I have been told through the grapevine that most don't like the taste of fondant. I am fairly new to this and just learning, have never done fondant, and a little afraid to try as I have heard this time and time again. Is it that bad tasting? I see you can do more when you use fondant but if no one likes the taste than they won't eat it.

Generally you put a layer of buttercream underneath the fondant. If someone likes the taste of fondant, they can eat it. If not, it can be easily peeled off and left on their plate. My family started out not liking fondant but they got used to it over the years and now my mom and sister ask for my fondant scraps to nibble on like candy. Other people seem more eager to try fondant than they used to be, probably because of all the cake shows on TV.

Most fondant does not taste that great and is too sweet for most adults. There is some fondant that is supposed to taste better (i.e. Fondarific), but it is considerably more expensive, and since most people peel it off anyway we don't use it.

Yes, fodant can taste really good. Sadly, lots of bakeries have deemed the good-tasting fondant as "too expensive" so they use the super cheap, crappy disgusting stuff on their cakes, thereby conditioning the public that fondant is "gross" and justifying not bothering with the good stuff because they say nobody eats it.

If you make it or you spend the money on the really good fondant, like Carma's Massa Ticino, it does get eaten and requested. If you buy Satin Ice like almost everyone else it gets thrown away.

I have very strong opinions about this matter - especially since I just did a bridal show where my table was overrun by 2000 people all claiming my display cakes, all covered in Massa Ticino, smelled heavenly and they wanted to eat them. That would never happen with Satain Ice or Wilton.

Dang straight FS. The crappy fondant has ruined it for those of us that use truly delicious stuff. IMO, it doesn't get any better than MFF with a dash of almond extract (instead of vanilla), or Massa.

I agree with FromScratchSF!!! We would never use Wilton fondant on our cakes, it's foul. I've never even bothered to try Satin ice b/c I've heard it's no better. We make our own, either MMF or Michele Foster's, which is SO GOOD, and it's a dream to work with. Fondarific tastes amazing, but it is pricey, and you would have to pass that cost on to the customer.

We actually recently had a consultation where the bride said the last cake person they met with gave her the line about "everyone peels off the fondant, so it's ok that it tastes nasty." Seriously?? It's not expensive, nor is it hard to make your own.

Satin Ice fondant is vegan and does not contain gelatin.

http://www.rolledfondant.com/pdf/Satin-Nutrition_Ingred.pdf

OP, also keep in mind that the thickness of your fondant matters. I know some people are very talented and they can roll it super thin so it's not even noticeable.

I'm not a fondant decorator (meaning I don't cover cakes in fondant) but I do use it occasionally for some decorations. I use Wilton for stuff that dries rock hard (so I know no one will eat it LOL), and I also use it to cover cake boards. I had to order a small bucket of black Satin Ice a while back and it smelled really good. But some of the decorations had elephant skin which I've heard is common with SI these days. I never did taste any because I have an aversion to eating dark colored BC or fondant.

I would LOVE to buy some Massa but I can't justify the cost as I'm just a hobby decorator who does BC cakes. I have heard it tastes incredible and is wonderful to work with. Do you guys order from Albert Uster? That is actually pretty close to where I live.

I have also heard great things about Michele Foster's Fondant (MFF). Not to be confused with MMF, or marshmallow fondant. There is a very extensive set of directions under the most saved recipes for Michele's fondant.

Fromscratch, I did everything I could to order your fondant and I couldn't get it. I tried to order from the site, but something always malfunctioned.

So I still use Fondarific. And I'm very happy with it, but I would love to try the Massa. My clients love the taste of the Fondarific. I ask them to just smell the area where it is kept and it smells like a buttercream candle. It also has a nice aroma if someone gets close to the cake. When I use the mocha flavor, the taste actually melds with the chocolate buttercream. I'm happy with it. I've only been to two functions where my fondant cakes were served. On the first time, almost all of the fondant was gone. This was my daughter's sweet 16 party. The other time was last month at my niece's wedding. About 50% was eaten.

When I started the bakery, I ordered every brand of fondant. I liked Fondarific for taste and variety in colors and flavors. Chocopan had great flavor in chocolate, but I never tried working with it.

Wilton and Satin Ice didn't have good smells or taste, plus I got elephant skin from Satin Ice.

My vegan wedding client actually chose Fondarific over vegan choices. She said they could take it off. She would let them know. I got the report back that they chose to eat it.

Massa Ticino is not the same product as Massa Grischuna. Massa Grischuna you buy from Albert Ulster, Ticino I don't think you can. I live in the UK and I use Massa Ticino and it is an awesome product. It is expensive, but just like any product you make, the cost gets passed on to the customer.

I personally am seriously anal about build quality when it comes to cakes and the fondant has to be immaculate and have sharp edges. I roll my fondant to 2mm thick and have never had anyone leave fondant on their plates, it's always eaten.

I also use the satin ice dark chocolate fondant which is also amazing. Tastes great and covers cakes easily.

I have to say that fondant is one of those things, that you cant just try once and decide you don't like it. Getting fondant to look really good and have it be really thin takes a LOT of practice. If you try it once, roll it really thick and people don't eat it, that is not a fondant problem, that's a decorator problem. Granted there are some fondants that likely taste horrible, but there are a lot that taste great.
Put it this way, I'd rather put fondant in my mouth than buttercream made with shortening! Oh man, shortening gives me the heebs.

Funny you mention shortening, since the second ingredient in fondarific is partially hydrogenated palm oil, which is the only ingredient in Sweetex Z shortening.

Yeah, sorry, but using a relatively small amount of shortening in fondant is not the same thing as buttercream that is made up of basically two ingredients: shortening and sugar.

Eh, it was a good try though.

Not in mine, as well as several popular recipes I can think of that thousands of people use.

The only type I've ever seen that does not contain oil is marshmallow fondant (which is not commercially available, you'd have to make it yourself).

Good grief. I make MFF, no oil or grease at all! Just butter. There. OMG I win!

Maria,

How much almond extract do you add to a recipe of MFF?

thanks,
Annie

Thanks. I love almond everything.

LOL! This is just too much! There is no shortening in my fondant either, just butter unless it is for a dummy. I, and all my customers, think criscocream is revolting!