More than half of the cakes I do for clients are covered with fondant. It is gorgeous, sleek and can be simple or ornate. Over the years I’ve tried just about every product out there and have loved some and loathed others. Some are easy to use but have no taste feel like chewing gum in your mouth. Others are melt in your mouth and have a pleasant flavor, but are nearly impossible to work with unless the conditions are just right. Not to mention the cost. For those of you who have worked with it you know it is very spendy, as we say here in MN. So make your own and get the flavor, the texture and the price you like. It is very easy, albeit a tad messy, but most of all fun!
A few years ago I fell in love with Margaret Braun’s book Cakewalk
Sugar Paste (Rolled Fondant) recipe from Cakewalk: Adventures In Sugar With Margaret Braun
2 pounds confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons Glycerin
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract(If you want a PURE white fondant than use the clear vanilla, I used pure vanilla and you can see that my fondant is very white.) You can add other flavors as well but I would stick to those with an alcohol base and not an oil extract. You don’t want to add any fat to the recipe.
Sift 1 1/2 pounds of the confectioner’s sugar into a large standing mixer bowl, set aside.
In a small bowl, stir the water into the gelatin.
Dissolve over a double boiler with simmering water until clear.
Remove from the heat and stir in the corn syrup, Glycerin, and vanilla.
With the standing mixer turning on low speed, slowly pour the gelatin mixture into the bowl of confectioner’s sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Continue beating on medium speed until well combined and very sticky.
Scrape the sticky fondant onto a clean silicon Pastry Mat
Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 pound of sugar on the dough a little at a time.
Knead the sugar into the dough with the palm of your hand, then fold it over and continue adding sugar. I wished I’d had a pair of Gloves for this, but of course I’d run out!
Use your plastic Bowl Scraper to help you fold the dough over while adding more sugar.
Keep repeating these steps until all of the sugar is added and you have a nice smooth and uniform ball of dough.
Wrap the ball in plastic twice and let rest for at least 12 hours. DO NOT REFRIGERATE!!!! It will get tacky and impossible to work with if it is refrigerated. WRAP IT WELL! Store it for up to 2 weeks in a dry cool spot.
When ready to work with the dough unwrap it and knead it to make it smooth and pliable. Add your color and decorate as I did for Claudia’s birthday cake. I will be using it for my blog-iversary cake next week. I’ll also be giving away a T-shirt that my husband/webmaster/designer made for me!
Thanks to all of you on Twitter who keep me inspired and sane!
Another fondant cake I made for a client with a mini!
Hie, this recipe is looking easier than others, but i just hv a question in my mind, can we use sugar syrup instead of light corn syrup???
Hi Fatima,
That is a very good question. I don’t think that the sugar syrup will work, because there is a chance it will crystalize. You want to use an inert sugar that won’t do that.
Thanks, Zoë
Can I use Maltodextrin instead of corn syrup?!
Hi Kristina,
I have never used it or heard of using it for fondant. I will check around and see if I can find out any information.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Zoe… I was looking for a good fondant recipe back in 2010 and I used your recipe then, and I loved it! I didn’t leave a comment back then though (how rude, right?!:) )… Anyhoo, I made it again, and I posted about it on my blog this time… I just wanted you to know that I love your blog! Thanks for this recipe 🙂
Thank you Marsha!
So glad you are enjoying the fondant!
Cheers, Zoë
Hi Zoe,
I liked your recipe, it worked perfectly, but my question is can you use jam to coat the cake insted before placing the rolled fondant on it?
Hi Keesuy,
Yes, but be sure it isn’t too thick or the fondant will slip on it and you have to make sure you won’t see the jam through the fondant. If the jam is red and the fondant is white, you may see it. You can always put jam between the cake layers to get that flavor.
Thanks, Zoë
here is a link to see a picture of how the cake turned out. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=342856472394758&set=a.262161547130918.83819.100000112254490&type=3&theater I had a few problems but it will help me on the next one
Hello there,
I love fondant and have been on a massive search to find a chocolate flavored rolled fondant recipe. I have seen it only a few times and for me it seems like a mission to find a cake with rolled chocolate fondant. What can you use to make the fondant chocolate flavored?
Hi Zoe, I am reading your latest on how to work with fondant. It is wonderful and I am inspired. I have a problem in that I want to make my own fondant without using gelatin or using a kosher gelatin. Do you have any experience with this? Any advice?, either a no-gelatin recipe or a source for kosher gelatin?
Hi Linda,
I have never used any of the kosher or vegetarian substitutes, but I will see if I can get some information and will post if I find out.
Thanks, Zoë
I’m going to make paw prints and UK but i was going to do them like you did the snowflakes. will it hold when its cold or should i wait till Saturday right before I go. I’ll post a picture when i get it done so you can see it. Thanks again.
Hi Lana,
They will hold up just fine. If it is very hot and humid the cake may sweat a bit after coming from the refrigerator, but otherwise it will be just perfect.
Cheers and I look forward to seeing the pictures, Zoë
Well I think it went well. First batch was stringy so i put it in the microwave for 10 seconds and then it mixed well. other two batches turned out great. i wrapped them. Now lets hope when i work with it Friday everything goes well…thanks so much Zoe for helping me.
Yes, I just watched it before looking to see if you wrote me back. That’s really helpful. I’m going to do a test run of making fondant here in a bit. I decided to use Wilton since this is my first time making it. I need the cake for Saturday. When is the earliest i could start making it? Thought about making cake Thursday and decorate Friday and keep cold till i take to my mother in laws for out family function.
Hi Lana,
Yes, if you bake on Thursday and decorate Friday you will be in good shape. If there are flowers or other fondant decorations you are going to put on the cake, you can start those even earlier. If so, be aware that they will dry out, which allows them to keep their shape.
Enjoy! Zoë
Zoe,
My baby is turning 8 next month. I have always wanted to make a cake but never thought i could so my husband talked me into making her one. I’m going to make her a castle cake. I going to make my husbands mom a cake this week to pratice. Its her birthday. Is there any pointers you could give me?
Hi Lana,
Here is a post I just did on using rolled fondant. The videos may be helpful: http://zoebakescom.bigscoots-staging.com/2011/12/20/working-with-rolled-fondant-3-part-video-series/
Have fun! Zoë
Hi Zoe
My friend just call me & told me she made it that it came out ok but it was like clay dough what do you think she did wrong? She said she didnt use the pure Vanilla. I dont have a mixer I have a hand mixer will that work out fine Zoe? Oh last question can I make shapes out of it & place it on top of the foundant? Im so nervous I dont want to fail Im new at this do you have a web site for other baking ideas?
Thanks again Zoe:)
Im about to try this out because I seem to can not find foundant anywhere I called Winn Dixxi Publix and even some bakery they dont sell it. So I ran across this Im so happy because I red the blog and a child can do it….All I nned to know is how do I make the foundant another color like purple or red do I use food coloring?
I just made this twice this afternoon and the first time was so -so but I managed to save it with a lot of kneading. Then I read some reviews and found that maybe my gelatin got a bit cooled off mixed into the corn syrup mixture. So, I did what another reader did and removed it from the burner but kept it on the steaming water….perfection!!! I can’t wait to roll this out and use it….looks to be a dream and is going on a 10 year olds b-day cake…purple and lime green!!!!
Thanks so much
Hi Zoe,
I love your blog!
I have a question… How do you incorporate chocolate to fondant and make chocolate fondant? I am about to try your recipe but I also need chocolate fondant to cover a tree shaped cake.
Thanks!
Denise
Hi Denise,
You have to add cocoa powder to the mix. The best recipe I have seen is from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Heavenly Cake.
Thanks! Zoë
hi Zoe!
I tried your fondant, and it’s not as difficult to make or work with as I thought it might be! I used Satin Ice and the Duff brand (very pricey at Michael’s) before and those brands are just a bit more pliable.
I made a small cake but still have some fondant left. I will try making more to keep practicing- the price tag makes the work worth it!
thanks so much!
Miriam
Hi Zoe,
I found the culprit of my grayish fondant: my lovely organic powdered sugar! I knew that was it when my royal icing came out tinted too. After a trip to a conventional supermarket for some Domino brand, my fondant is now brilliant white!
Hi Sarah,
So glad you figured it out! Enjoy, Zoë
Hi Zoe,
Thank you for your website and information. So far, your recipe is great! My 11 yr. old daughter made it tonight and it was so much easier to knead than the marshmallow fondant we made and the consistency seems just right. She made an owl fondant cake for her birthday last month (her first fondant cake) and has entered the Great Cake Bake contest on Saturday. I’m hoping your recipe will color beautifully tomorrow for her. She has had so much fun mixing it.
We looked all over town and finally found glycerin at Hobby Lobby. We called Walmart, Kroger, CVS, Party City, Ingles, and Walgreens and they all said they didn’t carry it. We didn’t have the clear vanilla so our fondant is a tad ivory. Thats fine though since we are using bright colors for the design. (We are just starting to learn to decorate cakes after she watched an episode of the cake boss.)
I placed a medium glass bowl in a small saucepan and after dissolving the gelatin in the water, we poured it in the glass bowl, and simmered on low. We stirred constantly, added the corn syrup, vanilla, and glycerin and turned off the stove. This was easy for my daughter and poured effortlessly into the powdered sugar. She mixed with a hand mixer and incorporated a lot of the sugar after it was so thick. At first, it was gooey on her hands but she remembered from the other fondant about the kneading process and finally worked it out.
Thanks again!
Hi Mary,
I am beyond thrilled that your daughter is baking and making her own fondant! That is amazing.
Thanks! Zoë
Thanks for the great tutorial!
Help please! It tastes good, but mine is not pure white and I need the whitest white for a wedding cake. I followed every step exactly and my ingredients are all fresh. But the color is more bisque, even slightly grayish. Any suggestions?
Hi Sarah,
What are you mixing the fondant in? It sounds like it may be reacting to it in some way to create that color. It should be pure white.
Thanks, Zoë
I followed your recipe and several hours later when I unwrapped the ball and started kneading it to be able to roll it out to cover the cake, it fell apart and crumbled to pieces. Help! What am I doing wrong?
Hi Christian,
Your fondant is obviously too dry, but before you scrap it try to microwave it. Do it in very low and small intervals so you don’t over do it. Sometimes this will allow the fondant to come together.
I hope this helps! Zoë
Hi Zoe —
Thanks for the recipe and tutorial, however, I’ve now made this several times including last weekend for a wedding cake, and my problems in rolling it out (breaking easily) have made me question the recipe. I’ve now amended it by adding a small amount of CMC, and only now am I getting the results I have been looking for.
The best-selling commercial brands (Satin Ice, RegalIce) include gum tragacanth and I wonder why you don’t. If you’re really able to roll and work with the recipe as written, I’d sure like to know how you do it! (Yes, I’ve made the recipe exactly as written with no substitutions, and have tried every trick in the book in working with it).
Thanks!
Zoe,
Today I am reading everything I can find about fondant. I had to laugh. I did not even look at the title of your blog. Then I looked at the comments and thought, hey… Zoe? And I realized it was you.
I have spent a lot of time in your bread books. I should have known you’d do Fondant too being a pastry chef… :o)
Thank you for the post. I can’t wait to get started. I am ready for something new.
Cheryl
I am typically not a commentor, but felt it necessary to do so after making this recipe. I have been using a rolled fondant recipe that requires a bit of shortening. I don’t like it, and avoid it whenever possible. This recipe makes it possible! I was out of clear vanilla extract and was feeling under the weather when I made this, so I threw in powdered vanilla instead. Also, because I wasn’t feeling that great, after incorporating ingredients in mixer, I turned out onto a powdered sugar dusted surface, worked the mixture a bit with my hands, and then tossed it back in the KA mixing bowl with the dough hook and let it knead the last of the powdered sugar in for me. This worked beautifully and saved me the extra work. Thank you for posting this recipe…my new favorite rolled fondant 🙂
Hi Tina,
I am thrilled to hear you tried it and liked working with the fondant. I completely agree and love how you saved some time!
Thanks, Zoë
Hi. Im an aspiring baker, i love making cakes and cookies and everything desert wise. Ive tried the marshmallow fondant recipe before and it never came out right, it tasted wonderful but i would always fall apart on me, not a big fan of the MMfondant but i love marshmallows lol. Ive seen many variations of fondant just not sure what to try. Im wanting to open my own bakery and i know fondant is very popular. Have you ever tried adding flavor to your fondant. I once went to a baby shower that had a cake that had fondant all on it, and it was a 3 tier cake and the bottom tier had a cherry flavored fondant, the middle had a blueberry flavored, and the top was apple. I thought it was the cake that tasted like it but it was actually the fondant. I never found out how the fondant was made that way cuz her mom bought the cake for her and i could never get ahold of her to find out how to do that. Do you know how to make the fondant taste like that???
Hi Samantha,
You can certainly add extracts to the dough to flavor it. You will want to add extracts and not oils, which can break down the fondant.
Great luck to you in your bakery!
Zoë
Zöe ,
this fondant is amazing!!!!
I was at a bakery the other day and the fondant was HORRIBLE!
So then i tried to make my own from other websites and
they were OK. Then i tried ur recipe. So good:) my kids are
4 and 14 so for my 4 year olds birthday, i made a cake covered
with the fondant — SUPER!
Question- if i reduce the recipe will it come out the same?
Thx!
BeccaMae
Hi BeccaMae,
Oh, that is wonderful, I’m so glad you had such great results with it.
You can reduce the recipe and I think it will work just as well. I’ve doubled it with great success.
Thanks, Zoë