For someone who loves making layer cakes, my decorating skills are fairly deplorable. Sloppy, crumb-flecked swaths of frosting make up the base of every creation, a veritable ocean of sugary waves caught in a tsunami, leaping higher and rougher with every turn of the lazy Susan. Carefully fitted piping bags save me from utter embarrassment, covering up the worst of my frosting offenses, but even then my ability to create edible art is severely limited. Seashell borders? Simple rosettes? Done and done. Anything fancier and you’re out of luck. I can’t begin to recall how many grand plans for grand, sky-high layer cakes have turned into plain little cupcakes because of these shortcomings. The basic swirl is one technique I’ve managed to master after eight years of practice.
Naked Mint-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (The “Before” Shot)
Considering my difficulty in this edible art form, I don’t know why I didn’t investigate different options sooner. Fondant has seen a huge rise in popularity over the years thanks to reality TV; every bakery special enough to get a slot in prime time seems to specialize in the stuff, peddling what seems to be more fondant than actual cake. Now it’s a startling rarity to find a wholly buttercream-covered confection, especially on the large scale. That said, it needn’t be as intimidating, as difficult, or as tasteless as detractors [myself included] frequently grouse.
Thanks to the kindness of Yolli, I was granted the gift of a few goodies to play with. Instantly, I was drawn to the enigma that is ready-to-roll fondant. Some contain gelatin, but those featured in the shop clearly list ingredients and even go so far as to label themselves as “suitable for vegetarians.” Though homemade vegan fondant is certainly possible, I wouldn’t venture to say that it’s either quick or easy. These colored rectangles of sugar dough take a huge amount of hassle out of the equation.
Even with the aide of meticulously designed fondant cutters, my first few flowers were laughably bad. I can’t say that practice made perfect, but I quickly saw the results improve with every additional petal. Most surprising of all was the flavor: Not dreadful! Sure, it’s mostly sweet and bland, but not nearly as loathsome as so many pastry aficionados claim, and quite enjoyable once dry and crunchy. Consider me a convert.
I would hardly consider myself an expert after just one attempt at sculpting, but there were a few tips that stood out in my mind as helpful hints to share with prospective sugar crafters…
- Start small, stay small. Especially when you’re modeling individual pieces, rather than working on a big sheet to cover a cake, the key to fondant success is to only work with as much material as you can fit in your hand at one time. For all six flowers I created, including all of their multiple layers, a scant marble-sized piece was more than enough to do the job. Excess fondant dries out quickly, especially once rolled thin, making it crackle when re-worked and generally difficult to manage. After about 3 – 4 hours in a dry place, the pieces will completely harden like air-drying modeling clay.
- There is definitely such a thing as being too thin. Roll out the sheets of fondant to perhaps a millimeter or two thicker than you’d like the final piece to be, because you’ll be stretching it subtly as you shape it. It may not sound like a lot on paper, but when you’re dealing with such fragile pieces, it makes a world of difference. This is especially true of bigger sheets that are used to blanket an entire cake. Corners and edges put a lot of stress on the plasticized sugar, so allow those pieces much greater girth than you would want for finer, smaller ornamentation.
- Allow yourself plenty of time. Estimate that it will take at least an hour longer than you’d prefer, and then you might make a closer estimate of what sort of time is require to complete the job. Patience is critical; rushed sculpting is guaranteed to look sloppy, no matter how experienced the sugar artist is.
- Be liberal with your use of confectioner’s sugar. Rather than flouring your counters before rolling out, it’s vital that the fondant is rolled out in confectioner’s sugar to prevent it from sticking to the counter. Excess sugar is easily absorbed into the dough, leaving no trace of the white powder in the end. Going too lightly on the application will lead to a sticky, frustrating mess. Don’t forget to dust the top of your fondant rounds, the rolling pin, and any cutting tools, too.
- Toothpicks are your best tools. Keep plenty of them on hand to help punch out shapes that cling to the insides of cutters, carve out subtle impressions on leaves, and poke indentations or holes, depending on what you want to craft. They’re cheap, accessible, and helpful in any project. You don’t need to go out and buy a whole arsenal of specialty stamps and cutters; small cookie cutters work just as well, and provide a greater range of shapes in general.
- Just try it! I’m terrible at sculpting, no two ways about it, but practice, sticking with simple shapes, and not over-thinking the process can create some sweet results.
Wow. That is some really beautiful work – and just in time for Mother’s Day. I tried a bit of fondant work years ago, and my first attempts were laughable. I mean I HAD to laugh, other wise I would have cried! I got better as I went along, though Now you have inspired me to try your beautiful flowers. I like your hints. They all make very good sense. Congratulations on some truly lovely and inspiring work. Thanks!
Absolutely gorgeous, Hannah! Bravo to you for exploring fondant. I too, love to bake yet lack the “decorator gene”. Your flowers turned out beautiful…and quite possible…too good to eat. :)
I’m glad you mentioned that not all fondant is vegan. I thought it was! I devour baking shows that make fondant look easy. You make it sound totally doable. Love your design. Sharing to Facebook.
That is really beautiful! Well done!
Hannah, it’s difficult for me to imagine you being anything other than immensely talented and skilled in everything pastry. Despite your so-called shortcomings (I can’t say I agree with that assessment), these cuppers are stunning!
They’re gorgeous, Hannah. When our girls were young, I used to decorate their cake (in 9 X 11″ pans) with the purchased tubes of frosting. They and all their friends thought the decorations were amazing. What fun to be thought so wonderful!!
janet
Lovely :) My mum used to decorate cakes as a supplemental income earner and to be honest I would rather run a MILE than attempt to muck around with fondant (that she made from scratch). Luckily I prefer my cakes sans icing of any kind so that isn’t going to be a problem. I bow to your wonderful creations though Hannah, very beautiful :)
pretty cool of you doing & making these beautiful creative foods & thanks for the tips. 😀
I definitely wouldn’t say you’re terrible…these are beautiful!! You’re inspiring me to try working with fondant :D
These are lovely. I especially like the pretty yellow color — perfect for the spring/summer! Great job! ps love you muffin tin too!
Beautiful work and gorgeous result. Thanks for encouraging us to try it!
Wow that is stunning! I don’t think I’ll ever venture into fondant (too lazy/not creative) but I can certainly appreciate creations made with it!
What a good tutiorial, thanks. I like to learn this skill, do I need to learn it from college?
Oooh, your flowers turned out well! So cute for spring. One more tip you might add is to pick a design that’s forgiving. For example, your flowers have ruffles which help to hide imperfections better than a sharp, precise shape would.
Oh yes, very good point! The fact that my cutters were so detailed was a very helpful thing- Natural, organic shapes are generally a safe bet too, since there’s a more acceptable visual range of variation.
How fun and so pretty! Hard to imagine you struggling with it – looks good to me. The naked cupcakes look pretty darn good too. :-)
I don’t know how to do layer cakes ;( and my decorating skills are far worse than yours! Mmmmm vegan fondant cupcakes, these flowers look gorgeous, Hannah, and perfect for Mother’s Day or any bridal showers/ladies’ moments! Thanks for sharing these tips, I admire you and your decorating skills!
Where is the recipe for the cupcakes? We need that as we’ll ;)
Now that one couldn’t be simpler! I must admit, I didn’t measure anything at the time, but the recipe went something like this…
2/3 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Plain Non-Dairy Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Roughly Chopped Dark Chocolate
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line 6 muffin tins with cupcake papers. Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet in another, and pour the wet into the dry. Mix just until the batter comes together; a few lumps are fine. Stir in the chocolate pieces and distribute the batter equally between your prepared tins. Bake for 14 – 16 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out cleanly.
(Makes 6 cupcakes.)
:)
ok those flowers are beautiful. my decorating skills cannot be called skills at all.