Fondant icing is not a new idea in confectionary. The first fondant icing recipe dates back approximately in the 17th century. What is more, fondant icing cakes appeared later. At first, fondant icing was used to prepare candies, until in the 19th, someone suggested to use fondant ingredients as cake decoration.
What’s so special about fondant icing?
Before looking for a way how to make fondant icing at home, you probably want to make sure you’ve chosen the right kind of decoration. What are the advantages of icing?
- Firstly, it is very elastic material, which is easily shaped in a way that you need.
- Secondly, it is the perfect base for decoration, which will accomodate more complex decorations firmly.
- Thirdly, it is the element of decoration you can eat together with the rest of dessert, and it is very tasty.
- Finally, if you are worried wheter it is complicated to make fondant icing, it is really easy.
Making fondant icing: what type to choose?
You may be surprised, but there are plenty of variants to choose from. To make fondant from scratch, you should first choose which one would fit better for your dessert.
Gelatin icing is easy to prepare and it hardens well. It is the perfect option for making flowers and tiny details in decorations.
Honey icing does not harden completely and remains soft. It is convenient for covering cakes and cupcakes.
Marcipan icing is also very soft, but it is appropriate to use for both covering and preparing decorative elements.
Condensed milk icing can be used only for covering the entire cake or making big round decorations.
Starch icing is perfect for making flowers.
Marshmellow icing is also used when preparing decorations with tiny details.
How to make fondant icing
After you try to mix fondant icing, you will realize that there is no such thing as best fondant recipe – it varies for different desserts and depends much on personal preferences. Luckily, there are numerous recipes of homemade fondant, and the worries about how to make fondant icing decorations are vain: everything is simple, especially with easy fondant icing recipes for beginners.
Sugar icing
This is one of the easiest and most common homemade fondant recipes, perfect for covering a cake.
Ingredients
- Powdered milk – 200 g
- Powdered sugar – 200 g
- Condensed milk -275 g
- Lemon juice – 2.5 tbsp
- Cognac – 2.5 tsp
Directions
- Prepare the table or other chosen working surface.
- Mix powdered milk and sugar.
- Add condensed milk and start making the “dough.”
- After it is ready, add lemon juice and cognac.
- Mix for 15 minutes.
- Add food coloring if needed.
- Wrap in kitchen film.
Gelatin icing
Some look for a way how to make fondant icing without gelatin, explaining it with not quite healthy gelatin properties. However, if you want to make fondant icing flowers by hand, you will not find a better option.
Ingredients
- Gelatin – 2.5 g
- Water – 15 g
- Powdered sugar – 100 g
- Lemon juice – 3 drops
Directions
- Soak gelatin in water for 25-30 minutes.
- After that, heat it on a vapor bath and mix until the crystals dissolve, but do not boil!
- Gradually add sugar power and mix.
- Add lemon juice and mix well.
Honey icing
One more way to prepare fondant icing.
Ingredients
- Honey – 1.5 tbsp
- Gelatin – 5 g
- Butter – 1.5 tbsp
- Powdered sugar – 260 g
- Water – 7 tbsp
Directions
- Soak gelatin in water for 45 minutes.
- Place it on the oven and heat. After crystals dissolve, add butter and honey. Stir well.
- Put the mixture aside and let it cool.
- Gradually add powdered sugar into the mixture and stir like a dough till it becomes elastic.
Marcipan icing
While the recipes above are a bit similar, here you are to use completely different fondant icing ingredients.
Ingredients
- Eggs – 3
- Powdered sugar – 180 g
- Ground almonds – 300 g
- Vanilla extract – 5 drops
- Lemon juice – 1.5 tsp
Directions
- Whisk the eggs, gradually adding powdered sugar.
- Place the mixture on vapor bath. Mix all the time till it becomes creamy.
- Remove and add almonds, vanilla extract, and juice. Stir well.
Pay attention: with choosing this fondant recipe, you are expected to use the icing instantly, for it is plastic only when warm.
Condensed milk icing
This is the answer to how to mix fondant with minimum ingredients.
Ingredients
- Condensed milk – 160 g
- Powdered sugar – 1 cup
- Lemon juice – 1.5 tsp
- Powdered milk – 2 cups
Directions
- Mix powdered milk with powdered sugar in a bowl.
- Add condensed milk and stir the ingredients with a spoon.
- Cover a working surface with a little of powdered sugar place the mixture and mix, like a dough, till it is not sticky.
Marshmallow icing
Now you know at least five easy fondant recipe without marshmallows, but this is probably the least risky and time-consuming.
Ingredients
- Marshmallows – 250 g
- Water – 2,5 tbsp
- Powdered sugar – depends
Directions
- Place marshmallows and water in a bowl and put into a microwave for 50 seconds.
- After marshmallows have melted, gradually stir in some powdered sugar and mix. Continue till the mixture becomes elastic.
- Wrap in kitchen film and put into a fridge. The fondant icing will be ready in 30 minutes.
How to make Nigerian royal icing
Usually a question “How to make fondant icing in Nigeria” ends up with choosing Nigerian royal icing for preparation. The big advantage of this particular kind is its universality: the icing dries hard and opaque; it fits for covering cakes and cookies; it can be used for writing and cutouts.
Ingredients
- Egg white – 1
- Powdered sugar 1-2 cups
- Food coloring – a few drops
Directions
- Mix egg white with powdered sugar and add coloring. Add sugar gradually, untill the mixture gains proper consistensy – thin enough to pipe, but sick enough to hold the shape. The final result will remind a mixture similar to tooth paste.
- Fit the mixture into a ziplog bag with a cut off corner and apply the decorations.
How to make fondant decorations
The next step is creating decorations. After your fondant icing lis ready, take some cookie cutters and cut the shapes you want to decorate a cake with. Decorate them with sprinkles (optional) and attach to a cake.
If you want to make decorations right now, but you do not have any cutters or time to go and buy them, just learn how to make fondant flowers without cutters. All you need is:
- a skewer
- a sharp blade
- floral wires
- fondant
- sugar pearls and color dust (optional)
- Shape fondant into a small cone.
- Insert a skewer into the middle of the wider end of the cone and use a blade to make 4 cuts on the bottom half of the cone. The bottom half will be divided into four parts.
- Remove the skewer and form petals. Pinch the tip to make petals pointed. Then flatten each petal with your fingers. Shape them the way you like.
- Form a loop with a wire. Insert it into the from the top. Turn it upside down and leave to dry.
- Brush it with color dust and leave to dry for skme more timem and then stick a sugar pearl in the middle (optional).
How to make fondant: tips
Everyone, who looks for the way how to make icing, expects to find out some secrets from the experienced insiders. Here are some basic rules that will show you how to mix fondant for cake decoration without mistakes.
- Remember that measurement for making fondant icing can slightly differ from what is indicated in the recipe. It is more important to make sure that the mixture is elastic and comfortable to work with instead of following directions blindly.
- You do not need to prepare a special cake for fondant – choose the one you like and make fondant cake decorations. You can check out one of our Christmas cakes recipes and bake a cake for this special occasion.
- Use the fine-ground powder to avoid tearing.
- The cake should be dry and cold, otherwise, the icing will melt. You can use a layer of cream in case the cake has moist structure.
- To attach the decorative elements, use water or egg whites. It is enough to use a little at the “seams,” where the details are connected.
- Do not store in open-air conditions. In this case, the icing will harden and become impossible to work with.
- Prepare big elements of decoration beforehand. Thus, they will be stiff and will not soften after being placed on a cake. Place big decorations before serving.
- In case the icing has hardened faster than you expected, heat it in a microwave oven for a few seconds.
- You can store the prepared icing for two weeks in a fridge or up to two months in a freezer compartment.
- The easiest way to accomodate the icing on a cake is by using kitchen film. Place the icing on a film and than transfer in the cake, leaving the film on top, of course. It will let you make a flat layer without efforts.
- To make the icing shiny, cover it with some alcohol.
