HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016 to the lovely members of the Daring Kitchen. Hope you have a year of complete Baking and Culinary bliss! Let 2016 unleash your unbound creativity and raise the bar of this platform. This month’s challenge is hosted by Shillpa Bhaambri from Cakeline the Journey, a Baker and Cake designer living in Mumbai, India. She runs a cakery, aptly called Cakeline that specializes in customized cakes and desserts. Cake designing is an extension of baking. It is a surging craft, hobby or profession in today’s times. Making plain cakes look visually stunning has become a unique artistry and a professional baker who specializes in making and decorating cakes is called a cake artist.

In this challenge Shillpa explains in detail about some edible mediums used in cake decoration, including “edible clays” like Fondant; Modeling paste, Gum paste and Modeling chocolate. They are used by cake designers to recreate mind blowing concepts and themes on cakes. Fondant in cake designing context, refers to rolled fondant or sugar paste, which is primarily used to cover cakes and boards. This is soft sugar dough that cuts through instantly with a knife. It easily rolls out and is quite malleable. Fondant stays fairly soft, even after it has been shaped. Designing cakes with it gives them a smooth and polished finish, and it can be colored or flavored to taste.

FONDANT/SUGAR PASTE

Ingredients:

800g / 6 2/5 cups icing sugar, unsifted

100g / 7 tablespoons white butter or shortening

1 tablespoon powdered gelatin or agar agar

30ml / 2 tablespoons cold water

100g / 1/3 cup liquid glucose

15ml / 1 tablespoon glycerin

Large pinch of kitchen salt

5ml / 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

7g / 1/2 tablespoon white butter or shortening

Method:

  • Measure all the ingredients and set aside. Sieve the icing sugar and keep 300gms / 2 2/5 cups of it aside.

  • Soak the gelatin in the cold water and melt it in a microwave or double boiler. Melt the butter/shortening.

  • Mix butter/shortening into gelatin. Add liquid glucose and glycerin and mix well. Warm it for 20 seconds.

  • You can do this in a microwave oven. Add clear vanilla extract and salt. Take 500gm icing sugar in a bowl.

  • Stir in the liquid mixture, a little at a time. Keep blending and adding the liquid, slowly to the icing sugar.

  • To make colored fondant, add the required amount of edible gel color to warmed gelatin glucose liquid.

  • Move mixture onto a smooth kitchen counter. Keep kneading gently and adding the reserved icing sugar.

  • Add as much icing sugar the dough can take in to make a pliable texture. It should not stick to your hands.

  • Lastly smear 7g / 1/2 tablespoon butter or shortening onto the counter. Knead gently to absorb all the fat.

  • Roll and shape the fondant into an oblong. Wrap fondant tightly with cling film.  Makes about 1kg fondant.

Fondant Icing from Scratch