Poll:Fondant

TaraandRichforever · February 2010

Ive started to go to cake tastings for my July wedding and was just curious how many of you are having or had fondant on your cake and what your opinion of it is.

sarabellam · February 2010

You can't really have fondant only. It needs the buttercream to "stick" well to the cake. I think that many commercial fondant products, especially the stuff made by a company that rhymes with Hilton, are the NASTIEST tasting stuff known to man. I made my own cake, and made my own fondant, and got compliments from people that it was the only fondant they had ever liked.

I <3 Seabass · February 2010

We used buttercream on our cake (in siggy pic) not quite as smooth as fondant but tasted much better.

AdeleDazeem · February 2010

I flat out refuse to have fondant on the cake. I've heard that many times they unwrap the fondant in the kitchen and simply throw it away. Sometimes they cut it and serve it with the cake. Neither are appealing to me.

kikicurlytop · February 2010

Fondant looks pretty but tastes bad/had a bad texture. It basically is just a matter of what is more important to you: the look or the taste?

kaesha · February 2010

Yeah, fondant is for looking, not for eating. That stuff is super gross. I worked in a Belgian pastry shop for years and the thought of asking my guests to eat it (or peel it off of something delicious) just revolted me.

anna.oskar · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_pollfondant?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:641d4f6f-1b6a-45c6-916d-d32993412001Post:0a8293f9-95b7-46ba-be92-0be71ceaf113">Re: Poll:Fondant</a>:
[QUOTE]Yeah, fondant is for looking, not for eating. That stuff is super gross. I worked in a Belgian pastry shop for years and the thought of asking my guests to eat it (or peel it off of something delicious) just revolted me.
Posted by kaesha[/QUOTE]

This isn't true for all bakers. I tried fondant at every tasting and each was very different. One baker's tasted like the nastiest play-doh n the planet. My baker's actually tasted really good and slightly marshmallow-y.

TaraandRichforever · February 2010

Yeah. I tried fondant twice at two different bakeries. I didnt mind either one but the one at the second bakery did taste better.

Ken&Cass · February 2010

The only fondant on my cake will be a stripe around the base of each tier.
I don't particularly care for it because it's so thick and sweet, it almost makes just one piece of it too much you know? So we are going with buttercream for almost everything. You can achieve pretty much the exact same look of smoothness with buttercream if you know what you are doing.

antimony · February 2010

Marzipan!

kimheartsscott · February 2010

Fondant is not inherently bad, Wilton fondant is. Marshmallow fondant however is totally not disgusting. And you don't have fondant without buttercream underneath.

I plan on doing buttercream, although I am not opposed to fondant. It is more expensive though.

MesmrEwe · March 2010

You really need to taste the individual baker's fondant to know if it's good tasting or not (like the other said - the stuff that rhymes with Hilton is the NASTIEST stuff known to man, but there are some other brands that aren't that good tasting either)... There are brands like Albert Uster that are not as chewy and blend well into the cake (their neutral takes on the flavor of the cake well) without tasting like a bucket of preservatives. Again, all depends on the brand or type the baker is using AND how thick they put it on.

Lasairiona · March 2010

Hell no to the fondant. It's done for looks only and is very difficult to cut cleanly. Also, it's expensive because it requires more work for the baker, and no one eats it so it goes straight to the trash. The extra money spent for fondant can easily go toward making the cake inside taste good which is the part that matters. There isn't a guest anywhere that will remember what your cake looks like but they will remember whether it tasted good or not.

AmandaK2010 · March 2010

Any good cake decorator can make buttercream look just as good as fondant. I think fondant is a waste of money as it costs more and usually tastes worse. I agree with Lasairiona. Guests don't remember exact details of a cake, but they definitely remember if a cake is bad.

ghp315 · March 2010

ok I am a pastry chef and just to let you know if you like the look of fondant but not the taste you can still have it on your main cake but use cake dummies and only have one layer be real to cut into (and you don't have to eat it just peel it off). then in the back you can have sheet cakes to serve your guest fondant free. cake dummies save money too since it is less labor involved and sheet cakes are easier to do since you don't decorate them.
Also there are some cakes that do need fondant if you want to achieve a certain look. i just had my cake tasting last week (my friend is doing it who is also a cake decorator) we are doing a 5 tier topsy turvy cake that will be covered in fondant but none of the guests will be eating it they will be having a choice of a few different flavors of cakes done in buttercream.
also yes if you are a good decorator you can make buttercream look like fondant and yes buttercream is alot cheaper (and not because of labor, the fondant itself costs alot). but if you really like the look of fondant you can take my suggestion.

Lasairiona · March 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_food-cakes_pollfondant?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:23Discussion:641d4f6f-1b6a-45c6-916d-d32993412001Post:0c2cc0b5-867c-4cb1-80fb-45610daba59d">Re: Poll:Fondant</a>:
[QUOTE]ok I am a pastry chef and just to let you know if you like the look of fondant but not the taste you can still have it on your main cake but use cake dummies and only have one layer be real to cut into (and you don't have to eat it just peel it off). then in the back you can have sheet cakes to serve your guest fondant free. cake dummies save money too since it is less labor involved and sheet cakes are easier to do since you don't decorate them. Also there are some cakes that do need fondant if you want to achieve a certain look. i just had my cake tasting last week (my friend is doing it who is also a cake decorator) we are doing a 5 tier topsy turvy cake that will be covered in fondant but none of the guests will be eating it they will be having a choice of a few different flavors of cakes done in buttercream. also yes if you are a good decorator you can make buttercream look like fondant and yes buttercream is alot cheaper (and not because of labor, the fondant itself costs alot). but if you really like the look of fondant you can take my suggestion.
Posted by ghp315[/QUOTE]What you are suggesting costs extra. There is extra labor involved and everyone knows that even if they refuse to acknowledge the fact. If any other person in any industry charged less for extra work, they would be out of a job. How a baker can charge less for more work defies all logic. If someone does not like fondant, whether the taste or the look, they should not be pushed into it like your post is doing.

ghp315 · March 2010

it was just a suggestion if you liked the look of fondant but not the taste that's all.
and it costs less to make a sheet cake than another tier on the cake, because there is no decoration on it and it helps when you have a lot of guests and don't want to add extra tiers (if that is what you are referring to)

dizzinea · March 2010

i've had marshmellow based fondant, and while it's not as yummy as buttercream it is not so bad, but the normal stuff not so much

nd76 · March 2010

I also work in the pastry field. When fondant is fresh, it is not that bad. Unfortunately, most cakes will sit for awhile before they are delivered and served, so the fondant gets hard and pretty inedible. Marshmallow fondant is a good alternative but it usually has to be a pretty thick layer to hold shape, and so even if it tastes good you will have a lot of people who won't eat it. Even with buttercream, you will usually see a thick layer of it because it is easier to work it until it is smooth if there is a lot of it. A lot of people won't eat that, either.
Ultimately, it comes down to what you want the look of your cake to be (because there can be a distinct difference, regardless of how good your baker is. Certain things can be accomplished with fondant and not with buttercream), and if cost is an issue for you with your cake.
Either way you will have people who leave stuff on their plate, so I wouldn't worry about that part too much.

onlymels · March 2010

My bakery and one of the others I tried used fondant they made themselves and I thought it tasted really good. The one place we tried it tasted like white chocoalte. VERY yummy. BUT most places use one comercail brand and our baker flat out said they won't use it since its nasty. When you go for tastings ask if they make their own fondant and see if you can try a little bit.

flamingtwig72 · March 2010

Our cake designer won't NOT use fondant. She thinks cakes without it do not look finished, and I completely agree. She does a layer of buttercream with a very thin coat of fondant on top, so guests can eat it or remove it, whichever they prefer.

The fondant discussion is one that can weed out inexperienced or just plain mediocre cake designers. Good ones will make sure their work looks finished and will want to give you a perfect looking AND tasting product.

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