Fondant can be used to cover cakes or as modeling paste to create all kinds of shapes and decorations for your cake.  It not only looks beautiful but, it helps keep the cake fresh.

Time: 20 min, Prep: 20 min.
Should be enough to cover a 22.9 x 22.9-cm (9×9-inch) cake.

Ingredients:

• 16 g unflavoured gelatin
• 12 Tbsp cold water            
• 2 Tbsp unsalted margarine
• 4 Tbsp honey
• 800 g powdered sugar

Directions:

Place gelatin and water in a bowl over a pot of boiling water until the gelatin dissolves. Then add margarine and honey and stir until the margarine melts and the mixture becomes smooth.

Place 700 g of the icing sugar in a large bowl and make a hole in the middle. Pour the liquid mixture and stir with a spoon.

Sift some of the remaining sugar onto your work surface and knead the fondant to form a smooth, pliable mass without lumps. Add more icing sugar if necessary.

You can use it right away to cover your cake or you can wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and refrigerate for later use.  If the fondant dries out and becomes stiff, you have to knead it on a surface dusted with powdered sugar, until it is easy to manage.

You can colour the fondant using your favourite paste food colourings.

Before applying the fondant, cover the cake with a thin layer of butter or icing to smooth any bumps or imperfections on the cake surface. This layer also helps the fondant stick to the cake.

Decorating with fondant is fun although I must admit that not everyone likes the way it tastes (including myself) as it’s usually very sweet.

If you want to see my first experiment with fondant, see how I decorated my Chocolate Strawberry Cake. Here’s a sneak peek  at the fondant strip I used to cover the sides of the cake.

Check out other cakes I covered in honey fondant here.

Have fun creating your masterpieces!