But anyways! I'll definitely be making that again so stay tuned for that. Onto today's post:
So last night, I decided to be really ambitious and make my own fondant. It really started with me trying to think of ways to make my red velvet cuppycakes look prettier seeing as one of Husband's colleagues ordered up a big batch of them for her wedding (!!!) and I have to deliver them this Thursday. I thought it might be pretty to do some decorations with fondant. I'd tried store-bought fondant before but frankly, I can't stand how it tastes. Then, earlier this year, following a recipe from one of my favourite cupcake books, Nic managed to make some fondant for our daughter's baptism cake. I found the flavour a lot more tolerable than the store bought kind so I decided to stick with that recipe.
Let's get one thing out in the open: when Nic made it, I wasn't there for some reason. I was probably tending to the baby or something. But in doing so, when I embarked on my fondant making process yesterday, I simply figured, if Nic could do it, how hard could it be?
It was hard.
I started around 9pm and didn't finish till about 11. In terms of ingredients, there wasn't that much to it but it took ages to knead into a pliable dough! I started out by trying to knead it in smaller palm-sized balls and then adding it together but that led to a lot of leftover icing sugar that wasn't getting incorporated. Then I figured out that my popping it into the microwave for a few seconds (like 10 - 20 at a go) it softened up the mixture so that it was easily pliable and could absorb more sugar. Be wary of microwaving too much though! I think I might have overdone it and the texture of my fondant is a bit dry and crumbly now.
Still, after much kneading and a bit of microwaving, it finally came together! I wrapped the ball in cling film and left it outside overnight. From what I gather, the fondant will keep for 1 - 2 months so long as it is tightly cling filmed and kept in a cool, dry place. Do not put it in the fridge or freezer.
Now that I had my fondant, I was ready to experiment with decorations. I tore off a small chunk of the fondant (and covered the unused remainder in cling film again) and decided to make it blue. Just a drop of colouring was all I needed and it had to be kneaded into the dough thoroughly to get an even colour. After that, I rolled it out and stamped out little flowers to my heart's content (well, until I got bored).
All in all, I think it was a pretty successful attempt. I'll play around with it a little more and might include them in my decorations for Thursday's cupcakes.
Make Your Own:
The recipe I followed is from 'Sensational Cupcakes' by Alisa Morov. I modified the ingredients below a little and worked with half of the quantities.
900 grams of icing sugar, sifted
50 ml cold water
1 tablespoon powered gelatine
50 ml glucose
1 1/2 tablespoons glycerine
food colouring (optional)
[Makes about 1 kg fondant icing]
1. Sift sugar into a large bowl (that's not metal) and make a well in the centre.
2. Pour the water into a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatine on top to soften for about 5 minutes. Turn on the stove and heat the gelatine, stirring until it dissolves and becomes clear. Do not let it boil. Turn off the stove and add the glucose and glycerine and stir until it is blended.
3. Pour the mixture into the well of sugar and mix until all of the sugar is blended (i.e. the intense kneading part). Add small amounts of icing sugar if the mixture is too sticky.
4. Form the stiff icing into a ball and wrap tightly in cling film and place it in an airtight container. The icing works best if left to rest at room temperature for about 8 hours before using, especially if the weather is humid like it is here in Singapore. Do not refrigerate.
There you have it! Once made, the rest is up to your imagination. Good luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment