In our Cake Studio, here at the Bakehouse, a team of talented designers create one-of-a-kind, custom cakes and decorated cookies for all your important life events, including showers, weddings, special birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and more. We take pride in creating custom cakes and cookies that taste as good as they look, because everything, even our fondant, is made from scratch. And speaking of fondant, we sat down with Alyce Machcinski, the Cake Studio’s Principle Cake Designer, to discuss her malleable approach (pun intended – see below) to using traditional fondant in our cake and cookie designs. We also asked her to what extent has fondant been an essential tool in her cake-designing arsenal.
But first things first: What is fondant?
Fondant, in today’s world of cake design, is essentially rolled-out sugar paste with a distinctive malleable structure and smooth texture, similar to pie dough. It’s used as icing and to create decorative elements in two or three dimensions. The word “fondant” comes from the French word fondre, which means “to melt,” a likely reference to its tendency to melt in the mouth, should you desire to eat it.
We make our rather tasty fondant by combining powdered sugar, corn syrup, glycerine, gelatin, vanilla extract, and vegetable shortening into a mixture firm and malleable enough to roll into thin sheets, which we can then drape over a bare cake that’s been lightly coated in buttercream to serve as an adhesive. The fondant covering gives our cakes a smooth, blank canvas upon which to create any number of decorative designs. Its pliable nature also makes it great for simulating ornamental flourishes such as ribbons or bows, swathes of fabric, flowers, and a variety of inanimate objects both in two and three dimensions. Colors applied with food-safe dyes adhere to our lily-white fondant beautifully, amplified as they are by the bright white undertones from the powdered sugar.
Even if you’re a fondant skeptic, we encourage you to give ours a try and to take your hand at making it yourself at home with the recipe we’re sharing (see below) from our cookbook Zingerman’s Bakehouse Celebrate Every Day (2023). Ours is not like others that may have left you with a bad taste in your mouth (literally). Since we make our own and don’t use any unrecognizable chemicals or preservatives, its flavor is primarily sweet with a touch of vanilla–-kind of like the inside of an Oreo cookie. It’s relatively simple to make and very user-friendly for decorating cakes and cookies as it takes a long time for it to become unstable.
And now for our conversation with head cake designer, Alyce…
Alyce, as a cake designer, what advantages does fondant give you? Are there times you want to use it in particular? Are there times you prefer not to?
Fondant can give you a really lovely, smooth, pristine finish. I prefer to use it for minimalist, clean cut designs. We can ice cleanly with buttercream, but it’s never going to be as smooth looking as a well-covered fondant tier. It serves as an edible canvas that is ideal for painted designs imitating watercolor, oils, and acrylics that just can’t be accomplished on buttercream. On the other hand, designs that incorporate palette-knife or impasto-style painting work beautifully with buttercream because you have a longer working time in that style than with royal icing, which we would use on a fondant-based cake.
I also prefer to use a fondant base for cakes that incorporate delicate piping details. It allows us to use royal icing for the piping. Royal icing doesn’t get softer with the heat from your hand while holding the piping bag, so it keeps the same consistency and can pipe a finer line. Buttercream with the same piping tip size will inherently make a thicker line. Also, as it softens with the heat from your hand, it can change color and get thicker with the same pressure over the course of decorating a cake.
Aside from a design aspect, there are a few logistical benefits to fondant as well! It adds a layer of protection to the cake, sealing in moisture. A cake covered in fondant will be delicious for longer than a cake iced in buttercream. It’s also great for traveling long distances with the cake. You don’t have to worry about accidentally brushing the side of the cake and damaging it when you get it to your destination. Fondant holds up a little better under heat than buttercream. If the cake is outdoors, a wind-swept leaf won’t stick to it like it would buttercream.
I always recommend that we use fondant for heavily colored cakes (very dark or very bright colors). That way the guest can choose whether they want to walk around with a dyed mouth or not. They can simply peel it off before eating the cake.
I do not recommend fondant on cakes that require refrigeration. When refrigerated, it will form condensation and get a “sweaty” look. This can make colors bleed, and overall create an unappetizing look. Similarly, we don’t recommend very soft cakes (like our chiffon cake) with fondant. They don’t have enough strength in their structure to withstand even the fairly thin layer we use.
During your time as a cake designer, has fondant fallen in and out of fashion?
There have definitely been trends in designs that lend themselves towards or against fondant during my time as a decorator. There has usually been a balance in design so that we’re always doing a mix of fondant and buttercream-iced cakes.
Culturally, fondant has a pretty bad reputation. Right now, palette-knife painting, vintage-style piping (rooted in a style often done with royal icing), and textured buttercream designs are all very popular, so we are designing a lot of buttercream cakes right now.
Do you recommend that people eat the fondant or peel it off?
I leave that up to the guest. Our fondant is pretty tasty…I think it tastes like the inside of an oreo…but it is sweet. We still ice the cake with a layer of buttercream underneath. That way, there’s still something there if they don’t want to eat it. I find that many guests choose to eat it or at least have a few bites!
Since we recommend that our custom cakes get cut into a grid, most of the slices served from a cake won’t have much of the exterior icing/fondant on them anyway, only a small amount from the top of the cake. Given that, I encourage guests to not shy away from designing a cake with fondant if that’s the design they want.
If the exterior fondant is a dark-dyed color, I warn that eating it will stain your mouth. If that’s important to them, I suggest not eating it.
A few years ago, we made some cakes with a “suede” or “velvet” look to the exterior. We achieved that by applying a thin coating of shortening to the exterior of the fondant and applying powdered food coloring. That design is the only one that I heavily recommend that the fondant is peeled off before serving. Just touching that cake would leave you with stained hands!
When customers taste our fondant, what is their reaction?
A lot of customers who have tasted our fondant are pleasantly surprised! We’ve turned several proclaimed “fondant-haters” into customers that only want fondant-covered cakes because they love the taste. We’ve also heard that the texture of ours is much better…it melts more than being overly chewy.
What tips do you have for making and working with the Bakehouse’s Hand-Made Fondant vs. commercial or home-made marshmallow fondant on cakes and cookies?
- Marshmallow fondant has a spongier texture that is a little more difficult to make smooth.
- Our fondant is often softer than commercial versions, which means that it can tear more easily. Though, this also means it’s easier to repair and smooth out.
- You can manipulate stiffer commercial fondant with a little less caution. However, when it does tear it’s very difficult to smooth out or patch.
- Knead the fondant until it is smooth and uniform in texture before rolling it out to cover a cake.
- We use a sprinkling of cornstarch when rolling it out. Using powdered sugar to keep it from sticking to the table or tools will often result in a sticky mess. Any residual cornstarch will dissolve if you spritz or brush the cake with a light coating of clear alcohol, like vodka.
- Fondant can be difficult to cover a cake when rolled out too thin or too thick. Both can result in cracking and tearing. We typically roll ours out to about 6-mm [1/4-inch] thick to cover a cake. It will often stretch a little thinner as we are covering the cake. We roll ours out to about 2-mm [1/16-inch] thick for covering cookies and making simple cut-out decorations.
- A nicely covered cake starts with your preparation of the cake with a buttercream crumb coat. Starting with a level cake that has a nice, smooth exterior sets you up for success. Any lumps in the buttercream will show through to the fondant. If your crumb coat has patches of darker colored cake showing, you may have a slight shadow that shows through.
- Before proceeding with fondant, we chill crumb-coated cakes in the refrigerator so the buttercream isn’t soft.
- Knead the fondant until it is smooth and uniform in texture before rolling it out to cover a cake.
- Remove any jewelry (rings and watches) that might get caught or make a mark. We also recommend short finger nails.
- We use a sprinkling of cornstarch when rolling it out. Using powdered sugar to keep it from sticking to the table or tools will often result in a sticky mess. Any residual cornstarch will dissolve if you spritz or brush the fondant-covered cake with a light coating of clear alcohol, like vodka.
- Fondant can be difficult to cover a cake when rolled out too thin or too thick. Both can result in cracking and tearing. We typically roll ours out to about 6-mm [1/4-inch] thick to cover a cake. It will often stretch a little thinner as we are covering the cake. We roll ours out to about 2-mm [1/16-inch] thick for covering cookies and making simple cut-out decorations.
- When moving large pieces of rolled-out fondant, use a flat hand or drape it over your forearms to avoid poking your fingers through it. Alternatively, drape it over a rolling pin.
- When covering a cake, it’s easier to smooth extra material with a larger piece than a smaller piece.
- Make sure to pierce, deflate, and smooth out any air bubbles that form, using a pin or needle tool. If you have decoration that’s going on the top of the cake, you can preemptively pierce a small hole with the back of a paintbrush or skewer to allow any trapped air to escape. This can help prevent air bubbles from forming overnight.
- If you have any small cracks or tears in the surface that you can’t smooth out while covering the cake, you can patch them with a fondant slurry. Make the slurry by creating a paste of fondant and water, and then smooth any areas that need repair. I recommend waiting until the next day to make these types of repairs, so the fondant doesn’t pull and tear more when you smooth out the slurry.
Bakehouse Hand-Made Fondant
Ingredients
- 54 g water room temperature
- 10 g powdered gelatin
- 630 g powdered sugar
- 90 g corn syrup*
- 20 g glycerin
- 1 tsp clear vanilla extract (see Tip!)
- 24 g vegetable shortening
- 1/4 cup cornstarch for rolling
Instructions
- In a small bowl, bloom the gelatin by combining the water and gelatin. Stir to completely hydrate the gelatin, then set the mixture aside for at least 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, melt the gelatin mixture in a microwave for 30 seconds. Alternatively, place the small bowl in a larger bowl with hot water, and stir until the gelatin melts.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift in 1/2 of the powdered sugar; then add the corn syrup, glycerin, clear vanilla extract, shortening, and melted gelatin and immediately stir with a wooden spoon to combine into a smooth batter.
- Sift 1/2 of the remaining powdered sugar over the mixture and combine using a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes a shaggy mass.
- Sift the remaining powdered sugar onto a clean work surface and turn the fondant out of the work bowl.
- Gently knead the fondant until all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated. The fondant should be smooth and pliable. Do not over knead the fondant, as it will become very sticky.
- Double wrap the fondant with plastic wrap, place it in an airtight container, and cure it overnight at room temperature before using. It will become more homogenous overnight.
Notes
- Work with a small amount of fondant at a time, and keep the rest tightly wrapped in plastic; it can dry out quickly!
- To add color, put a drop of food coloring in the center of a portion of fondant and knead it in, adding additional coloring as necessary (dust a little cornstarch on your work surface if the fondant is sticking). Wear gloves for this step if you’re worried about staining your hands.
- Dust the fondant with cornstarch to help you roll it out (like you would use flour when rolling out dough), and brush away any excess. Using a straight rolling pin (do not use a tapered rolling pin), roll out fondant to a 1/4-in thickness. Don’t roll it too thin; if you do, the texture of the cookie will be visible through the fondant, which is not desirable.
- Your fondant is now ready to be cut. If you want to cover the entire cookie, take the cutter used for the cookies and cut out the fondant. For other shapes or decorations, choose cutters to your taste.
- Use water (a tiny amount!) to help secure fondant on top of the cookies or for layering pieces of fondant together.
- To marble fondant, combine small pieces of two (or more colors) and twist and knead them together, then roll out.
- The type of layer cake most conducive to covering with fondant is a densely textured butter cake, like the Bakehouse’s Buttermilk Cake and Hunka Burnin’ Love Chocolate Cake. Light textured cakes, like Angel Food or Chiffon, will have a hard time holding up the weight of fondant; while cakes with heavy mix-ins, like Carrot or Hummingbird, may create an uneven surface and can show through your fondant.
- Place your prepared layer cake on a cake board and make sure it’s leveled and filled evenly before applying a Crumb Coat over the entire cake. This thin layer of buttercream frosting traps any cake crumbs and acts as an adhesive so your fondant doesn’t fall off or move around. Refrigerate your crumb-coated layer cake until firm.
- To prepare the fondant, knead it until it’s pliable and add and work in food coloring if you’re planning to tint your fondant.
- Before rolling out the fondant, determine how much you’ll need to cover your cake by measuring both the diameter of the cake and its height and plugging those measurements into the following formula: Diameter + Height (x2 ) = Diameter of rolled-out fondant. For example, if your cake is 6 inches in diameter and 4 inches high, your formula would look like this: 6 inches + 4 inches (x2) = 14 inches.
- To get a nice even roll on your fondant, start with a well prepared work surface. To prevent sticking, dust the surface with cornstarch. Shape the fondant into a round disk, like you would with pie dough, and using a straight rolling pin (do not use a tapered rolling pin), roll out to the desired size in diameter, at around a ⅛-inch thickness. Always roll from the center outwards, turning and lifting the fondant as you go to keep the round shape consistent.
- Once your fondant is rolled out, move quickly to cover your now chilled cake, as rolled fondant will dry out if left too long. Start by placing your rolling pin in the middle of your rolled out fondant round, and using both hands fold one side of the fondant round over the rolling pin.
- Pick up the rolling pin by both ends. Working from the back of the cake to the front, touch the edge of the fondant to the cake board and start draping the fondant towards you, trying to keep it as centered as possible. Gently roll out the fondant, guiding it as it drapes over the rest of the cake.
- Smooth the draped fondant on top of the cake using a fondant smoother; then to smooth the sides, pick up a section of the fondant and gently pull and stretch the fondant away from the cake, using the edge of your hand to smooth the sides and remove any creases. Rotate the cake as you work your way around.
Hungry for more?
- Get the recipe for our Hunka Burnin’ Love Chocolate Cake in our cookbook Zingerman’s Bakehouse (2017) and on our blog.
- Get the recipes for our Buttermilk Cake and Decorated Sugar Cookies in our cookbook Zingerman’s Bakehouse Celebrate Every Day (2023)
- Learn the Fondant Fundamentals of cookie decoration in our BAKE! class Creative Cookies
- Head to the Wilton Blog and their accompanying YouTube video and/or to Auto Desk Instructables – Working with Fondant for visual tutorials on how to cover a round layer cake with fondant.
After a long, established career as a Ph.D. art history scholar and art museum curator, Lee, a Michigan native, came to the Bakehouse in 2017 eager to pursue her passion for artisanal baking and to apply her love of history, research, writing, and editing in a new exciting arena. Her first turn at the Bakehouse was as a day pastry baker. She then moved on to retail sales in the Bakeshop, followed by joining the Marketing Team and becoming the Bakehouse’s designated culinary historian. In addition to her retail sales and marketing work, she’s a member of the Bakehouse’s Grain Commission, co-author and editor of the Bakehouse's series of cookbooklets, and a regular contributor to the BAKE! Blog and Zingerman’s Newsletter, where she explores the culinary, cultural, and social history and evolution of the Bakehouse’s artisan baked goods.