Cake Question?

mcca9035

So I have been talking to some bakery's trying to get that figured out and our cake ordered. I want something with quilted pattern on every other tier (probably will need three or four tiers) and a ribbon on each tier like this:

 

All but one bakery has said that I need to do fondant to make the quilting look good. But I have heard that fondant is gross (never tried it myself) and I wouldn't want everyone to hate the way the cake tasted. What do you guys suggest? Just go with the fondant?

rungirl12

I wouldn't call fondant, "gross," but it is somewhat tasteless and doesn't add flavor to the cake the way frosting typically does.  I would agree that for the look you want, fondant is the way to go (smooth, easy to mold/quilted look).  You would still use regular filling or buttercream filling/frosting between cake layers inside, so you would still have the tasty frosting inside the cake - it would just be the outside that would have the "blah boring" frosting taste.

I don't know what bakeries use for fondant, but I made a cake with homemade fondant and it actually tasted good.  I wouldn't count on that from a baker though since they may use the pre-made sheets of fondant which would be more neutral/blah.

BTCarolus

So, fondant has basically picked up popularity in the US over the last maybe 5 years because of these new cake baking reality shows. Before that it was more common in England, usually to decorate fruitcakes. It's basically a way to treat and dye sugar (sometimes flavored, but usually not) in order to create icing sheets that can be molded into different shapes. It's similar to marzipan, also more popular in Europe, which is sugar and almond and also moldable. The more traditional American frosting is a sugar and butter/cream based frosting (usually buttercream, but there are several types). It can be flavored better than marzipan, but it doesn't mold well. Both hold dyes about equally well. I personally far prefer buttercream. It doesn't harden up like fondant, usually has more flavor, and frankly I like the looks of buttercream cakes better. Fondant can definitely do more complicated and sturdier shapes than buttercream, and it's easier to get a perfectly smooth look to the cake, since it's basically a smooth sheet already.

I think you should see about trying a cake with fondant on it and see if you like it, or at least don't dislike it (I woul describe it more as 'meh' than 'gross'). If you are ok with it, go with your original cake idea. If you don't, think about what it is about that cake that you really like. Is it really the quilting, or is it the contrast between the layers and the ribbon bands? If you can figure out what parts of the cake design really appeal to you, you can discuss with the baker how those looks could be achieved with buttercream. You could also see about having only two of the layers in fondant, and the others in buttercream.

renriqu1

I agree with nessaalwayz. Fondant isn't something most people enjoy right away, but they can peel it off. They still use regular frosting underneath it to "glue" it onto the cake. If you like the baker that can do it without fondant, I'd go with that.

VNEluvsAJB

Fondant is different from different bakeries. I've had some that's not rolled thin enough and is dry and I would equate it to eating cardboard. That being said our baker does fondant that is amazing. I don't know what she does but it's great. Ask the bakers for a sample and try it.

JordynLeighx3

Ask to sample it. In my experience, fondant is much better if the baker makes it from scratch. In fact quite tasty. If they use pre made, tastes like blan chewy gum.

harringtone1

I agree with the PPs - if someone doesn't like it they can very easily eat around it. It comes off really easily.

I do have to say though - I LOVE the taste of fondant. I know thats kind of rare, but I don't think any wedding guests would really be surprised or upset to have it on the cake, and some might even enjoy it