Fondant Fun

I have had some fondant for a while, I've been meaning to try and decorate some cupcakes with it and I finally did the other day. I had a blast!

For the cupcakes, I did boxed cake mix (Butter Pecan flavor). And for the frosting I did my butter cream frosting, although next time I'm going to do a shortening based frosting because mom says that it will be smoother and hold up better in the heat. The trick with fondant is that you need to put a light layer of frosting down first, before applying the fondant. I used Wilton's Fondant that comes in a box in the baking section.

The best symbols of hope... Captain America's shield, the Mocking Jay pin and the Dauntless Faction symbol. These are my favorites!

So, here are a couple of things that I learned...

* The more you play with it, the softer and stickier the fondant gets. After I added color, I left the fondant to sit a little minute, that way it would lose some of it's stickiness. Upon the advice of a professional baker, I will try other brands of fondant because there are some that are better than others. 
 
* After the cupcakes have been decorated, they need to be stored in a container that let's the cupcakes breathe (like a cardboard box) because moisture and fondant don't go well together. The fondant starts to 'melt' when it can't breathe... dry air is better than moist air.   
 
* Playing with fondant is a lot like playing with polymer clay. So before you start decorating your cupcakes, you might want to look at polymer clay tutorials or how-to's, instead of just fondant tutorials. Also, fondant and polymer clay tools are very similar... so if you don't find what you want in the baking section, go to the polymer clay section of the craft store. Just to be safe, make sure not to use the same tools for both mediums... keep the tools you use for fondant separate from the polymer clay tools. I believe my mom has some very useful craft books about polymer clay that I need to borrow ;-). Your creative side is your best friend for this.
 
* Something to keep in mind is that you don't want to overload the cupcake with fondant. That will just detract from the taste of the cupcake. I think the role of fondant is to draw a person in so that they want to try the cupcake. Plus, not everyone likes fondant, it is rather sweet.  


* I used wax paper as the surface of rolling the fondant out, that way it was easier to remove. Or you can use cornstarch or powdered sugar on the counter top.

Basketweave

Roses can be green!

Here is a link for an easy way to make roses!


The part that was probably my favorite was photographing. I put the plate with the cupcake in the hallway and called the cats.

Buffy

 At first, only Buffy came.

Buffy and Dixie

 But then Dixie decided to stick her head out and see what the fuss was about.

Buffy, Dixie and Einstein.

And then Einstein said "Hey! That has butter-cream, I want a taste."

So, in conclusion, playing with fondant is a lot of fun! I think for practice I will get my polymer clay out and spend a while playing without worrying about melting or sticking fondant. Also, I received some Gum Paste Mixture for my birthday and I cannot wait to try that!