You can buy it, so why would you need to know how to make rolled fondant? Let’s face it, commercial fondant does not taste good. Making your own is worth the time and is surprisingly easy to do.
For 10 years I owned a wedding cake business. I can’t count how many times I had this conversation after the bride saw a photo like this in my portfolio:
Bride: I love this look of this cake, but I hate fondant. Can you make the same cake using buttercream?
Me: No. I can do a version of that cake, but it won’t really look the same with buttercream. It will be pretty, but it won’t look exactly the same. There are certain decorative effects that can’t be done on buttercream.
Bride: But fondant tastes so bad. Won’t it ruin the flavor of the cake?
Me: No. Personally, I find fondant too sweet and don’t eat it. I just leave it on the plate after eating the cake. I put two layers of buttercream under the fondant, so you still get plenty of buttercream. Also, I make my own fondant so it doesn’t taste like Playdough, as commercial fondants do.
Bride: (Big smile since she can have her beautiful fondant cake and enjoy eating it too!)
It’s true, most people don’t like the taste of fondant. But I think most people have only eaten commercially made fondant. Some brands are better than others, but even the best commercial fondants have a texture and taste that are, sadly, reminiscent of Playdough.
I’ve always made my own fondant. When I started making cakes almost 30 years ago, you couldn’t buy fondant in the stores and there was no internet, so I had no other choice than to make it.
For my cake business, I made my own fondant since it’s easy enough to make and is much cheaper than buying it. Even better, although it is sweet (it’s mostly sugar, after all) it doesn’t have a weird taste or smell. It just tastes like sugar.
Here are a few hints for rolled fondant success:
- If you want a tinted fondant, add the coloring to the gelatin mixture. It’s easier than kneading in color later.
- Unfortunately, if you want a very dark or vibrant color you’ll just have to buy fondant. For bright red or black, for example, you’d have to add so much coloring that it ruins the texture of the fondant. Believe me, I’ve tried it. That’s the only time I used commercial fondant.
- I find it’s easiest to mostly mix the fondant with the dough hook and then finish kneading in the sugar by hand. No matter how you mix it, the freshly made fondant is a sticky mess and is a bit of a pain to knead together. Just keep kneading and appreciate the arm workout.
- The fondant must set overnight and be re-kneaded before rolling.
- This recipe makes a little more than you need to cover an 8″ cake because it’s easier to have a little too much and trim away excess.
***UPDATE*** After a reader’s feedback I remade this fondant 3 more times to fine tune the measurements. Generally, I try to put most of my recipes in volume measure first since most American bakers use volume measure. I have included volume measures here for those who don’t have a kitchen scale. But I do recommend that you weigh the ingredients to get the most consistent results. A little variation in the amount of moisture or sugar in the fondant can make a big difference in texture. I do take your feedback seriously and always work to make the recipes as easy and consistent as possible – so keep those questions coming!!!
Watch the recipe video to see how to make rolled fondant.
Now that you’ve made your own fondant, watch this video to see How To Cover A Cake with Fondant.
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Rolled Fondant
Ingredients
- 24 oz (5 cups, 685g) confectioner's sugar
- 2 oz (1/4 cup, 60 ml) cool water
- 1 Tbsp gelatin powder
- 3.5 oz (1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp, 95g) white corn syrup
- .75 oz (1 Tbsp, 20g) glycerin
Instructions
- Sift the confectioner's sugar into a large mixing bowl or in a stand mixer bowl with the hook attachment.
- Put the water in a small microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin powder evenly over the surface of the water. Whisk 1-2 times to combine. Let the gelatin "bloom" for 5 minutes.
- Heat the gelatin in the microwave for 15 seconds to melt. Whisk the corn syrup and glycerine into the warm gelatin (see note if you want to tint the fondant). Heat another 15 seconds in the microwave to make sure everything is melted.
- Pour the warm gelatin mixture into the sugar all at once. If working by hand use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture until most of the sugar is incorporated. If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook on medium-low until most of the sugar is incorporated.
- With the fondant still in the bowl, use your hands to finish kneading the rest of the sugar into the fondant. It will be quite sticky and messy at this point, just keep kneading. A plastic bowl scraper is helpful for handling the fondant.
- Turn the fondant out onto the plastic wrap. Wrap 2x in plastic wrap and let it set overnight before using.
- Knead the fondant again before rolling out on a surface dusted with powdered sugar.
Notes
If you want to tint the fondant, this is a good time to add the coloring. Whisk the coloring into the warm gelatin mixture before adding it to the sugar.
You must let the fondant rest overnight before using so the gelatin has time to set. Knead the fondant into a smooth ball before rolling. If it's well wrapped and kept in an air tight container, the fondant will keep for several weeks.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12Amount Per Serving: Calories: 165 Sodium: 9mg Carbohydrates: 49g Sugar: 49g
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Malcolm Cruickshank
Hello Eileen,
You comment on the flavor, and I agree, Is there any reason not to add flavor extracts, vanilla, almond, whatever, to this recipe?
Eileen Gray
Hi Malcolm. You could add flavor extracts. I never do just because I don’t eat it anyway. I would be careful with vanilla because it could end up tinting the fondant a bit.
Larni
Love the song in the how to video. What song is that?
Eileen Gray
Hi Larni. It’s from the Free Music Archive. It’s called White Sand Island by Laszlo Harsanyi.
Joyce Yasukochi
Hi Eileen, I just made your fondant recipe and ran into a little trouble. It ended up very sticky. I added enough powdered sugar for it to come together, and it’s now resting. Can I reduce the amount of water or is added powdered sugar the best option? It does taste pleasant. Thanks. -Joyce
Eileen Gray
Hi Joyce. It is quite sticky when it’s freshly made. That’s why I suggest that you finish kneading it while it’s still in the bowl. It can make quite a mess if you knead it on the counter-top. This fondant does need to sit overnight to set the gelatin. If it still seems sticky today add a little extra sugar while you knead it. There’s always some variation with the texture depending how exactly you measure the ingredients (weighing vs. “dip & sweep” vs. scooping the sugar, for example) and the sugar that you use. Let me know how the texture is today.
Eileen Gray
Hi Joyce… I just wanted you to know that after reading your comment I went back and remade the recipe several times to fine tune the measurements. The freshly made fondant is simply very sticky and messy, but I did reduce the glycerin to lessen the stickiness a bit. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Joyce Yasukochi
Thanks for the update. I will give it another go. I do appreciate how diligent your research. Thanks.
Joyce Yasukochi
Hi Eileen. After the day’s rest, it was still slightly sticky. I kneaded in a little more powdered sugar and let it rest again overnight. I then kneaded and kneaded, and the fondant is moist but will not come to a smooth texture even after several minutes of kneading. I did add some flavoring (about a teaspoon) and about five drops of food coloring. Do you think those additions could be the cause? Thanks for your help.
Natasha
How many cakes (10″) would this cover? Thanks 🙂
Eileen Gray
Hi Natasha, this recipe makes a little more than enough to cover a 9″ round x 4″ tall cake. I like to have extra so you can roll it larger than you need and trim the excess for a nice edge. This recipe should be enough for a 10″ cake that is 4″ or shorter. Watch the video to see how to cover a cake with fondant.
Rachel Paul
Thanks a lot for sharing your skills & knowledge about baking and decoration of cakes. May God grant you more years to live and lot of blessing.
Eileen Gray
Well, thank you, Rachel. How nice.
Trish
Just tried making this today! I’ll let it sit overnight. It was SUCH a gooey mess (as you’re saying) so I’m anxious to see what it’s like tomorrow! Looks like I can kneed in some more icing sugar if needed. I’ll keep you posted! Thank you SO much for this recipe!
Eileen Gray
Hi Trish…ha, ha. Yes, freshly made fondant is a gooey mess. The worst part is getting it off your hands! That’s why I try and warn folks so they don’t think they messed it up. It should set up nicely overnight. If it still seems a little soft tomorrow you can certainly knead in extra sugar.
LIZa
Hi, I am a beginner in baking but I want to try make a fondant. I don’t have hook attachment. Can I use the paddle instead?
LIZa
And also, I am from a tropical country. Will the recipe work here?
Eileen Gray
I dont see why not. With extra humidity you might just need to knead in a little more sugar.
Eileen Gray
The fondant is so thick it might get hopelessly stuck in the paddle. It would probably be easier to do it by hand.
Kay
Hi Eileen! Thank you for this recipe. I love the taste of marshmallow and was wondering if you can substitute marshmallows instead of gelatin in this fondant recipe?
Eileen Gray
I’ve never made marshmallow fondant and I wouldn’t think you could just exchange the two ingredients. I suggest you Google and try and find a recipe specifically for marshmallow fondant.
Katherine Donovan
Can you freeze the cake cover with this fondant?
Eileen
I have not tried to freeze a cake already covered with fondant. I’m afraid it would pick up too much moisture and mar the surface of the cake. I generally will ice the cake and freeze it and then cover it with fondant after defrosting.
Paige
any tips for making a small amount of 4 or 5 different colors?
Eileen
Hi Paige. Do you mean a small amount of fondant for each color? What I would do is make a batch of white, divide it up and then knead the color that you want into each piece. I will say that for very dark colors, like red and black, I buy pre-made fondant. It doesn’t taste as good but it’s almost impossible to get very dark colors without ruining the texture of the fondant. What colors do you need?