i see what you guys are talking bout now...i was just cruising a site where they brag that they don't use "play dough fondant"....95% of my work is buttercream, and i even took offence....there's no need in that, how unprofessional!

she also bragged that she could make anything...holy cow!...what a scary thing to say!

after cruising her pics, i think she should add "i can make anything....(but buttercream roses)...ha ha

i usually wouldn't say anything, but that's pretty bragadocious (sp?) if you aint got da goods!

anyhoo....i guess i took offence for all my fondant makin sistas out there.

WOW...that was bold of her to get that braggadocious . I personally like making fondant covered cakes. My cakes are nothing to write home about but I think that fondant gives an elegant, polished look to a cake.

I'm not saying that buttercream cakes can't be polished...I just like fondant. Of course, the decision whether to cover in fondant is up to the recipient of the cake.

LOL well I guess she's full of herself enough to make those statements!!

I've not encountered anyone who insults people who use it, wow. Just the local peeps who wonder what it is, lol. It's kind of sad when people can only promote themselves by putting other people, or other people techniques down. Just let your work speak for itself jeesh! Sorry...long day I guess.

You're right, Lil_Belle

I'm a convert. I used to hate fondant and only eat buttercream. Now in keeping with my middle-age "I'll eat anything except liver, brussels sprouts and lima beans" policy, I find that I like both fondant and buttercream, as well as anything else you can put on a cake.

Brussel sprouts can actually be pretty tasty... just not on cake!

I used to be leery of fondant but now I love it! I think it gives the cake a great look and makes it less likely somebody will smoosh my hard work. I agree that the recipient of the cake is the ultimate decider. There's no need for insults.

I like it when it melts in with the butter cream, and it's all gooey and fudgey like.

Clients rarely order it though.

oh I know what you're saying! I posted about this a few weeks ago!

I figure, they say, I don't use fondant, another company says they are all fondant, I say, I'll make you what you want! I tell people that some designs dictate the kind of icing, but for the most part, I can make it work with either...

I delivered a wedding cake a few weeks ago, the wedding planner/owner of the venue was there meeting with another couple while I was setting up. I over heard them discuss their cake (she bakes for the venue as well), the bride looked over at my 4 tier fondant cake and asked "can you make something like that, thats amazing", the wedding planner/owner/cake decorator said, and I qoute "oh no thats all fondant, I hate the stuff and will never use it, it's so gross, it's like eating raw pie dough"
I was so shocked I had never had anyone actually trash fondant out right like that.

Oh my god I can't believe that how rude! Cor I would have given her what for I can tell ya!

Obviously there are the not so nice fondants but still.. how rude!

She was probably jealous that her cakes didn't look as good as yours!

Personally I LOVE fondant and being from the UK its the norm here so clients rarely expect anything different..!

I really don't get what it is about fondant people don't like!
I am from England now living in Australia where fondant - or sugarpaste as it is called in the UK - is widely used, in fact I have never been asked for a buttercream cake. I only use buttercream for torting and since I have been converted to ganache, I hardly ever use it.
We must be lucky to be able to buy ready made fondant which tastes great, after all it is only sugar, liquid glucose, egg white and glycerine, how can that taste bad?
As for it being easy to use, it takes quite a lot of practise and skill to get a perfectly smooth finish. Having said that I would need lessons if I did get asked for a buttercream cake!
Horses for courses and all that, just as well we all like something different!

ALL fondants do not suck. Wilton's may taste horrible but it's actually good for modeling. I love the taste of Satin Ice and I recently used Chocopan (dark chocolate) on a friend's birthday cake and WOW It's a matter of trial and error to get the brand with the taste and workability that is right for you. I don't know why people bash it constantly - I guess they are afraid of it and that is their way to get out of using it.

Oh well...their loss

Haha grama_j I was about to say the same thing....! I bought wiltons flower paste the other day and it smelled horrible! The UK made flower pastes I normally use don't smell anything like that! Made me wonder what they put in it!

ive been considering buying some wilton just to actiually try it, im from the uk, and i think the icing we have here is beautiful, ive heard so many people bad mouth wilton, i mean really, what do they put in it!?!? lol

*Don't want to hyjack the thread but just this once.....*

Caths_cakes... I don't always come accross that many UK cakers on here and was just wondering what fondant you use? Its nice to get other opinions and although there is so much good advice and opinions on products etc on here sadly I can't use much of it as our brands in the UK are so different! Would be really useful to know TIA!

I don't think people who don't care for fondant, and/or "bash" it ....are attacking people who work with fondant personally. A lot of people just don't like fondant. I personally like the taste of it OK, I just don't like the texture of it so much. I do agree that it looks perfectly elegant and lovely. Having said that, pretty much every time I meet someone who finds out I decorate cakes, their very first comment is "I hate fondant". This is not an attack on me or cake decorators....this is just a statement of their opinion about fondant. Pretty much everyone I meet says the same thing.....looks beautiful, tastes awful. That's their opinion. I wouldn't exactly characterize it as a "bash".
I personally hate fish and seafood.....can't stand it, don't want it anywhere near me. Don't want to smell it. I don't think it's a "bash" against fishermen or chefs who prepare seafood to say "I hate seafood". It's just my personal feeling about the stuff.
I can't comment on the website the OP is talking about......perhaps it is very arrogant and snotty. I just think y'all need to lighten up a bit. It's OK if plenty of people hate fondant. There are still plenty who like it and/or will sacrifice their dislike of the taste for the elegant look of it. I can easily find just as many people who "hate" buttercream.....or think it is low-class or common or sloppy or whatever......
My sister tells me constantly that she hates decorated sugar cookies and considers food that old (sits around a day or two for the icing to dry) should never be consumed. This is not an attack on me personally........ I just don't make her cookies.

Oh I love me some fondant. Especially MMF. I'm still learning about the yins and yangs of buttercream. Like....make much more than you need, cause your husband thinks it is candy!!

I'm a beginner but I like using fondant because it gives the cake a clean look. I will use buttercream though, and like it just fine. I think they both take skill to master. I've seen some amazing things done with fondant. Personally, I don't like the taste, it's just too sweet. But I also tend not to eat much icing either. It's not out of dislike, I just don't like all the sugar. Odd that I decided to learn to decorate cakes, eh?!

I don't have a problem working with either one, I wish more of my clients would order fondant covered cakes so I could have the pics! I also try to offer some fondant at my tastings so that the brides can taste it for themselves (I make my own MMF) and know it doesn't taste bad - most of them do not care for the texture - they don't like the mouth feel of it.....they are always surprised at how good the flavor is!

*waves*

fondant hater here.

don't like the taste (too much sugar, not enough anything else), don't like the texture, don't like the mouthfeel, and I don't like working with it either.

Cake forums are the ONLY place I've ever come across people who like fondant. I've never met anyone in real life who likes it...

And when you see post after post from people who say they can't get their buttercream smooth to save themselves, and they're nothing-but-fondant users, it's almost easy to see why some buttercream-only people might look down on fondanters...

Me? it's just cake. I won't use fondant, but I also don't have customers, so I have no one to please but myself.

I've never used fondant, but will be doing a four tier square wedding cake at the end of July - black and white fondant. Needless to say, I've started to practice so my coworkers have been eating fondant for the past few weeks. They've almost all "decided" that they really do like fondant after all. I think most people just have to get past the initial reaction and give it a chance. If you use MMF, it is marshmallows and powdered sugar. What's not to like?

I appreciate fondant for the ability to make awesome designs. What i don't appreciate is all the "attempts", and I use attempts loosely, by some hot headed decorators out there who swear that they can recreate anyyyyyyyything in buttercream that was originally done in fondant. And for a good reason. You can find great examples of that kind of attitude on Cakewrecks at least once a week.

That said, I love BC and fondant equally.

well, here's a plug for fondant covered cakes. the other day at work I was carrying a 12, 9, 6 stacked wedding cake on my shoulder to the fridge when I took a little slip trip on a wet floor, I was so glad the cake was covered in fondant because in an effort to keep myself from falling down the cake fell into the side of my face! Luckily I just had some icing poka dots transfer to my face and it was an easy fix....can you imagine what would have happened if it had been buttercream!

I volunteered to make the year end cakes for the kindergarten classes. One of the moms who was volunteering told me later that she had told her son not to eat the fondant, but then she tasted it and said it, "Wasn't too bad." It was MFF. When one of my cousins got married, her cake was covered in fondant for the look, but the decorator had told them to peel off the fondant before they cut it. Her uncle came by and said he loved fondant and grabbed a big chunk, but he took one bite and tossed it.