I have found that a lot of people do not enjoy eating fondant, or do not like the texture, but they want to get that same silky-smooth effect that rolled fondant creates.
This effect is commonly known as "Faux Fondant"

SewSweet2 has recently posted a detailed step-by-step article on how to get the "look" of fondant with buttercream icing.

How To Create Faux Fondant

Please feel free to post any questions or comments regarding this topic here.

if you don't mind making your own, you might try the "rolled buttrcream" recipe from the Winbecklers. Search on Roland Winbeckler to find the site.

Hi Stephscakes and welcome to cakecentral.com!

I went to the Winbeckler.com website, but I was unable to find the recipe. I did however find that they have published it in thier book:



Decorating With Rolled Buttercream
I hope this helps!

Additionaly we do have a "Rolled Buttercream Recipe" available on our site:
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1603-Rolled_Buttercream_Icing_Recipe.html

If any one has used this recipe, please post here with your results! I would love to know!

You can also try Pettinice its got a really good taste and good texture the cheapest place I have found on line to get it is at http://www.lafountainsupply.com/bakeware.htm

I always use rolled buttercream instead of fondant for covering cakes. The recipe I use is very similar to the one you posted. It works really well and tastes so much better. The only thing is, the rolled buttercream is a little less "sturdy" so you have to be a little more careful with it. Just make sure to dust a lot of confectioner's sugar or cornstarch on your working surfaces and tools because it does tear easily if you are not careful. However, it looks really nice and tastes good, too, so I think it's a great alternative to fondant and use it all the time.

I recently took a class in fondant in Sugar Land, Texas. We used Satin Ice fondant and it was tasted great! I had heard fondant did not taste good but the Satin Ice chocolate tasted just like soft Tootsie Rolls and the vanilla tasted like a bavarian cream donut from Dunkin' Donuts.

I do want to try the rolled buttercream and will give that a whirl on my next cake.

Denise

hi Denise, i was wondering if you would want to share the recipe for the chocolate and vanilla fondant. I would love to use the recipe in my kids cakes, since they liked sculpted cakes.
Thank you

I made the rolled buttercream following the recipe posted here. It tasted great! Working with it was more difficult than fondant but it was more repairable. I covered BOTH a 9x13 single layer, and a 10" round 2 layer from the single recipe!! The first cake was covered with white, and sprayed with the food colours to resemble a Canadian flag. I added cocoa to the second half of the recipe, and it did taste like Tootsie rolls; just use cocoa to roll it out too. I plan to work with it more, and stop using the fondant when more confident.

I want to try your recipe and I have a few questions. Can I make it ahead of time and refridgerate it? Can a cake covered with this buttercream fondant be put in the fridge overnight? Can I put gumpaste flowers on top of it and let it sit overnight? Or will it bread down the flowers?

Thanks,
Sina

Hi Sina,
Regarding your questions on the Rolled Buttercream Recipe

YES
You can even freeze it if you like. Just treat it the same way you treat your regular buttercream icing.
It does not actually require any refridgeration, it can be stored in an air tight container at room tempurature for weeks.

YES
You can even store it in the freezer

I would not put your gumpaste flowers on over night. Because the rolled buttercream contains grease, so it can breakdown your flowers, at least the ones in direct contact over time.

Thanks Jackie!!!

Another little hint you might try is adding 1/4 Rolled Buttercream to your Satinice. That is how I do all my fondant cakes. It taste even better and doesn't crust as hard. If you have rolled fondant that is too hard you can also do that to it.

I find Rolled Buttercream by itself a little on the too sweet side. I doctor my rolled buttercream up by making it like my regular icing recipe (and add almond flavoring) which is pretty close to the one posted above for the faux fondant.


I use popcorn salt instead of regular salt also in my regular buttercream recipe.


Here is a link to a picture of a cake done in Satinice with Rolled Buttercream added....

http://members17.clubphoto.com/_cgi-bin/getImage.pl?imgID=24756104-7e5c&trans=

I loved the step by step tutorial and it looks like something i am definetly going to try. I have some questions though. Is your paper towel damp when you are smoothing? Also, I was wondering if you would be willing to share your frosting recipe? Thanks so much.

Rebecca

I just finished using the faux fondant on a sample cake for a friend I'm doing wedding cakes for next month. I have been trying to get the hang of the rolled buttercream and it's been a headache. I realize I have to practice practice practice to get it down but geez, I want a life too. I am meeting her in a while with the cake and I hope she loves it. I do her cakes and head to CA the next day to do my neice's wedding cakes. She wants the same look but with heart shape cakes. I'm e mailing her a picture of this cake.
My Thanks to whoever posted this technique along with the step by step pics. I highly recomend faux fondant.

CarolAnn have you tried "marshmallow Fondant" I can tell you it is Easy, Cheap, and tastes Greeaat! It rolls out just like regular fondant but tastes so good..a friend of mine ate her cake and..half of mine! I do not take the credit for the recipe, just can rave on the results.
here's the recipe: 1 cup mini marshmallows
1 tbsp water
1 1/2-1 3/4 powdered sugar

Place marshmallows in a standard 1 cup measuring cup and push down and in. Place in a microwave safe bowl and add the water. Put in the microwave for 20 seconds. Just long enough for them to soften and puff up. take out and stir with a spoon until it is combined well. At this point it looks kind of soupy. Then add the sugar (1 1/4cups to start) and mix and fold until all is incorporated and it is no longer sticky. Take it out of the bowl when it gets to the point where most of the sugar is incorporated and use your hands. This takes roughly about 5-7 minutes. Use the remainder 1/2 cup if it is still a little sticky. Take a fondant roller or a rolling pin and roll out just as you would any fondant. When mixing in the bowl you can also use kneading hooks if you have that attachment on your mixer. I did and it took the work out of this recipe! Happy icing. C.

I am doing my first wedding cake & the bride wants smooth icing not fondant. Is the faux fondant thick like fondant or does it just look smooth like buttercream icing? What is a bench scraper? Is it the same as the bottle tool? I was confused on that. Thank you. ~Tina~

Hi and first a thank you for the blessing. I needed that today! The faux fondant is a buttercream that you add a little cake flour to and use almost boiling water with when you mix it. You put it on rather thick and then even it out on the sides with the scraper. My scraper is an 80 cent wallpapering tool from Wal Mart. You need a tool you can hold from the side to really get it nice and even as you turn the cake, so a spatula doesn't work too well. The bottle tool is invaluable because the way you get the smoothe fondant look is by sculpting this thick layer of icing into the smoothe curve over the side. It crusts over slightly but does not get hard or rubbery (like fondant). You'll need a turntable the scraper and the bottle tool. I made two tools and cut one down for shorter cakes. You bend this tool for the curve and once you get the hang of it it is so slick and easy. The marshmallow fondant sounds good but it's still a rolled icing that I don't intend to bother with again. There's no reason for me to now that I've used this. It tastes like the buttercream I love with the look so many want. Give it a try. Did you locate the crusted buttercream II recipe (be sure it has the II behind it) AND the faux fondant instructions? Try it and let me know what you think. I think you'll love it too.

Thank you Carol Ann for your advice! The scraper you have is plastic right? I bought a metal one & the darn thing rusted after I washed it (before using it)! I'll have to go to Wally World tomorrow & get me one. I will try this faux fondant tomorrow or Thurs. I can't wait! I might have to get some more advice from you!! I'll let you know how it turned out ok! THANKS AGAIN!!! ~Tina~

HELP...

I tried the faux fondant.. It didn't turn out so good. I think it was too thick. I followed the recipe & then added a little more water. Still too thick. I tried it anyway.

When I was smoothing the edges w/ a spatula the icing was coming off. That's too thick right? I used the scraper but still the icing was coming off. I used a spatula to correct it.

Then I used the bottle tool, that was the easiest part! But I think I had too much icing on the top because the icing was stacked up & there was a visible line of the cakes top edges. Covered that up as best as I could.. The icing dried up really fast on me. I think that would be because the icing was too thick.

I used the viva paper towel & fondant smoother. Worked ok on the top but didn't get out any of the rough parts on the sides. Again, I think it was drying out to fast. Should I have used a hot spatula to help w/ that then smoothed it?

Is the icing supposed to be med/thin to thin consistency just like buttercream? I will try this again tomorrow! I NEED to get it right! Also I learned from this... I will have more patience when I use buttercream icing! I have a wedding cake in April to do that the bride wants SMOOTH.... I have got to get this right!!!! Any help is VERY WELCOMED!!!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also find that this recipe is too thick plus I'm not crazy about the taste of flour in my icing. I do use it frequently but will be trying a buttercream with meringue power instead of flour. I also apply the icing with the big icing tip but it does have to be thinned more than the recipe calls for. I also find that adding salt helps with the taste.

If anyone has a recipe using meringue let me know.

The taste was ok to me. Just a little sweeter then regular buttercream because it has 1 lb more of powder sugar. I will thin out what I have left over & try it again. Poodle do you live in the south? I'm in Louisiana so I figured the humidity might made it different. As for a recipe just look on recipes in this forum you should find one to try. Good luck!

Hi,
The faux fondant does use more sugar but it is also using quite a bit more water and 1/2 cup more shortening. I'd say medium consistency is about right, but you have to use your own good judgement and just practice. When you ice the top use your big spatula to even it out andlevel, but leave it thick enough that your sides can smoothe over into the top for the rounded edge like fondant. I even trim the edge of the tier with scissors to help get that rounded look.

The difference I see from buttercream recipe I ususally use is that the crusting buttercream II isn't as sweet. Maybe it's because of the small amount of flour but I can't taste flour in it. I always use a pinch of popcorn salt in my buttercream to take the edge off the sweetness. Don't use more flour than the recipe calls for. Add water to get the right consisitency and you're on your way. I just had to work with it till it felt right. It does crust over but unless it's too dry it should give you enough time to work with it. I keep a pan of real hot water close by to dip, dry and smoothe with my small spatulas. I also will put a spot of icing on a flaw and tap it in with my fingertip then put a Viva paper towel over that to get the same texture. Using the paper towels is so cool. Work with stretching them over the top edge for the curvewhile holding it lightly against the side of the cake. With a soft touch, and you'll see how soft that is for you, you can get out a lot of wrinkles etc. A mini marshmallow is neat to use to tap that little dab of icing into that flaw but my finger works best for me. I know it sounds like a lot of fuss but once you get it it is so neat and easy. I hope you won't give up on this technique.

Thank you for that recipe and I also enjoyed reading the replies and other questions about it. In 1998 I made a cake for my cousin's bridal shower and she wanted the rolled fondant look without it being rolled fondant so I did it then and didn't even know what the word "faux" was.

It's in wedding cakes/bridal shower section the two tiered one. Anyway, I used regular buttercream icing and smoothed it all out with a papertowel. It took a long time. I had to make sure my icing was not too wet or too dry before I worked on it.

have a great week.

Just read the instructions about the faux fondant. Thanks for posting it. I have to try it. The wonderful part is the application of the "expensive tool" I love it! Results looked very nice.

I would, as usual, want to try this too, but after my MMF epidsode, I think it was telling me to just work on the basics first....NOT...I just came from the commissary bought stuff to make some more stuff and I am going to try kathykakes glazing transfers, and see if I like that! I am sure I will!

The nifty tool cut from the 2 liter bottle is great! It just feels like an extension of my fingers and I like that. I made a shorter one to use on sheet cakes too. I bought my other tool on Wal Mart's wallpapering isle for about 80 cents. Hard to beat that.

I sure hope this question gets out there and someone reads it and answers it!!!

I want to do the faux fondant. But How hard do you think it is?
Also the crusting buttercream recipe uses only crisco - could butter be used? Or would that mess up the results?
Also what does this mean "using a contour pan or cut the edge of your tiers with a knife or scissors" (in step 3)
I am confused about that step. Do I have to use a 'certain' type of pan? I wanted to use my 10 inch cake pan. along with an 8 inch. (would those two look good together stacked?)

Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks a bunch. I can't wait to do this!
Christina

I also didn't understand the part about trimming.