Homemade Fondant Recipe

It has been long since I posted here. As Sruti is enjoying her holidays. it was my hubby’s strict order that I stay away from blogging for a while. His complaint is that I don’t even listen to Sruti when I am blogging. Even I was feeling the same way and so gave a short break to blogging. Our vacation have been so much fun so far. We went to Chennai and met with blogger friends. Sruti loves all those bloggers’ meets and she was so happy that I took her to the meet. We had a lovely time for two days. Met with families of bloggers and tasted absolutely amazing dishes for two days continuous. I even came home with a block of feta cheese but still haven’t decided about what to make with that. And once we returned back both Sruti and myself fell sick and have been going to hospital for the past three days. Today I felt a bit good and so thought will make a quick post on home made fondant.

I am not so much into fondant cakes. I love butter cream cakes and if you look at my cakes so far, there will be only 4 cakes made with fondant. The main reason is the place where I live. Here no one is ready to pay extra for a fondant cake. So my experiments with fondant cakes is so less. But still I have a fondant recipe which turns out great every time. And today I will share with you the recipe here. This recipe uses gelatin which is the main ingredient which gives the fondant its elasticity and stretch. If you don’t want to use gelatin, there is a veg gelatin recipe in my blog. Just take a look. But I will not promise that it is as good as this fondant recipe as it has very less elasticity and I don’t use it for covering cakes. For veg option I always go for store bought fondant.

I have used microwave oven for dissolving gelatin and liquid glucose. You can do that on a double boiler also. So which ever is suitable, try it. This recipe yields approximately 1000 gm of fondant. Use fine icing sugar for best results. Sift it twice or thrice so that there are no lumps left in it. This method uses a wooden spoon to mix so you need some muscle power but if you have a stand mixer then think yourself lucky. It is so easy to whip up using a stand mixer. This fondant recipe is also used to make a quick gum paste which we can use for flowers and other decorations. At the end of the post I will also give tips for chocolate fondant and handling of fondant. How much I talk about fondant and give you tips and tricks, handling fondant comes with experience. My fourth cake is far better than my first cake and I have learnt a lot in these four cakes. So try to understand fondant and do not be frustrated if it didn’t come out good at first try. Keep on practising and you will be really happy about your progress. All the best!!!

Ingredients:

Unflavoured Gelatin – 1 tbs

Cold Water-1/4 cup

Lemon or Almond Extract – 1tsp

Glycerine -1 tbs

Liquid Glucose – 1/2 cup

Icing Sugar-900 gm

Shortening/ Vanaspathi-1/2 tsp

Procedure:

In a bowl of cold water, sprinkle gelatin and let it stand for two minutes.

Heat it in a double boiler/ microwave at 10 second intervals until the liquid becomes clear.

Add the extract.

Add glycerin and glucose.

Gently mix until it melts. IF not heat it on double boiler once again.

In a large bowl sift 750 gm of icing sugar.

Make a well in the centre and add the liquid.

Mix with a wooden spoon until everything is incorporated.

Keep on adding extra icing sugar until you get slightly sticky dough.

Dust your work bench with icing sugar and transfer the dough to the bench.

Knead it until smooth and pliable. Add extra icing sugar if necessary.

Apply the shortening/ vanaspathi in your hands and knead the fondant.

Cover with two layers of cling wrap and let it rest for 24 hours before using it on cakes.

Here are some tips on tricks for handling fondant:

Fondant and water don’t go together well. If you are working in a humid climate, the fondant goes very sticky and it will be very tough to handle. It also becomes very shiny. To avoid this, always work in an air conditioned room. Or work with you fan switched on.

If the fondant becomes shiny after you have draped the cake, then place it under a fan and let the fondant dry for two hours. You can also place it under a yellow lamp to dry it faster. And to avoid fondant sticking to work surface, use corn flour to dust. Corn flour is better than icing sugar as it absorbs the water easily.

Always allow the fondant to mature for 24 hours before using it in the recipe. If you feel that the fondant is sticky, add a little bit of vanaspathi or shortening and knead.

Store fondant under two layers of cling wrap and a zip lock bag. This will ensure that the fondant doesn’t dry. If not using for a week, then place the zip lock in an air tight container and refrigerate. You can also place the box in freezer. Thaw it inside the fridge for 24 hours before bringing it to room temperature.

If your fondant has dried and is developing cracks while rolled, knead it along with a tsp of glycerine and little shortening/ vanaspathi to make it smooth and pliable.

Colouring fondant is quite easy. Use gel colours to get the shade you want. Take little amount of gel colour at the tip of a tooth pick and press it against the batch of fondant you want to colour. Knead it to incorporate the colour. If it becomes sticky, add little icing sugar and knead.

If you want darker shade in fondant, you need to make chocolate fondant and then add the colours. If added to white, it always will result in pastel shades.

To make chocolate fondant, substitute 1 cup of icing sugar with one cup of cocoa powder in the original recipe. And proceed as per the recipe.

The colour of fondant darkens with time. So make the fondant two shades lighter than the needed shade and after two hours of resting the fondant will turn darker.

It is very easy to paint on fondant. Use gel colours along with a little vodka to paint. Once applied, vodka will evaporate quickly and the colour will dry fast. As vodka evaporates, you can serve it to kids also.

To make gumpaste with this fondant, take 250 gm of fondant and add 2 tsp of tylose or CMC powder and knead. Your gum paste is ready for making sugar flowers.

I think I have penned down all the important points to be noted. If any point is missed, just mention it in comments and I will be happy to add it in the post.

Home made fondant recipe

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Ingredients

  

Ingredients

• Unflavoured Gelatin - 1 tbs
• Cold Water-1/4 cup
• Lemon or Almond Extract - 1tsp
• Glycerine -1 tbs
• Liquid Glucose - 1/2 cup
• Icing Sugar-900 gm
• Shortening/ Vanaspathi-1/2 tsp

Instructions

 

Procedure

• In a bowl of cold water, sprinkle gelatin and let it stand for two minutes.
• Heat it in a double boiler/ microwave at 10 second intervals until the liquid becomes clear.
• Add the extract.
• Add glycerin and glucose.
• Gently mix until it melts. IF not heat it on double boiler once again.
• In a large bowl sift 750 gm of icing sugar.
• Make a well in the centre and add the liquid.
• Mix with a wooden spoon until everything is incorporated.
• Keep on adding extra icing sugar until you get slightly sticky dough.
• Dust your work bench with icing sugar and transfer the dough to the bench.
• Knead it until smooth and pliable. Add extra icing sugar if necessary.
• Apply the shortening/ vanaspathi in your hands and knead the fondant.
• Cover with two layers of cling wrap and let it rest for 24 hours before using it on cakes.

Notes

Here are some tips on tricks for handling fondant:
Fondant and water don't go together well. If you are working in a humid climate, the fondant goes very sticky and it will be very tough to handle. It also becomes very shiny. To avoid this, always work in an air conditioned room. Or work with you fan switched on.
If the fondant becomes shiny after you have draped the cake, then place it under a fan and let the fondant dry for two hours. You can also place it under a yellow lamp to dry it faster. And to avoid fondant sticking to work surface, use corn flour to dust. Corn flour is better than icing sugar as it absorbs the water easily.
Always allow the fondant to mature for 24 hours before using it in the recipe. If you feel that the fondant is sticky, add a little bit of vanaspathi or shortening and knead.
Store fondant under two layers of cling wrap and a zip lock bag. This will ensure that the fondant doesn't dry. If not using for a week, then place the zip lock in an air tight container and refrigerate. You can also place the box in freezer. Thaw it inside the fridge for 24 hours before bringing it to room temperature.
If your fondant has dried and is developing cracks while rolled, knead it along with a tsp of glycerine and little shortening/ vanaspathi to make it smooth and pliable.
Colouring fondant is quite easy. Use gel colours to get the shade you want. Take little amount of gel colour at the tip of a tooth pick and press it against the batch of fondant you want to colour. Knead it to incorporate the colour. If it becomes sticky, add little icing sugar and knead.
If you want darker shade in fondant, you need to make chocolate fondant and then add the colours. If added to white, it always will result in pastel shades.
To make chocolate fondant, substitute 1 cup of icing sugar with one cup of cocoa powder in the original recipe. And proceed as per the recipe.
The colour of fondant darkens with time. So make the fondant two shades lighter than the needed shade and after two hours of resting the fondant will turn darker.
It is very easy to paint on fondant. Use gel colours along with a little vodka to paint. Once applied, vodka will evaporate quickly and the colour will dry fast. As vodka evaporates, you can serve it to kids also.
To make gumpaste with this fondant, take 250 gm of fondant and add 2 tsp of tylose or CMC powder and knead. Your gum paste is ready for making sugar flowers.