John Myers
Fondant is a paste-like sugar mass that is mainly used for the icing, filling, and decoration of sweet baked goods. For example when enrobing pralines, cakes, and pastries. The dessert is also known and loved as a melt-in-the-mouth fondant confection.
Fondant: popular with confectioners and those with a sweet tooth
The term “fondant” comes from French and means “melting”. Aptly named, because in the production of fondant, ingredients such as sucrose, glucose syrup and invert sugar cream are “fused” into a mass that can then be easily shaped and kneaded. An ideal prerequisite for creative use in the patisserie. The taste experience of fondant can also be described as “melting” – because the sweet sugar paste literally melts in your mouth.
How to use fondant for cakes
Cakes, confectionery, and pastries can be individually designed, adorned, and decorated with fondant. Many a motif cake is a real work of art and almost too good to cut. This is often due to the velvety soft coating and the artistic decoration. Fondant is often used for both, which can be colored with food coloring if desired.
Whether you use fondant, icing, or marzipan as a coating for a cake is a matter of taste. Fondant is usually easier to shape and is quite stable. Fondant is also more neutral in taste than marzipan. The filling of the cake also plays a role, so buttercream and cream differ in consistency and degree of moisture, and this also determines which coating is easiest to apply and lasts the longest. It’s best to try it out or ask your trusted pastry chef. Our experts reveal how to skilfully cover cakes with fondant in the article Cake with fondant.
Make fondant yourself: That’s how it works!
Fondant is available ready-made in blocks or rolled, as a powder, and also in the form of baking decorations. You can also make the sugar paste yourself. For the basic fondant recipe, you need powdered sugar, water, and vegetable fat. Fondant can also be prepared from melted marshmallows, but it is important to add powdered sugar – this binds the mass and provides a fine, soft sweetness.
Tip: Try our sugar-sweet baking recipes for blueberry fondant cake and lemon fondant cake – to melt away!
