondant over it. If the cake is not covered then the fondant will show all the bumps and cracks on the cake. When lifting the fondant to put over your cake, do not use your fingers as it can tear the sheet. Use the rolling or both your arms instead.

As already stated above, always colour your fondant ahead of time. It allows the colour to set properly on the dough and doesn’t get marbled when rolling the fondant. Also, the earlier you add the colour the deeper and richer will it be. Food colour pastes and gels are better than liquid food colour as these impart a deeper tone.

Weather and fondant might sound unrelated but in truth, the weather does affect the composition and texture of your fondant. A humid climate melts fondant and hence it is better to avoid making fondant when the weather is hot and oppressive. If you reside in one of the hotter and humid parts of the world then start preparing your fondant during the cooler time of the day, which is early morning or after sundown. You can also work in an air-conditioned environment if it is available to you.

Always remember that the most important point to keep in mind when working with fondant is that you must be comfortable with the task. If you are an entry-level baker or are an expert baker but working with fondant for the first time, then it is best that you work with something simple. Acclimatize your hands and mind with the concept and art of fondant and then progress towards more complex fondant icing patterns. Confidence is imperative in baking beautiful fondant cakes. You need to develop this confidence first before you start creating unique designs with your fondants. Practice and educate yourself with simple designs and before long you will be baking fondant cakes that will look as good as they taste.

Never refrigerate your fondant or put the cake in the refrigerator after covering it with fondant. Fondant sweats inside the fridge that leads to it melting down. If you want to store fondant or the fondant cake then keep it in a cool and dry place.