To make your own fondant cake may seem like a daunting task, but with patience, persistence and a little prep work, it’s quite simple and doable.
Fondant is a kind of sugar dough that can be rolled out to cover the cake for a smooth, sleek finish. It’s like a Play-Doh clay that can be molded and shaped to your own design.
Most fondants taste sweet, a bit chewy and silky smooth.
For beginners, here are basic steps on how to make your first fondant cake.
Knead the fondant to soften it up. Once softened, it can be rolled out to a thin sheet, ready to be molded.
Pink Mixer Bakeshop’s Rossana Hwang suggests using ready-to-roll Satin Ice fondant to save prep time and to get right to decorating. A pail costs P400-P500 (2 pounds).
Here, Hwang uses the vanilla (white) flavor for fondant in a two-tier cake.
“Another basic component in making a fondant cake is the cake itself,” says Hwang. “It’s best to use dense, firm kind of cakes like pound cake, butter cake, chocolate cake, fruit cake or carrot cake to support the fondant. You may also combine two different flavors in one cake.”
It’s also ideal, says Hwang, to work in a cool place with a clean working area.
“Once you get a hang of the technique in making fondant, you can experiment with different designs and flavorings. Practice makes perfect,” Hwang says.
Butter cake recipe
For a 6-inch round cake, you can use 1 kilo of fondant. For the bottom layer, a 10-inch round cake (4-inch tall), you can use 2 kilos of fondant.
If you prefer butter cake as your base cake, Hwang shares her butter cake recipe:
1 c (225 grams) butter
2 2/3 c sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
4 c cake flour
3 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ¾ c milk
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour baking pans, 3- and 9-inch round layer pans.
In large mixing blow, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and add vanilla.
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with milk. Pour into pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool.
Ingredients for fondant cake:
1 pail of Satin Ice Fondant
Freshly baked butter cake or chocolate cake (your choice of flavor)
Powdered sugar
Gum paste flower décor
Food coloring gel
STEP BY STEP
E-mail the author at vbaga@inqurier.com.ph.