What is Fondant Icing?
Forget store-bought icing – making homemade fondant icing is much easier than you think and you only need three ingredients! If you’re keen to learn how to make fondant icing, we can show you how.
Fondant is an edible icing that can be used to decorate cakes, cupcakes and pastries. Unlike most icing, fondant has a much thicker texture that can be sculpted into different shapes to create amazing designs and patterns. That’s why fondant icing is great for celebration cakes and adding personal touches onto your bakes.
What is the Difference Between Fondant and Buttercream?
Fondant and buttercream are two of the most common coverings for cakes, but what is the difference between them? Buttercream is a sweet, fluffy frosting that can be spread or piped onto cakes, which is more like whipped cream than runny icing. Fondant, on the other hand, has more of a dough-like texture that can be either rolled flat onto cakes or moulded into different shapes for decoration.
Ingredients for Fondant Icing
- Icing sugar
- Water
- Cornflour
You can make as much fondant as you like with this fondant icing recipe, but for every 250 grams of icing sugar you will need about 4-5 teaspoons of water. The cornflour is for rolling.
How to Make Fondant Icing?
- Sift your icing sugar with a sieve into a large bowl and make sure it is free of lumps. Make a small indentation in the centre of your sifted sugar.
- Add in the water, one teaspoon at a time, and mix with a wooden spoon. Keep mixing until the sugar becomes too tough to stir.
- Use your hands to shape the icing into a ball, then place it on a counter dusted with icing sugar.
- Knead your icing sugar for a few minutes until there are no lumps and it’s smooth. It shouldn’t be sticky or dry after kneading. If it is the former, add more icing sugar, if it is the latter add a teeny tiny bit of water.
- You’re ready to roll! Dust your counter again with icing sugar and the cornflour, then roll out your fondant icing until it is thin enough to cover your cake.
- Ice your cake! If you are prepping the fondant icing in advance, it will keep for 3 days but you will have to wrap it or put it in an airtight container and refrigerate it.
