Fondant – What Is It?
Fondant is an increasingly popular material for cake decorating worldwide. Not only has been used in Europe, Australia and South Africa for decades, but with the recent reality shows Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes on American television it has also become more common in the United States. It can be rolled and draped over a cake, be poured as a glaze or sculpted into cake adornments, among other things. While in a simpler form it is also used for candy, it is the aforementioned versatility that makes it as popular as it is in cake decorating.
Fondant in its most basic form consist sugar and water. However rolled fondant, or the type that is normally used for cake decorating also includes gelatin and glycerin. Lemon, chocolate, coffee, candy oil, food colors or other edible elements may also be added to the mixture for various cosmetic or palatable effects.
The process of making fondant is uncomplicated and can be done at home from scratch, though many cake decorators that work with fondant prefer buying either powdered fondant mix or just the ready-made product. Regardless of which the ingredients are first dissolved in hot water. After the resulting solution has cooled off it is stirred into a smooth and pleasant texture that is finished fondant. At this stage it may just as readily be frozen as it may be used on a cake, though it usually fares better in room temperature in the short term.
We mentioned rolled fondant as the type that is most typically used in cake decorating. It has a smooth and shiny surface and therefore tends to be used as the covering base of a cake upon which more elaborate ornaments are eventually to be placed. To this end, it tends to be rolled out, hence its name, and consequentially applied to a cake in one piece, after which excess fondant is trimmed off at the edges. The procedure is preceded by an initial covering of the cake with glaze, cream or icing so as to make sure the fondant will stick to it.
Sculpting fondant differs slightly from rolled fondant in its composition to ensure better consistency for making cake decorating ornaments such as flowers or borders. Poured fondant is on the other hand a more basic alternative that lacks the doughy consistency of the aforementioned types. This is the fondant sort you are most likely to find in candy, but it can also be used as a glaze with which to cover a cake or a cookie. It is applied and spread at a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit and should be left to cool down afterwards. As it dries out, it will assume a shiny alabaster surface that is not entirely unlike that of rolled fondant.
You are better off keeping whichever type of fondant you use in cake decorating damp while you are working with it, as otherwise it might crack or stagnate prematurely from dehydration.
However all types of fondant attract humidity and will eventually dissolve and become deformed if it absorbs too much of it from its surrounding. Fondant is consequentially best worked with in air-conditioned or otherwise weather-controlled environment. Similarly it is a good idea to avoid unnecessary freezing or refrigeration thereof; not only because freezers and refrigerators contain excessive amounts of moisture by default, but also as upon thawing fondant the inherent moisture-attracting abilities of sugar will inevitably draw moisture particles from the air if the surrounding temperature exceeds that of the fondant itself.
Note that if fondant is applied to a cake that contains perishable food items it has to be refrigerated, but on its own it can last for several days in dry and room-temperate storage.
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