I promised to post the fondant recipe I used for my cake-decorating projects quite a while ago. Well, I guess it’s better late than never.
If you’ve ever sampled a store-bought, ready-to-roll fondant (I’m speaking about the most readily available “wonderful” Wilton product, in particular) you will understand why I decided to master a home-made version. Among other “cons” were the awful smell (intense shortening-like), and the long list of the preservatives and artificial ingredients on the package. It still would be probably acceptable if the molded decorations were considered as décor only. But, on contrary, kids prefer to start from the fondant-made stuff; they always eat the fondant first.
If you’ve never worked with the fondant before, then disregard my criticism above and buy a small package. Do not use it on your cake, but get a feeling of the right density and texture. The fondant should be “soft but firm”, if it makes any sense. I learned from my own mistakes, and don’t want you to repeat mine. First recipe I used called for the exact amount of icing sugar to be incorporated. So, I trustfully kneaded it all into my fondant. That fondant ended up in the garbage bin. It was too dry and stiff to work with. The icing sugar quantity should vary; it depends on the weather conditions. Sometimes, I have a couple of ounces of icing sugar left over; other days I use it all.
The recipe below is adapted from Toba Garrett.
Makes a little bit over 2 pounds, enough to decorate a 9 to 10-inch cake
Ingredients:
- Up to 2 lbs confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tbsp (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin
- ¼ cup cold water
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 1 tbsp glycerin
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract (if you need a snow-white color, use a clear vanilla extract (unfortunately, it’s artificial))
- ½ tsp white vegetable shortening
Preparation:
Sift 1 ½ pounds of the confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and set aside. Transfer the rest of the confectioners’ sugar into the sieve and set aside as well.
Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water in a liquid measuring cup or in a medium bowl. Let it stand for two minutes to soften. Place the bowl into a saucepan with barely simmering water until the gelatin dissolves, or microwave for 15 seconds on High (the time depends on the power of the microwave; the gelatin should be melted but not boiled ). Do not overheat.
Stir in the corn syrup, glycerin, and the vanilla extract. Return to the microwave and reheat for another 15 seconds on High. Stir again. The mixture should be smooth and clear.
Pour the glycerin mixture into the well in the icing sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. The mixture will be very sticky.
Sift some of the remaining icing sugar over a non-stick silicone mat and transfer the sticky fondant from the bowl onto the mat. Sift a little bit more icing sugar over the fondant and start to knead. Wear disposable gloves if you have them. Or, better yet, plan ahead and buy the gloves before you start. Gradually add more icing sugar as you knead; use a plastic/silicone pastry scraper to lift the fondant that sticks to the mat. You aim to get a smooth, pliable mass; firm but soft. Rub the vegetable shortening into your palms and knead it into the fondant. This relieves the stickiness of the fondant.
Wrap the fondant tightly in plastic wrap twice, then place in a plastic bag. Allow the fondant to rest for 24 hours before using. I can’t confirm a long storage life since I always use it within 2 or 3 days; I store it at room temperature.
October 20, 2011 at 4:45 pm
hi, i was wondering if this would work with vegetable gelatin. thank you for this wonderful recipe.
August 22, 2011 at 7:46 am
Miriam, sure you can double the recipe. I just find it quite difficult to knead a big portion by hand.
August 17, 2011 at 2:26 pm
Thanks so much for this recipe. I am going to try it for the first time tonight. Wish me luck!!!
August 15, 2011 at 3:33 pm
i need a recipe for fondant without poweder suger corn surap gelitan and parshmwllows right me back asap!
August 10, 2011 at 6:36 am
hi Vera!
I love this recipe! I totally agree with you! The commercial fondants other than Wilton are nicer BUT quite pricey! This fondant works quite well for me! The price is about 1/4 of commercial fondant prices and I don’t think it takes much to prepare for it!
My question: Is it possible to double or triple the amounts for a larger batch? Please forgive me if you’ve answered this, however I couldn’t come across it in earlier postings.
Thanks so much for your great tips and beautiful and inspiring blog!!
xoxo
Miriam
July 29, 2011 at 3:46 pm
Paige, yes you can color the fondant by kneading in the gel food colors.
July 27, 2011 at 5:27 am
hey Vera,
I am 11 years old and I do competitve baking witch is racing on making a cake and seeing who makes it the best.If I wanted coloured fondant would I just add food colouring? please tell me if you know thanks.
Paige <3
July 25, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Melina, yes you can.
Alison, no this is not a substitute. It’s better to omit it altogether.
July 23, 2011 at 1:58 pm
Could I substitute Margarine for the Vegetable Shortening?
July 6, 2011 at 11:45 am
I haw always wanted to make fondont and I think this will help but I also love color can I die this fondont with food coloring to get some color in it?
June 16, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Hello Vera, thank you for your reply!
So, this morning I made my usual fondant which includes glucose and glycerin. My recipe asks for 1 TBSP of unflavored gelatin- the recipe you provide says- (1 tbsp (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin) but I realized that while I was doing my own recipe one envelope of unflavored gelatin is NOT a TBSP it’s actually less. I had to use 1 full envelope and a little extra from another envelope. I think this might have had something to do with my big mess.
I did add more icing sugar hoping it would help, but it didn’t :(
Because MM fondant does well when placed in the fridge and it actually hardens a bit I hoped that I would have the same luck with the one I had just made. But this morning when I took it out of the fridge… it didn’t get any better or any worst! It was just the same sticky SOFT stuff from the night before :(
I checked and re-checked my measurements and everything had been exact except for the 1 TBSP of unflavored gelatin.
I won’t give up though!!! Because I have a cake to make for tomorrow I had to do my own recipe but I will definitely try your recipe again!! :)
If it works out… this will be my NEW favorite recipe!!
Glucose is pricier than light syrup!!
June 16, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Belle, light syrup and glucose can be used interchangeably, they both produce the same result. I don’t know what went wrong in your situation. Is there any chance the measurements were off? If the fondant wasn’t firm enough, you could have added more icing sugar. The consistency should be pliable, but firm enough to be rolled. If other recipes you used before worked well, you probably know where to aim to. I do not recommend to refrigerate this fondant.
June 16, 2011 at 12:35 am
Hello!
I have a question… after following all the steps to a “T” what should be the consistency of the fondant??
I’ve made the MM fondant many many times and although it is VERY messy I’ve NEVER had any problems with it.
I’ve also made fondant using glucose and glycerin… but when I saw your recipe uses light syrup instead of glucose I thought I would give it a try- NO GOOD!!
It looks more like ganache! I wasn’t able to knead the mixture at all!! The mixture went from the bowl straight to a ziplock bag and into the fridge :( I had NEVER had this happen to me.
What could I have done wrong???
Please help :(
May 22, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Hannah, the only fondant my nearest Michaels sells is Wilton’s, and I find it pretty nasty. I do buy it though at 50% off (using the store’s coupons) but I use this fondant for covering boards only.
I do agree now that there’s good quality fondant available. From my experience, Swiss-made is the best and, probably, the most expensive one. But you always get what you pay for.
May 22, 2011 at 2:13 pm
HI i found a great pre-fondant at my nearest Michaels and it smelled and tasted great but i t expensive but great so not all pre-fondant it nasty! Thanks
-Hannah
May 15, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Hi,
Your cake looks fantastic. Looking at this picture of your lovely cake makes me want go into my kitchen and get started with my fondant.
One thing I wanted to ask is I don’t have glycerin and I wanted to know what are the substitution for it.
Thanks
May 14, 2011 at 5:40 am
Pat, I think your cake was a bit underbaked. 12-inch pan is a large pan, I would rather let the cake sit in the oven for a bit longer. If the top browns too quickly, cover it very loosely with aluminum foil. And maybe, a heating core would do a better job instead of flower nail.
May 9, 2011 at 7:37 am
Okay, new problem: I had found a nice butter cake recipe that I tried that came out denser than a pound cake. It calls for 3 sticks of butter, 1 cup of milk, 2 cups of sugar, 5 eggs, 3 cups of cake flour, vanilla, and only 3/4 of a teaspoon of baking powder. Guessing that there was way too little baking powder, I increased it to 3 teaspoons and found the recipe worked much better–in a cupcake. It was light and tasty. Nice crumb. When I baked the batter in one 12 inch pan, however, the outside cooked nicely while the center was all bubbly-looking and sunken. Even though the center was cooked (skewer came out clean), I definitely had a sinking problem. I baked at 350 degrees and used a flower nail in the center to act as a heating core. I’m checking the accuracy of my oven tonight, but any other ideas would be appreciated!
May 2, 2011 at 7:24 am
Vera, thank you for your help. I made a cake this past weekend, but hadn’t seen your reply at that time. The fondant looked good, but did not stick to the side of the cake–when I sliced it, it popped away. I’ll give your alcohol idea a try! Thanks.
April 29, 2011 at 10:19 pm
Elizabeth, after you make your fondant, color it by kneading in a little bit of concentrated paste food colors.
April 27, 2011 at 11:41 am
Hi.
I am planning to try your recipe this weekend but I have a few questions,is there a way to add food coloring to make different color fondant? Do you know how i can make a colored fondant? Is there a certain food coloring you recommend?
April 21, 2011 at 11:56 am
Pat, I never use crusted buttercream. When I’m ready to wrap a cake in fondant, I take it out the fridge and, using a small sponge (designated for this purpose only), apply clear alcohol (usually kirsch or white rum) all over the cake surface. Make sure the sponge is squeezed, so only necessary amount is applied. Don’t use a brush, since it will leave some dry areas causing air bubbles to appear. The alcohol not only acts as a glue, but also sort of disinfects the surface, which is an additional plus with decorated cakes that have to be stored for several days. As for the storage, it depends on the cake and the filling. Buttercream-filled cakes can be kept at cool room temperature for a day, or refrigerated (make sure it’s a low setting) for several days.
Ujwala, thank you. I’ll be honest, I’ve never used glyceryl monostearate, so I can’t give you an advise here. You can omit the glycerin altogether.
April 21, 2011 at 12:09 am
Hello again,
I found Glyceryl Monostearate, in the section for baking. Can I use it instead of glycerin for making this lovely looking fondant. If yes, how much should I use, it is in powdered form.
Ujwala
April 20, 2011 at 11:51 pm
Hi,
Your cake looks really beautiful. I want to try the fondant recipe as soon as possible, only problem I can’t find edible glyderine here. What can I use instead of glycerin.
Ujwala.
April 19, 2011 at 12:25 pm
I’ve been practicing fondant cakes and am getting better each time, but it is trial and error. I’ve learned that it definitely helps to have the cake crumb-coated and then refrigerated for it to set up. I do a second coating that covers everything and then put that in the refrigerator, too. Some sites suggest painting an apricot glaze on the buttercream surface to give the fondant something to stick to, since the buttercream has crusted. Do you agree? I haven’t tried that, and I have had issues with air bubbles under the surface. Do you roll your fondant to about 1/4th of an inch thick? And how many days in advance can you cover a cake and still have it look and taste good? Thanks for your help!
March 24, 2011 at 8:03 pm
My 11 yr. old daughter made this tonight and so far, it is so much easier to work with than the marshmallow fondant. This will be her 2nd fondant cake (for a cake contest)and I hope it will look beautiful when she colors it tomorrow.
We did not use the shortening as Zoe said it is not necessary. So far, it feels and looks just right.
Thanks for the recipe!
Mary
March 14, 2011 at 12:38 am
I have been looking for a food fondant recipe and your’s seems perfect! Your cake is sooo sooo gorgeous!
I do not get vegetable shortening in my country – do you think I can leave it out?
Thanks Ruchi.
March 12, 2011 at 10:53 pm
Hey Vera,
Thanks for making this recipe available. I live in Hawaii and being that things aren’t easily available, I can only purchase fondant from Wally-World, (wallmart) about $17 for 2lbs and it doesn’t taste so great!
This is awesome! although, with our humidity, I always end up using more than 2lbs of sugar though!
Personal note on the shelf life… after I made the first batch, I had to go out of town, and forgot about it (I had only made it to experiment a bit). Came back a few days later, and completely forgot about it! A few weeks went by… don’t really recall how many, and lo and behold, it was still good.
How’d I store it? wrapped in saran wrap, in an airtight container, in a cool dark place. Although it will a little hard at first, just kneed it a bit and it comes back to life.
Just my two cents!
Thanks Again!
March 6, 2011 at 10:26 am
Thanks! :)
March 6, 2011 at 1:22 am
Tay,
I wouldn’t put it in the refrigerator, I think it should be fine at cool room temperature for 5 days.
March 5, 2011 at 12:09 pm
I’m so excited to use this recipe; however, I do need to make it about five days in advance due to classes. You said you’ve stored it for 2-3 days. If there was not much of a difference do you think five day storage would be possible? Perhaps in the refrigerator? Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
March 1, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Elva, good luck and happy birthday to your niece!
Sarahbeee, sorry I missed your comment. You can use liquid glucose instead of corn syrup. You can omit the glycerin, or ask about it in a pharmacy, they should have it. Vegetable shortening is fat derived from vegetables, as the name implies.
February 27, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Made up my mind . I will be using this recipe. I used Wilton ready to use for my daughter’s birthday cake last year but it was not tasty at all. I tried the the marshmallow fondant first but stressed me out too sweet. This time I am using this recipe my niece and nephew b day party coming up.
February 23, 2011 at 6:04 am
I just now seen the reply!! Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try this recipe!! :)
February 18, 2011 at 2:27 pm
Hi, your cake looks amazing! i was wondering if there was a substitute for the corn syrup, because we couldn’t find any… the same with the glycerin… also, what is vegetable shortening? i don’t want to sound silly, but i have never heard of it over here in Australia… could someone please enlighten me? thanks,
February 7, 2011 at 10:18 pm
I’m 29 and I’m challenged when it comes to cooking EVEN w/ a recipe! I can count on one hand how many batches of cupcakes or cakes I’ve made in my life! I followed this recipe for my first fondant cake ever. I did have to knead for abt. 45 minutes or so but well worth it! My first cake is a looker! :)
October 22, 2010 at 6:35 am
Hi, this is such a beautiful cake! i wish i had such talent :) i tried making some fondant at home but it was crumbly and dried up fast. also, it broke when i tried to pick it up after rolling it out. I’ll definitely try your recipe hoping that this time i could make it right :) … just one thing; i can’t find any liquid glucose OR corn syrup in my country. Can you suggest a substitute? Thanks :)
October 19, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Wonderful!!! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. I’ve tried it and it turns out great. I was looking for a recipe that didnot use liquid glucose(I couldn’t get it since it was out of stock) and raw eggs. Thanks again :)
October 11, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Mehw, don’t mention it. Your weather is the worst possible for such project.
Air conditioning would certainly help.
October 6, 2010 at 8:19 am
Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Tried this recipe just but Ive used over 2 pounds of icing sugar but I just cant get it to firm up and I didnt use glycerin. Could it have anything to do with the weather? Its really hot and humid today.
Thanks
October 3, 2010 at 3:35 pm
Suzy, don’t refrigerate your cake, store it in a cool place instead. Otherwise, temperature and humidity change will cause it to sweat and shine when you remove the cake from the fridge. Or you can refrigerate it but make sure to set the fridge on the lowest setting and don’t cover the cake.
Emily, I get the glycerin from a cake-decorating supply store. I know Michaels sells Wilton’s glycerin. By the way, I think the one from the drug store, if it’s pure glycerin, will work just the same.
It can be entirely omitted, although the glycerin makes fondant a bit softer and buys some extra working time.
Mehw, as for the glycerin, I’ve just answered to the same question
Emily asked. You can use liquid glucose instead of the corn syrup.
October 3, 2010 at 9:26 am
Hi,
The cake looks amazing!!
Im brand new at making fondants and this recipe sounds wonderful. Ive only made the marshmallow one till now. Where can I get glycerin from? Is this the same thing that is available at drug stores? Is there any substitute for light corn syrup?
Thanks
September 15, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Hi! I made fondant today and the recipe I used was nothing like this. It was a lot of hard work, a huge mess, and by the time I got to the finished product it wasn’t enough to even attempt to cover a cake! I would really like to try this recipe soon. I was wondering if I could use anything else in place of the glycerin and if not I’d like to know where to buy the glycerin. The only place I’ve ever seen it is in the beauty section of our local pharmacy! lol Thanks so much for this recipe and your cake looks so beautiful!
~Emily~
August 23, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Yesterday, I made fondant using a recipe that is almost identical to this one. It turned out great. The only “problem” is that the fondant got a little bit moist and shiny after I put it on the cake and put the cake in the fridge. This was fine for my cake but I think that sometimes it’s nice to have a matte looking cake. Any suggestions on how to prevent it from looking shiny? Also, how should I store the leftover? I made 2 batches and only used about 1 1/4 of it.
Thanks!
August 21, 2010 at 12:51 am
Hi,
I just tried your recipe today. After finishing my 1 kg of sifted icing sugar, it felt kind of soft, so I added more sugar(maybe 100 or 150 grams). I think the “dough” came out pretty good. I will let it stay for 24 hrs hoping that some of the sugar will disolve more and that the consistency of the “dough” will harden a bit. I kneaded like u would kneed bread, will let u guys know if i will be able to roll it out.
Just a reminder: i did not use glycerin, i used sunflower oil (same quantities) since i did not find glycerine.
I did tried some stars(couldn’t help it…lol), which turned out fine, and after 1/2 hour thay dried perfectly..
August 3, 2010 at 12:00 am
Wow I’m 12 and I love to bake and I always watch cake boss I always thoought fondant was something u had to buy I guess not well thanks you for the recipe
August 2, 2010 at 2:49 am
Hi Vera,
I used your advice and my fondant is more soft and pliable. Thank you so much!
July 21, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Hi Vera!
The search for a good fondant recipe has led me to your amazing blog. Honestly, I’ve looked through most of your beautiful entries in just a few days. Anyway I have worked with store bought fondant many times. I started out buying the forbidden Wilton, with pretty poor results. I moved on to the more expensive, slightly better tasting Satin Ice brand for the last couple of years, but man this stuff sure gets expensive.
I have wanted to try homemade fondant for a while, but like many others, feared it was too complicated. I just finished my first batch of your recipe and all went well. It is wrapped and ready for its 24 hour nap. I used up all of the icing sugar. The fondant was smooth, soft, pliable and firm, but maybe just a little softer than the store bought fondant. Once I rubbed in the shortening, it was easy to handle. But at this point I do think it just a tab bit too soft to roll out easily. Will it firm up slightly during the 24 hours? Is that what the 24 hours is for? Thanks for your time!!
July 18, 2010 at 1:41 pm
hi there,
I was just wondering if you could use aagar aagar instead of the gelatin becuase I cant have it… thanks and your cake looks beautiful!!!
June 21, 2010 at 10:53 am
Danielle, thank you very much for your words!
Fondant is sticky, but should be workable. If the weather is hot and humid, it makes the matter worse. Maybe, you could add a bit more icing sugar to it. The icing sugar I use is the most common available here, with some cornstarch added to prevent caking.