Ready Made Fondant Vs Homemade

Decorating By MECarter Updated 3 Jul 2014 , 11:23pm by cecescakecreations

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MECarter Posted 5 May 2014 , 9:35pm
post #1 of 35

I'm new to cake decorating and I'm just wondering from those who are more experienced which is better to use..the fondant I can by already rolled or the fondant you make at home.  I've only used the the store bought so far.

34 replies
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mattyeatscakes Posted 6 May 2014 , 1:30am
post #2 of 35

AI've always made and use MMF (marshmallow fondant). It's cheaper and i love it :)

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MECarter Posted 6 May 2014 , 1:34am
post #3 of 35

AI've seen tutorials on YouTube for MMF. I think I'll give it a try.

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costumeczar Posted 6 May 2014 , 1:35am
post #4 of 35

I make fondant from scratch, not MMF, I've never tried that. I prefer the homemade because it usually has gelatin in it, not just gums.

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sarahgale314 Posted 6 May 2014 , 1:54am
post #5 of 35

AI make mine from scratch too. I have tried marshmallow fondant before, and it was not as nice to work with. Homemade is really just as easy to make too.

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MECarter Posted 6 May 2014 , 1:57am
post #6 of 35

ASo when making it at home is there 2 ways to make it? I thought it was just MMF way at home.

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sarahgale314 Posted 6 May 2014 , 2:04am
post #7 of 35

ANo, you can make it completely from scratch, with water, gelatin, corn syrup, your flavorings of choice, glycerin, and powdered sugar. You can buy glycerin at the craft store in the baking isle, or you can actually buy it in bulk at a pharmacy counter. I will PM you with the recipe, since they erase recipes off here if I post them in the forums.

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MBalaska Posted 6 May 2014 , 2:09am
post #8 of 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by MECarter 
 

I'm new to cake decorating and I'm just wondering from those who are more experienced which is better to use..the fondant I can by already rolled or the fondant you make at home.  I've only used the the store bought so far.

 

three kinds of homemade fondant.

Marshmallow fondant with marshmallow and water, Michelle Fosters Fondant with milk or cream & butter, or Lindy Smiths fondant with water and shortening.   (if I'm remembering correctly)

some slight differences, all tasty!

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MECarter Posted 6 May 2014 , 2:15am
post #9 of 35

AGeesh I had no idea there was more than the MMF

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sarahgale314 Posted 6 May 2014 , 2:19am
post #10 of 35

AThe kind I make, and I think costumeczar too, is yet another recipe besides the 3 listed by MBalaska!

One of the best things about the recipe I use for homemade fondant vs. marshmallow or store bought, is it has no dye in it. Marshmallows have white dye (it's actually called blue something on the package, but it's white) and so does white store bought fondant, which means they don't take color as well. You may have seen people complain about not being able to make true black or true red fondant. If you make it totally from scratch, the base mixture of water, gelatin, corn syrup, and glycerin is completely clear, and you can add food dye to it at that stage and get nice deep colors very easily. You can look at the pictures of cakes that I've done online to see the pure blacks and reds that I have made.

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MECarter Posted 6 May 2014 , 2:24am
post #11 of 35

AI've had that problem with the Wilton's I've purchased.

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costumeczar Posted 6 May 2014 , 11:00am
post #12 of 35

A

Original message sent by sarahgale314

The kind I make, and I think costumeczar too, is yet another recipe besides the 3 listed by MBalaska!

One of the best things about the recipe I use for homemade fondant vs. marshmallow or store bought, is it has no dye in it. Marshmallows have white dye (it's actually called blue something on the package, but it's white) and so does white store bought fondant, which means they don't take color as well. You may have seen people complain about not being able to make true black or true red fondant. If you make it totally from scratch, the base mixture of water, gelatin, corn syrup, and glycerin is completely clear, and you can add food dye to it at that stage and get nice deep colors very easily. You can look at the pictures of cakes that I've done online to see the pure blacks and reds that I have made.

Sarah uses the same recipe that i use, it sounds like it at least. That's the "real" recipe that people used before marshmallow fluff was invented and before people came along to tart it up with milk and other stuff.:)

1/4 cup water 1 pkg gelatin 1/2 cup corn syrup 1 Tbsp glycerine 2pounds confectioner's sugar 1 Tbsp crisco (optional, you can knead this in later if you don't add it with the liquids) Flavorings (also optional)

Put the sugar in a bowl and set it aside.

Bloom the gelatin in the water, then melt it over a pan of boiling water. Stir in the corn syrup (optional crisco) and glycerine and stir until they all melt together.

Stir in the flavorings and food color if you want to use those. (You can add food coloring later but it's easier to do it now before stirring it into the sugar. If you don't know how much to use to get the color you want just add some and make a lighter version, then knead more in later.)

Add the liquid to the sugar and stir to combine. It might be really sticky, don't worry about that. If you want to knead it with one hand at this point to smooth it out you can do that.

Put the fondant on a large piece of plastic wrap (i double the plastic wrap so that it's thick enough to prevent ripping. Wrap it up and let it sit overnight. It will get stiffer as it cools down. When you unwrap it later, knead with some crisco to get it pliable, or add some corn starch and knead if it's too sticky.

The one thing to watch out for is the consistency can be different depending on how you handle the gelatin. Just add corn starch or a little tylose to stiffen it up if it's really soft. I knead it with crisco and that smooths it out really well.

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costumeczar Posted 6 May 2014 , 11:59am
post #13 of 35

I meant to add...I make this in batches of 4 times the base recipe because I go through so much fondant. When you do 4 times, you can add an entire bottle of Wilton glycerine and a full bottle of corn syrup (the regular sized bottle) and you don't need to measure them.

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sarahgale314 Posted 6 May 2014 , 2:01pm
post #14 of 35

AYep, that's exactly the recipe I use. I do a 3 times recipe and turn 1 pound of it into gumpaste by kneading in some tylose powder.

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sweets2thesweet Posted 6 May 2014 , 6:12pm
post #15 of 35

MMF is your quickest and easiest (and cheapest) option.  That's what I use for most birthday cakes.  It tastes like marshmallows and is easy to use.  But it has a matte finish and is off-white in color.  For wedding cakes when I need something white or smoother and more consistent or when I'm wanting those dark reds and blacks I use purchased fondant.  You don't EVER want to use Wilton fondant.  It's nasty and hard to work with.  There are a ton of other fondant brands.  Personally I like Satin Ice; it's really smooth and easy to work with.  And Fondarific is another one that tastes really good and you can usually find it pretty cheap on Amazon (with free shipping).  I'm too lazy to make my own fondant from scratch (and there's a bit of a learning curve in terms of getting it just right) so I like working with the MMF and store-bought stuff. Since most people don't actually eat the fondant (except for kids, who love the marshmallow fondant) my deciding factor is usually what's easiest to work with.

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leah_s Posted 6 May 2014 , 7:11pm
post #16 of 35

I also use and like SatinIce.  However, and this is hard to say, but the new version of W fondant is OK/good.  I've always found W fondant to be the absolute easiest to work with.

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MBalaska Posted 6 May 2014 , 7:35pm
post #17 of 35

costumeczar and Sarahgale314   that recipe is the similar (almost exactly) as the Lindy Smith one.  That's the one that I add Loran Marshmallow flavoring and clear vanilla to.  It's tasty.

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cupadeecakes Posted 6 May 2014 , 8:02pm
post #18 of 35

i have always used store bought fondant and I couldn't imagine making all my own, although I do make my own modeling chocolate.  That's time consuming enough!  I think I have tried all the brands (but I haven't tried the new Wilton concoction), but my favorites right now are Fondarific and FondX (or Elite by Fondx).

 

I have heard very good things about Liz Marek's fondant recipe, but I haven't tried it.

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costumeczar Posted 6 May 2014 , 10:23pm
post #19 of 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by MBalaska 
 

costumeczar and Sarahgale314   that recipe is the similar (almost exactly) as the Lindy Smith one.  That's the one that I add Loran Marshmallow flavoring and clear vanilla to.  It's tasty.

 

 

That doesn't surprise me because it's the "standard" one that I learned in culinary school, when all of the books that dealt with fondant were from British decorators.

 

@cupadeecakes,   I promise that making fondant takes about 15 minutes. If you then mix it with the homemade modeling chocolate that you made, you have fondarific :)

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bubs1stbirthday Posted 6 May 2014 , 11:21pm
post #20 of 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by costumeczar 


Sarah uses the same recipe that i use, it sounds like it at least. That's the "real" recipe that people used before marshmallow fluff was invented and before people came along to tart it up with milk and other stuff.icon_smile.gif

1/4 cup water
1 pkg gelatin
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 Tbsp glycerine
2pounds confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp crisco (optional, you can knead this in later if you don't add it with the liquids)
Flavorings (also optional

How many grams is in your gelatin packet please?

Thankyou.

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costumeczar Posted 6 May 2014 , 11:31pm
post #21 of 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubs1stbirthday 
 

How many grams is in your gelatin packet please?

Thankyou.

It's about .25 ounces or a little over 7 grams.

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bubs1stbirthday Posted 6 May 2014 , 11:39pm
post #22 of 35


Thankyou very much.

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bubs1stbirthday Posted 11 May 2014 , 9:38am
post #23 of 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by costumeczar 


Sarah uses the same recipe that i use, it sounds like it at least. That's the "real" recipe that people used before marshmallow fluff was invented and before people came along to tart it up with milk and other stuff.icon_smile.gif

1/4 cup water
1 pkg gelatin
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 Tbsp glycerine
2pounds confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp crisco (optional, you can knead this in later if you don't add it with the liquids)
Flavorings (also optional)

Put the sugar in a bowl and set it aside.

Bloom the gelatin in the water, then melt it over a pan of boiling water. Stir in the corn syrup (optional crisco) and glycerine and stir until they all melt together.

Stir in the flavorings and food color if you want to use those. (You can add food coloring later but it's easier to do it now before stirring it into the sugar. If you don't know how much to use to get the color you want just add some and make a lighter version, then knead more in later.)

Add the liquid to the sugar and stir to combine. It might be really sticky, don't worry about that. If you want to knead it with one hand at this point to smooth it out you can do that.

Put the fondant on a large piece of plastic wrap (i double the plastic wrap so that it's thick enough to prevent ripping. Wrap it up and let it sit overnight. It will get stiffer as it cools down. When you unwrap it later, knead with some crisco to get it pliable, or add some corn starch and knead if it's too sticky.


The one thing to watch out for is the consistency can be different depending on how you handle the gelatin. Just add corn starch or a little tylose to stiffen it up if it's really soft. I knead it with crisco and that smooths it out really well.


Thankyou so much for posting this recipe, it is so simple to make and works so well that I have been converted from MMF to this one and wont go back. Thankyou again.

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costumeczar Posted 11 May 2014 , 1:56pm
post #24 of 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubs1stbirthday 
 


Thankyou so much for posting this recipe, it is so simple to make and works so well that I have been converted from MMF to this one and wont go back. Thankyou again.

:smile:

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MBalaska Posted 11 May 2014 , 9:01pm
post #25 of 35

Quote:

Originally Posted by costumeczar 
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bubs1stbirthday 
 

How many grams is in your gelatin packet please?

Thankyou.

It's about .25 ounces or a little over 7 grams.

 

Thanks for posting that info. costumeczar   Weighing saves doing dishes. :)

and not all the packets have the same amounts.

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MECarter Posted 13 May 2014 , 5:33am
post #26 of 35

AI've tried a couple. Thanks everyone for being so helpful.

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lizziebridge Posted 18 Jun 2014 , 8:43am
post #27 of 35

I'll try one of your three recipie MBalaska :) 

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cecescakecreations Posted 1 Jul 2014 , 9:27pm
post #28 of 35

ADo you sift your confectioners sugar to avoid lumps?

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mattyeatscakes Posted 1 Jul 2014 , 9:30pm
post #29 of 35

A

Original message sent by cecescakecreations

Do you sift your confectioners sugar to avoid lumps?

Yes, i always sift my powdered sugar to avoid lumps :)

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cecescakecreations Posted 1 Jul 2014 , 9:32pm
post #30 of 35

AOk great thanks

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