Fondant recipe | Wilton recipe | Kukskitchen

Fondant icing gives your cakes that wow-factor transforming a delicious homely cake to a spectacular piece of art. I have had my fair share of lucks and flops with various fondant recipes. The Wilton recipe is by far the best and I use it each time now.

What is needs is a few special ingredients that is not found in a day-to-day kitchen cupboard, for instance glucose syrup and glycerin. Luckily these are ingredients freely available in supermarkerts in this country. They can be found at the chemist's shop if you are in India.



A few things before we start:

• If fondant is too soft, add more sugar; if too stiff, add water (a drop at a time).
• Use fondant immediately or let mature for 24 hours in airtight container in a cool, dry place. I wrap mine in cling film and store in a freezer bag / ziplock bag.
• If storing longer than 1 week, refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before kneading. Do not freeze.  I have had bad experiences. When ready to use, knead again until soft.
•  If fondant becomes dry, either by adding too much sugar or air drying, add some glycerine or olive oil and knead thoroughly like chapathi dough.
• If making fondant in a place where the atmosphere is humid, the fondant gets sticky and shiny so much so that you can't roll out thin sheets. Try an work in an air-conditioned room to help prevent the moisture getting to the fondant. Also use cornflour to dust your work surface. Olive oil can help prevent fondant sticking to your fingers.
• Gel colours work best with fondant. Please remember the colour of fondant darkens with time, especially the browns and the reds. For dark shades start with a chocolate fondant (substitute 1 cup of icing sugar with one cup of cocoa powder in the below recipe).
• For modelling flowers, make a gumpaste. To do so, add 2 tsp of tylose or CMC powder to 250g of fondant. Be careful about this ratio, as tylose makes the fondant brittle as well as firm.

How to crumb coat 

(Added on request from readers)

A crumb coat is the base coat of butter cream or other icing on a cake. Generally there are at least two layers of buttercream icing spread on a cake; the first is the crumb coat, which seals in the crumbs. That way no crumbs can get into the second layer of icing and make your cake look dirty or rough. You can then add an additional second coat to give it a nice uniform look. 

• Before you begin, make sure your icing is stiff; you should be able to scoop it up with your spatula and turn it upside down over the bowl without it falling. The icing should hold its shape perfectly. 
• The first thing you need to do is level your cake. All cakes need to be level or you will get cracked cakes that will not hold their shape. You can do this by using a long serrated knife to very carefully cut the top off your cake. 
• Start by spreading a thin layer of icing on your cake board. This way your cake will stick to the bottom of your cake. Now sandwich your cake layers and then cover with butter cream. 
• Leave it in the fridge for atleast 20-30 minutes to get the buttercream nice and firm. This will help the cake hold its shape when adding the second layer of buttercream. Once your cake is chilled, pull it out and cover it with second coat of buttercream. 
• Place it in the fridge to chill for about 20 minutes so that the buttercream hardens. Then wrap it in at least two layers of cling film ( this prevents other smells in fridge from contaminating the icing and helps icinf stay fresh) and place it back in the fridge to chill overnight, before covering it with fondant.

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Fondant recipe

Makes about 36 ounces of fondant.

Enough to cover a 10 x 4 in. high round cake. 

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Ingredients:

1- Unflavored gelatin - 1 tbsp +2 tsp
    Cold water - 1/4 cup
2- Glucose - 1/2 cup
    Solid vegetable shortening - Dalda or Trex - 2 tbsp
    Glycerin - 1 tbsp
3- Icing sugar, sifted - 8 cups
4- Icing color as desired
    flavoring as desired

Method:

• Combine (1); let stand until thick, about 3 minutes. Place gelatin mixture in top of double boiler and heat and stir until dissolved. Add glucose, mix well. Stir in shortening; just before completely melted remove from heat. Now add glycerin, flavoring and color. Cool until lukewarm.
• In large bowl, place 4 cups icing sugar; make a well. Pour the lukewarm gelatin mixture into the well and stir with a wooden spoon, mixing in sugar and adding more, a little at a time, until incorporated. Knead in remaining sugar. Knead until the fondant is smooth, pliable and does not stick to your hands. 

I would like to share some of my attempts at fondant modelling with you today.

 Recipe by Sherin  of KuksKitchen

 Adapted from: Wilton

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Cheers
Sherin