3 Fondant Fixes

Hi Friends,

Have you ever struggled with a batch of fondant? That was me this past weekend. 

I mean, I love fondant. I love how it magically makes cakes look so smooth, crisp, and clean. 

Great fondant is not too soft or too firm… making it easy to work with while holding its shape.

The thing about fondant is however, that it's not magic... and in reality, great fondant is a delicate balance between multiple factors including its ingredients, the weather, and other additives (likes colors or extra sugar). 

And sometimes in the process, we can accidentally knock things off balance. Here are 3 challenges and how to fix them, when it comes to maintaining this balance with marshmallow-based fondant:

1. The fondant is too hard

To soften room-temperature fondant, I like to use the microwave in 5 to 10 second bursts for small portions of fondant (like 3-5 ounces). Try 15-20 second bursts for medium portions (like 1/2 pound or so) This immediately helps make the fondant pliable and easy to work with. If you overheat the fondant, that is ok, but try to avoid this. When overheating, the gelatin in marshmallow-based fondant tends to cool to a slightly harder consistency than it was previously. This is subtle, and actually, might be preferred for firmness, but this can also shorten your working time when trying to roll out and cover your cake with fondant.

2. The fondant is too dry

This is what I experienced this past weekend mostly due to the added amounts of color and powdered sugar. Essentially, I tried to control the moisture of the color with too much sugar. Some folks like to work with cornstarch for this reason, but I typically prefer the look and feel of using sugar. To fix dryness, get your hands slightly wet and work that into your fondant. Avoid adding drops or spoons of water directly into your fondant. Typically this only requires a touch of water. For this cake, I experienced the dryness in the middle of the covering process, so fixing it was not an option. Scroll to the bottom to see some of the issues due to the 'dryness' and how I worked with the design to keep things 'hidden'. 

3. The fondant is too sticky

When fondant gets too sticky I like to manage that with powdered sugar or a dab of vegetable shortening. However, if your marshmallow fondant recipe does not use vegetable shortening you might find yourself adding more. Also, when the fondant is too sticky, it can be too 'wet'. You can try leaving the fondant out uncovered for an hour or two to let it dry out a bit.

We love marshmallow-based fondant for so many reasons including, it tastes great, it's easy to work with, and you can use it to both cover cakes and make figures!

For our favorite go-to recipe, which is the basis of our Cake Couture Fondant, check it out here.

I hope these lessons were helpful for your cake decorating journey!

Happy cake decorating ♡

Christie

Cake details:
- Super Simple Star and Owl theme
- Color Candy by Colour Mill
- Edible gold powder (coming soon to our shop)
- $750 for cake and $30 for local delivery