fondant

Our Grand Opening and Our Grand Opening Cake!

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Erica OBrien in Cake decorating classes NY, cake decorating design classes Connecticut, cake decorating design classes Connecticut (CT), edible cake bunting, Featured, fondant, pink cake, vintage wedding cakes, wedding cake connecticut, wedding cake connecticut (CT), wedding cake farfield county ct, wedding cake new york, wedding cake ny, wedding cakes connecticut, wedding cakes ct, wedding cakes new york, wedding cakes ny | 4 Comments

There are benefits to living in a small town, such as knowing all the guys at the town buildings department by name (no lie: Bob, Bill, Jim, Joe) and that when you open a business and hold a grand opening, like we did on April 25th, the town arranges a ribbon cutting ceremony and sends the mayor. We even got press coverage! (Okay, it was this article in the Hamden Journal, but still.)

Here we are (me on the right, my sister on the left) with Mayor Scott Jackson. And the official golden ribbon-cutting scissors.
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Our grand opening turned into a little fête of sorts. Of course the cocktails helped.

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My consultation studio is now mostly finished, with the exception of the completely bare walls. My brother-in-law took this shot.

And my friend Brooke of Brooke Allison Photography took these. She is a wedding photographer and is rapidly becoming one of the top photographers in Connecticut. Keep your eye on her.

 

I created a special cake for the grand opening. I covered the cake in pink (one of my logo colors), made gold bunting for three of the tiers (I went through a serious bunting phase about a year and a half ago that thankfully passed. This was just a brief relapse.) and hand-cut the plaque and letters. (Photos by Brooke Allison Photography.)

The community has been so supportive, and we feel extremely fortunate to be in such a great place. Thank you so much to all of you who stopped by, and thank you to those of you who wanted to but, for whatever reason, couldn’t. Don’t worry : we plan to be here for a long, long time.

Special thanks to Brooke Allison, my husband and children, my mom, sister, Scott, Zachy and Kody, and Frank. Love you guys.

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Prom Cake

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Erica OBrien in Cake decorating classes NY, cake decorating design classes Connecticut, cake decorating design classes Connecticut (CT), Featured, fondant, vintage wedding cakes, wedding cake connecticut (CT), wedding cake farfield county ct, wedding cake new york, wedding cake ny, wedding cakes connecticut, wedding cakes ct, wedding cakes new york, wedding cakes ny | 4 Comments

This is Tim. He is a student at a local high school.

This is Tim and his girlfriend, Taryn.

We met Tim when he came into the shop a couple of weeks ago to order a cake for Taryn. He wanted it to say PROM in big caps with a question mark, and Forever & Always in script. (It’s the title of Taryn’s favorite song, he told us, even though the lyrics are really sad. I’m pretty sure it’s this one by Taylor Swift.) You’re probably thinking: “How cute, sweet, and thoughtful is that?” So were we.

We asked him about her favorite flavors (chocolate chip mint), colors (Tiffany blue and light green), and whether he wanted any other designs on it (completely up to us).  Here’s what we came up with:

Tim told us later (okay, after I emailed him to ask what happened) that he had it waiting on her desk in math class.

Oh, and she said yes!

Thanks Tim and Taryn. It was so much fun creating your cake.

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On Edible Gums

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Erica OBrien in cake decorating design classes Connecticut, cake decorating design classes Connecticut (CT), Featured, fondant, for the baker, gumpaste recipe | 1 Comment

My motivation for writing this post is strictly self-serving. The differences between edible gums and their uses is precisely the kind of information I can never commit to memory. So, tired of searching repeatedly through the many sources of information on gums, I decided to create an easy to understand reference guide. I did it for me. And, okay, for you too.

CMC Powder

Carboxy Methyl Cellulose or SodiumCarboxyMethylCellulose. The chemical name for Tylose. (See Tylose below.)

Gum Arabic

  • Uses: stabilizer, edible gum, binder, emulsifying agent
  • For cake design: Add to royal icing to strengthen. Create edible glue (or “gum glue”) by mixing 2 tsp. gum arabic with 2 ounces water (source: SugarCraft.com)
  • Natural or synthetic: Natural
  • Alternative names: acacia gum, chaar gund, char goond, or meska
  • Most similar to: n/a

Gum Tex

Wilton brand name for karaya gum. (See karaya gum below.)

Gum Tragacenth

  • Uses: Drying agent. Adds strength and stretch.
  • For cake design: Used in making gumpaste and pastillage. Can be added to fondant to speed drying (sometimes called “emergency gumpaste“, see recipe under Tylose)
  • Natural or synthetic: Natural
  • Alternative names: gum trag, gum elect, gum dragon
  • Most similar to: Tylose

Karaya Gum

  • Uses: thickener and emulsifier, used to adulterate gum tragacenth due to their similar physical characteristics
  • For cake design: Ingredient in some gumpaste recipes. Can be added to fondant to speed drying (sometimes called “emergency gumpaste“, see recipe under Tylose)
  • Natural or synthetic: Natural
  • Alternative names: Gum-Tex (Wilton brand)
  • Most similar to:  gum tragacanth

Tylose

  • Uses:  thickener, binder, stabilizer, and suspending agent in glazes. Helps products retain moisture and gives a gum-like texture. Also acts as drying agent in fondant and gumpaste. Tylose is said to hold up better in humidity and is whiter in color. The more tylose you use, the stiffer and stronger the resulting fondant.
  • For cake design:  Ingredient in some gumpaste recipes (including the one I use, Nicholas Lodge’s gumpaste recipe). Can be added to fondant to speed drying, sometimes called “emergency gumpaste“. To create emergency gumpaste, add 2 -3 tsp of Tylose powder to 1lb of fondant. The more tylose you use, the stiffer and stronger the resulting fondant. Tylose is said to hold up better in humidity and is whiter in color than gum tragacenth.
  • Natural or synthetic: Synthetic
  • Alternative names: Super gum, cellulose gum
  • Most similar to: Gum tragacenth
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Two New Cakes for the Vera Wang App

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Erica OBrien in cake decorating, erica obrien cake design, Featured, fondant, silver anniversary, unique wedding cakes, vintage, vintage wedding cakes, wedding cake connecticut (CT), wedding cake farfield county ct, wedding cake with lace, wedding cakes, wedding cakes connecticut, wedding cakes ct, wedding cakes ny | 4 Comments

When you get an email from Anne Chertoff asking you if you want to contribute to the Vera Wang app, you jump on the chance and respond immediately with an emphatic Yes! Yes! Yes! Unless, of course, you’re me, in which case you think the email is just some mass marketing form letter and ignore it completely. Then, luckily, Anne Chertoff persists and emails you again to say she hasn’t received anything back from you, at which point you realize this is real and then you respond with Yes! Yes! Oh, if you’ll still have me, yes! And that’s the true story of how I came to make two cakes for Vera Wang’s new itunes app.

Eric Hildebrand, the stylist on the project, collaborated with Anne Chertoff, the Project Manager, and the Vera Wang art director to conceptualize several vignettes that would feature a Vera Wang dress, flatware, china, stemware, and a cake.

Eric sent over photos of the dresses and collages of the concept and asked me to present sketches. The most challenging part for me was creating a design that was true to my style but also worked with Vera Wang’s classic, sophisticated designs.

The first scenario was The Modernist and featured the Fiona dress in white with orange accents and parrot tulips.

The Modernist cake sketch originally featured three square tiers (I ended up adding a fourth tier but I can’t remember why) because I thought squares more contemporary than round. I incorporated the pleating from the dress and pops of orange found in the invitation around the plaque and dots on the pleats and edible parrot tulips.

In the end, the art director nixed the orange dots in the sketch so the pleats were plain white, and my lovingly hand-crafted gumpaste parrot tulips were replaced with real tulips.

Johnny Miller was the photographer on the project. You’ve definitely seen Johnny’s work before in Martha Stewart’s magazines and books, and while he obviously has a gift for bringing food to life through photographs, it is his personal work that really moves me. His photos are artistic and emotional, and the subjects seem so real (even when they’re not). There’s a rawness to his work that makes it accessible and not pretentious. I’m proud to say I’ve had my work photographed by him.

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The Romanticist scenario featured the Hanna dress, shades of mauve, and platinum.   

The cake I sketched was three tiers of ivory with a cluster of sugar roses and platinum scroll work.

I ended up with a fourth tier on this cake too. My sugar roses were beautiful, but were again replaced with real roses. (I still have them though and might need to photograph them in the future.) I do love this photo.

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Special thanks to Anne and Eric for being so easy and wonderful to work with, and to Johnny Miller for capturing my work so beautifully.

Project Manager: Anne Chertoff
Stylist: Eric Hildebrand
Photography: Johnny Miller

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On Purple Fondant

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Erica OBrien in fading purple fondant, fondant, tips + tools, wedding cakes | 5 Comments

If you work with fondant–and since you’re reading this you probably do–you’ve likely found that purple fondant quickly fades to a shade of blue that barely resembles its formerly purple self. I was researching the issue and came across this Flour Confections blog post which I read with fascination.
The post begins:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
My purple fondant is fading
Is this happening to you?
With their permission, I’ve paraphrased the rest of “Why Is Purple Making Me So Blue?“ here:
When the FDA banned Red Dye No. 2 in 1976 after it was linked to cancer, the FDA-approved Red Dye No. 40 took its place. Compared to Red No. 2, Red 40, as it’s known in the industry, is less stable, more expensive, and requires anywhere from 30%-50% more color to achieve proper saturation. Red 40 is UV intolerant, so any UV light (including bright lights) will cause it to fade. Because purple is a mix of red and blue, when the red fades, the blue remains, and your purple fondant turns blue .
To prevent fading, store purple fondant and gumpaste out of the light, in a dark bag or container and in a cupboard. Keep finished cakes, flowers, decorations, etc. in a dark place for as long as possible. According to Lisa of Flour Confections, cakes that are airbrushed purple do not fade, so consider airbrushing your fondant purple instead of kneading in purple food coloring. You can also use a more stable colorant. SugarFlair colors are more concentrated than other food colors and their Grape Violet contains E122, a more stable red than Red 40. [Note: Sugarflair colors are not FDA approved for food use. I couldn't find them for sale in the U.S., but they are widely available in Australia and Britain.]

Finally, when the pH of your fondant or gumpaste is not balanced, the red can fade out. To balance the pH, you can add an alkali such as baking soda. A good ratio is 1 tsp of baking soda per 1 lb of fondant or gumpaste.
 
This brings me to my blog post. I wanted to see for myself the effect of baking soda on purple fondant, so I conducted a little experiment.

I used both Wilton’s Violet and AmeriColor’s violet to test whether they fade differently. I colored a small amount of Satin Ice fondant. (I specify the fondant brand because I didn’t test to see if different fondants react with the color differently and fade differently.) The Wilton (on the left) is more of  a true purple while the AmeriColor (right) is more of a periwinkle with a strong blue appearance.

I then added 1/4 teaspoon baking powder to 14 grams of each color (a much higher ratio than that recommended by Flour Confections) and left the remaining purple unaltered.

To ensure that the fondant would dry evenly, I rolled each piece to the same thickness using my KitchenAid pasta attachment.
The baking soda didn’t change the Wilton color at all at this point, but as soon as I kneaded the baking soda into the AmeriColor purple, the most fascinating thing happened! The AmeriColor turned from a periwinkle into a true purple. I couldn’t believe it!
 

I then set them directly in the blazing sun for an hour to see what would happen. (Note where the shadows from the food coloring containers are. These areas did not fade as much as you will see in the final photo.)

After an hour (give or take–I kind of forgot to time it), these are the results.

The unaltered AmeriColor purple (far left) actually retained the red (and remained more purple) than the AmeriColor with added baking soda. The Wilton fondant with added baking soda (far right) remained more true to color than the fondant without baking soda. For both brands, the fondant that was in the shadow of the food coloring containers held up way better than the fondant in the direct sun, demonstrating the importance of keeping purple fondant away from UV light.
Conclusions. Keep purple fondant away from UV light to prevent fading. Always do a test strip both with baking soda and without to determine the best way to retain the purple color. Note that other brands of fondant might react differently with purple and might fade differently. Know that some fading is unavoidable. And, of course, hope for the best!
Thanks so much to Lisa and Flour Confections for doing all the research and for allowing me to paraphrase their post. Their efforts have helped countless cake artists.
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Tricks of the Trade: Reviving Old Fondant

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Erica OBrien in dried fondant, fondant, glycerine and fondant, tips + tools, wedding cake long beach, wedding cake los angeles, wedding cake orange county | 6 Comments

Once your fondant is past its prime, there’s really nothing you can do to restore it to its formerly silky smooth state. However, while it will never be perfect, there are a few things you can try to make old, dry fondant workable again.

1. Glycerine. Glycerine is an ingredient in fondant that keeps it pliable and prevents it from drying out too quickly. (For a fascinating, scientific explanation of glycerine’s role in keeping fondant flexible, read this post on Joe Pastry’s blog.) Glycerine is a humectant (a moisture-retaining substance), so the molecules in glycerine bond with and trap water molecules, keeping your fondant moist (Source: Joe Pastry, 2008).

It’s one of those ingredients you can buy in a drug store (as a humectant, glycerine also keeps hair and skin moist) for a fraction of the price of a cake decorating store. If you’re willing to forgo the fancy branding you can get a quart-sized bottle of Essential Depot glycerine (below, left) on Amazon for $13.95; the 2-ounce bottle of Wilton glycerine (below, right) is around $5. At just .43 cents per ounce, the Essential Depot is a much better value than the $2.50 per ounce Wilton glycerine. Just be sure that if you buy glycerine that’s not specifically marketed for cakes it says “Food Grade”.

To use, simply knead a little glycerine in to your fondant. Begin with about a teaspoon per pound of fondant, and work quickly to knead it in. This will buy you some time before your fondant dries out, but not much. Re-roll and apply your fondant.

Glycerine can also be used on fondant that’s been rolled out and applied to a cake but has a dry cracked appearance, sometimes known as “elephant skin”.  Gently rub glycerine onto the cracked fondant using the tips of your fingers, taking care not to rub through to the cake.

2. Shortening.Usually known by the brand name Crisco, hydrogenated vegetable oil (shortening) is 100% fat (as opposed to butter, which is about 80% fat). Kneading a small amount in to your fondant can make it smoother and easier to work with. Be very careful: adding too much can make your fondant heavy and stretchy. (If this happens, add additional corn starch or sifted confectioners sugar and knead in until the proper consistency is restored.) Shortening, like glycerine, can also be rubbed onto cracked fondant after the fondant has been applied to the cake to remove the appearance of elephant skin.

3. Food Processor. The food processor method works especially well for smaller pieces of fondant. Simply place a small amount of fondant into the bowl of your food processor and pulse. The blades of the food processor with heat and soften your fondant, making it easier to work with. (This is also a good method for coloring fondant: Just add your food coloring along with your fondant to the bowl of your food processor and pulse.) The food processor will most likely break your fondant up into small balls which can then be easily gathered and kneaded together. Be sure not to put rock hard pieces in the food processor. (I learned the hard way that this can cause irreparable damage to your food processor.)

4. Microwave. The microwave is the absolute last resort. If your fondant has become so dry that kneading becomes virtually impossible, 30 seconds or so in the microwave will heat it enough to make it kneadable again. (Do test your microwave first using 10 second intervals.) However, this is a one shot deal. You have to work quickly to roll out your fondant and cover the cake, for once microwaved fondant cools down, your fondant will become even drier–almost crumbly–and cannot be used again.

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New Class: Fondant Fabric Flowers

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Erica OBrien in CA classes, fabric flowers, fondant, rose wedding cake, wedding cake long beach, wedding cake los angeles, wedding cake orange county | 1 Comment
I’ve always been inspired by fabric, and I love the fabric flower trend. I developed some signature fondant fabric flower techniques, and will be teaching my original designs in a new one-day class. Students will learn four kinds of fabric flowers, inclding the rosette seen below.

For more information or to register for the class, please go to our website: ericaobrien.com/classes

Fabric flower pillow by Dwell Studio:

Fabric flower cake:

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On Fondant, Gumpaste, Pastillage, and Mexican Paste

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Erica OBrien in cake design classes Long Beach, fondant, for the baker, gumpaste recipe, mexican paste, pastillage recipe, wedding cake long beach, wedding cake los angeles | 1 Comment

Between fondant, gumpaste, and pastillage, not to mention marzipan, Mexican paste and chocolate clay, it’s easy to get confused about sugar paste terminology. Throw in some British terms–like flower paste and sugarpaste–and it’s anyone’s guess. Below is a (hopefully) comprehensive list of the different sugar pastes used for cake design. For each, I’ve included a brief description, alternative names, suggestions for use, and my opinion as to whether it’s best to make it yourself or buy it. Note that these are the American terms. British, Australian, or other uses may be different. Know of any I missed? Please email and let me know.

Chocolate Clay
A pliable chocolate paste made from just two ingredients, chocolate and corn syrup, it has the texture of a tootsie roll or marzipan and is very easy to work with. Chocolate clay can be made with bittersweet, semi-sweet, milk or white chocolate (source: www.joyofbaking.com). Overhandling it will make the oils separate, causing the clay to become crumbly. Extreme heat can cause melting, so it is not ideal for certain decorations.

Alternate terms: candy clay, chocolate leather, chocolate modeling clay, chocolate modeling paste, chocolate plastic, chocolate plastique

Used for: Most often used for figurines and to cover shapes made from rice cereal treats. Also used for ropes, braids, ribbons, ruffles, flowers, leaves, and sculpted cakes.

Buy or make: Chocolate clay is so easy to make that for small batches it probably best to just make it yourself. For large batches, it may be easier (albeit more costly–$50 for 5.5 pounds) to buy. I’ve never used Cacoa Barry, but it is the most widely available commercially made chocolate clay.

Recipe:

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped + 1/4 cup light corn syrupor
7 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped + 3 1/2 – 4 tablespoons light corn syrup or
7 ounces white chocolate, chopped + 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons light corn syrup or
7 ounces milk chocolate + 2 1/2 – 3 tablespoons light corn syrup

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir until cooled a bit. Stir in corn syrup. (The chocolate will stiffen almost immediately.) Continue stirring until completely combined. Transfer to a sturdy plastic freezer bag and refrigerate until firm (about two hours). When dough is firm, remove from the refrigerator, and knead until soft enough to work with. If it is too hard, cut off small pieces, and knead until pliable. Well wrapped it will keep for months. If it gets hard to work with knead in a little more corn syrup until pliable

Note: To prevent the corn syrup from sticking to the measuring cup or spoons, spray or grease with vegetable oil before measuring. I never use candy melts in any baking as they are not real chocolate.

Source: www.joyofbaking.com

Fondant
An edible sugar dough that is rolled out and used to cover cakes. Fondant dates to the Renaissance and was originally used in Britain to cover fruitcakes and seal in the freshness for shipping to the new world. Gelatin and glycerin keep the fondant smooth and pliable. Fondant dries firm, but not nearly as hard as gumpaste or pastillage, and therefore serves a different purpose.
Alternate terms: fondant icing, ready-rolled fondant (British), soft fondant (British), rolled fondant, sugarpaste (British)

Used for: covering cakes, appliques, braids. Can be used for other decor, such as ribbons or bows, but needs more drying time than gumpaste or pastillage, so it is not ideal for this purpose.

Buy or make: Definitely buy. I like Satin Ice. Here’s why.

Gumpaste
Gumpaste is similar to fondant, but the addition of gum tragacanth (a plant-based gum; more about gums in a future post) gives the dough added flexibility, allowing it to be rolled much thinner than fondant for realistic-looking flowers. Gumpaste dries hard, unlike fondant, and is therefore NEVER used to cover a cake. It is superior to fondant for decorations that need to hold their shape, such as the handle on this purse cake on the cover of Confetti Cakes:
Homemade gumpaste flowers can take up to two weeks to dry, and need to be made well in advance of the cake decorating event. Gumpaste flowers are best stored in airtight containers in a cool, dark place. Heat, humidity and refrigeration can all soften flowers, even after they’ve set. Placing flowers on buttercream frosting, which contains fat, can also soften them (source: http://www.ehow.com).

Alternate terms:Flower paste

Used for: Flowers. Also used for decorations that need to dry bone-hard, such as three-dimensional decor and plaques. The plaque on top of Mia’s cake was made of gumpaste.Buy or make: Make. I never knew how easy it was to make gumpaste until I was introduced to Nicholas Lodge’s recipe. Two things to know are:  (1) You must follow this recipe exactly for best results and (2) Use ONLY the CAI–Confectionary Arts International–tylose. I have found that other tylose yields different results.

Recipe:4 Large Egg Whites
2 lbs 10x powdered sugar
12 Level teaspoons Tylose 

4 teaspoons Crisco

1. Place the egg whites in a Kitchen Aid mixer bowl fitted with the flat paddle.
2. Turn the mixer on high speed for 10 seconds to break up the egg whites.
3. Reserve 1 cup of the powdered sugar and set aside.
4. Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and slowly add the remaining sugar. This will make a soft consistency royal icing.
5. Turn up the speed to setting 3 or 4 for about 2 minutes. During this time measure off the tylose into a small container.
6. Make sure the mixture is at the soft peak stage. It should look shiny, like meringue and the peaks fall over. 
7. Turn the mixer to the slow setting and sprinkle the tylose in over a five second time period. Next, turn the speed up to the high setting for a few seconds to thicken the mixture.
8. Scrape mixture out of the bowl onto a work surface that has been sprinkled with some of the reserved 1 cup of powdered sugar. Place the shortening on your hands and knead the paste, adding enough of the reserved powdered sugar to form a soft but not sticky dough. You can check by pinching with your fingers and they should come away clean. Place the finished paste in a zip-top bag, then place the bagged paste in a second bag and seal well.
9. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours if possible before using to mature the paste.
10. Before use, remove from refrigerator and allow the paste to come to room temperature. Take a small amount of shortening on the end of your finger and knead this into the paste. If you are coloring the paste, add the paste color at this stage.
11. Always store the paste in the zip-top bags and return to the refrigerator when you are not using the paste. Will keep under refrigeration for approximately 6 months. You can keep the paste longer by freezing. Be sure to use zip-top freezer bags. If you will be freezing a batch of paste, allow it to mature for 24 hours in the refrigerator first before placing into the freezer.

Yield: About 2 pounds

Mexican Paste
Mexican Paste is ideal for cutting out shapes and modelling. It does not contain any glucose, glycerin,or gelatin, and therefore does not stretch or lose its shape when transferring the cut out shapes to the drying board. Similar to gumpaste. Not recommended for the easily frustrated.

Alternate terms: None that I know of.

Used for:Letters, patchwork cutters, plaques. Patchwork cutters are available at globalsugarart.com. Here’s (a rather gigantic view of) my favorite:

Buy or make: According to http://www.cakefrills.co.uk/, Mexican paste is “very easy to make as it is basically [fondant] with Gum Tragacanth. Patchwork powder is commercially available, but it is so easy and much cheaper to make your own.”
Recipe: Note: I have not tested this recipe.8 oz (or more) confectioner’s sugar
3 teaspoons gum tragacanth (DO NOT USE A SUBSTITUTE)
cold water

In a small bowl, mix confectioner’s sugar and gum tragacanth. Add 6 teaspoons of cold water.
Stir until mixture becomes crumbly but damp enough to bind together. Add a little more water if too dry, or confectioner’s sugar if too wet. Turn out onto a worktop and knead until pliable. Place into a plastic bag and leave at room temperature for 12 hours until firm. (The paste will feel very firm.) Break a small piece away and knead between your palms. Continue kneading between your fingers and repeat until all the paste is softened. Cut the paste into small pieces after it has been softened. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and place all of the pieces into a plastic bag and place in freezer. Remove only the quantity required for defrosting. (Smaller pieces will defrost quicker.) Once defrosted, remove plastic wrap and store at room temperature in a plastic bag only. Never store the paste in a fridge. Knead the paste every third day to keep it pliable and to prevent the corners from drying out.

Tips for using Mexican paste with Patchwork Cutters:

  • Grease the rolling board with vegetable fat. Roll out the Mexican paste, but DO NOT LIFT THE PASTE OR TURN THE PASTE OVER WHEN ROLLING. The paste must stick to the board.
  • Grease the cutter well. Press firmly onto the paste.
  • Remove the cutter by flicking the edge. Always remove the cutter before peeling away the excess paste.
  • The paste should be cut cleanly. If the edges are ragged the paste is probably too thick.
  • The smaller the cutter the thinner the paste should be and the more vegetable fat should be used and spread over the smallest parts of the cutter.
  • Hot soapy water and a small brush will remove the fat once the cutter has been used.

Pastillage
Pastillage is rolled fondant without any of the softening ingredients (glycerine, corn syrup or shortening). It is used mainly for three-dimensional shapes because it dries bone-hard and crusts more quickly than fondant (source: Rose Levy Berenbaum, 1988.) It can also be colored or painted. You have to work very quickly with pastillage because it dries very quickly (source: http://www.baking911.com/). Below, a pastillage sculpture.

Depending on the mix, pastillage can be formed and sanded to remove any rough spots after it has completely dried.

Used for:sculptures, showpieces, three-dimensional shapes, ribbons and bows

Buy or make:Pastillage is relatively easy to make. I haven’t experimented much with recipes other than Rose Levy Berenbaum’s (below). Different recipes will obviously yield different results.

Recipe:
1 tablespoon gelatin scant
1/3 cup water
4 cups (lightly spooned into cup) powdered sugar
1/2 cup (lightly spooned into cup) cornstarch
optional: pinch cream of tarter

Sprinkle gelatin over water in a 2-cup heatproof glass measure and let stand for 5 minutes. Set into a small pan of simmering water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. (This can be done in a microwave on high for a few seconds).

Combine the sugar, cornstarch and optional cream of tartar in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the gelatin mixture and stir with a lightly greased wooden spoon until blended. Mix lightly with greased hand and knead vigorously in the bowl until most of the sugar is incorporated. Turn onto a smooth, lightly greased surface (such as Formica or marble) and knead until smooth and satiny. If the Pastillage seems dry, add several drops of water and knead well. If it seems too sticky, knead in more powdered sugar. The Pastillage will resemble a smooth, well-shaped stone. When dropped, it should not spread.

Rolled Pastillage may be used at once but seems to work more easily when allowed to rest for several hours. It is important to keep Pastillage covered to prevent it from drying. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container. It will firm slightly upon standing.

When ready to roll out, spray the work surface and rolling pin with nonstick vegetable spray.

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Fondant Reviews

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Erica OBrien in cake design, fondant, fondant review, for the baker, for the bride, wedding cake, wedding cake long beach, wedding cake los angeles | 6 Comments

Sylvia Weinstock, the Queen of cakes, once said “I don’t do fondant.” Well I guess she’s changed her tune, because I see a lot of her work around and it’s all fondant.

Let’s face it: When it comes to achieving a perfectly smooth finish on a cake, nothing beats fondant. Nothing.

Some people object to the taste of fondant. In his book Ace of Cakes, Duff Goldman states that fondant is meant to be peeled off, not eaten. I disagree. If it’s not meant to be eaten, why put it on a cake? My objection is to the gumminess of the fondant with the crumb of the cake. It’s the two textures that I dislike, not necessarily the taste.

Fondant is the only component of my cakes that I don’t make from scratch. I’ve been using the same brand for years, but I wanted to find out if there was another that would work better for me. So, I conducted a decidedly non-scientific study of five brands of fondant. Here’s what I rated them on:

Consistency. It is important that your fondant look, taste, feel, and work the same every single time so you know what to expect. (Which is exactly why I purchase my fondant. Homemade fondant is completely unpredictable.) Every batch should yield the same results. If some batches are overly stretchy while others are completely dry, it makes for a very frustrated baker (and sometimes a very sad looking cake).

Texture. I want my fondant to be smooth and pliable, but not too smooth or pliable. It has to have a good amount of elasticity, but shouldn’t shrink back when it’s rolled out. It has to stand up to kneading and can’t be too buttery soft in my hands, but it has to be easy to work color into.

Working Time. Quality fondant gives you a significant amount of time to work with it before it becomes too dry. Cheaper fondant dries out too quickly.

Taste. I mean, come on, people are eating this stuff.

Here are the results in order of best to worst. I must emphasize that this is strictly subjective and based on the criteria that I feel are most important. I recommend conducting your own test to determine which fondant works best for you.

#1: Satin Ice Fondant. There are several reasons Satin Ice is the fondant of choice for many bakers. It’s consistent and easy to handle with a mild taste and superior working time.

#2: Bakel’s Pettinice. A close second to Satin Ice, Pettinice is reasonably consistent (although I once got a batch of their gumpaste that never dried) with a pleasant taste. It can be difficult to find in large quantities (Pfeil & Holing sell a 15-pound bucket) and was somewhat softer than I prefer.

#3: MASSA. A relative newcomer on the scene, Massa is distributed exclusively by Albert Uster Imports and was developed in conjunction with Nicholas Lodge. I would describe Massa as a bit gritty but with good flavor. Perhaps it was because their sales rep gave me a sample in a plastic bag (rather than an air tight container), but I found it a bit dry and therefore hard to smooth.

#4: Fondx. I know Fondx is Bronwen Weber’s fondant of choice, but I thought it had a chemical-like taste and was just way too stretchy. (Of course, she might like that quality in a fondant.) Have you ever made your own pizza dough, and no matter how you roll, pull, beat, or stretch it, it just keeps going back to its original shape? That was my experience with Fondx. It was just too elastic for me.

#5: Wilton. Although Wilton’s Ready-to-Use Fondant is easy to find and very consistent, it dries out way too quickly. I actually really like the bubble gum-like flavor and sugary crunch of the Wilton fondant. However, while it can be significantly cheaper than some of the professional brands, it becomes excessively dry and crumbly, rendering it unusable, so any savings is quickly lost.

Not tested: Fondarific (which claims to have an “unlimited worktime”) and Choco-Pan (made with white chocolate). According to their website, “Choco-Pan® covers at a rate nearly double that of traditional rolled fondants at a competitive price.” Sounds like a must-try to me.

Many people ask me whether or not fondant can be refrigerated. A while ago (and more recently than I care to admit) after a particularly harrowing delivery, extremely high temperatures, and my first unhappy bride, I contacted my friend Melody of Sweet and Saucy Shop to tell her about the ordeal. She mentioned that she refrigerates her fondant cakes. I had always learned that you can’t refrigerate fondant, but Melody said it was fine, and she was right.

Today, I refrigerate all my cakes after they’re covered in fondant. To avoid condensation, I set my refrigerator to the lowest possible temperature to minimize the difference between the refrigerator temperature and the air temperature. Ron Ben Israel, my culinary hero (and boyfriend, unbeknownst to him), actually had a custom humidity-controlled refrigeration system built in his studio (which is why he’s my boyfriend). That said, condensation will form on the cakes when they’re taken out of the fridge, particularly on warm days, but I find that it evaporates rather quickly. It is imperative that you not touch the cake while it’s still wet or your fingers will stick and you will see fingerprints, even after it dries. (Note: I don’t refrigerate my sugar flowers. Because the petals are often very thin, any amount of water or condensation would weigh them down and cause them to wilt.)

I would love to hear your thoughts on the different fondant brands. Please feel free to share.

 

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Readers’ Questions Answered

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Erica OBrien in buttercream, fondant, for the baker, freezing cake, process | 6 Comments

When I first launched my blog, I really wanted it to serve as a resource for bakers and brides, but it seems I have less and less time to document my process. That said, when a reader emailed with the following questions, I thought the least I could do is answer them here.

1. Should baked cake layers, unfilled, ever go in the freezer? I read conflicting opinions. If not, how early should I bake the cake layers?

You are absolutely right: There are conflicting opinions. I have a friend who swears she can taste a frozen cake a mile away. I also know a very well-respected cake designer who freezes her unfilled cakes after she bakes them. I’ll admit that my younger self may have even frozen a cake or two, but I would never do it now. For me, optimal taste and freshness are just as important as design, and I won’t compromise my culinary integrity by freezing a cake. I just can’t chance it.

So, here’s my timeline. Let’s assume I am making a fondant-covered cake for a Saturday wedding. I would:

  • Bake my cakes as late as possible on Thursday afternoon and allow to cool for two hours
  • Fill and crumbcoat on Thursday as soon as my cakes have cooled
  • Refrigerate crumbcoated cakes until firm, then cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight
  • Early Friday, ice again with buttercream and refrigerate until firm
  • Once firm, cover in fondant and refrigerate (yes, I refrigerate my fondant-covered cakes) until ready to decorate

Remember that fondant firms up and seals in the cake’s freshness. If I were using buttercream, I wouldn’t bake a cake for a Saturday wedding until Friday morning.

2. What is your favorite type of buttercream to use? Does one stand up in the heat best? I’ve been using Swiss meringue buttercream and it started melting at wedding.

My favorite type of buttercream is classic French buttercream. I use Rose Levy Berenbaum’s recipe from The Cake Bible, and it is absolutely heavenly. It does not, however, do well in the heat. I actually find that Swiss meringue buttercream is more stable, and does better in high temperatures. Still, I always recommend fondant because of its stability. Clients are often surprised by how pleasant fondant tastes–I always try to offer a fondant sample at my tastings–and since fondant firms up, guests who don’t like the taste or texture can easily peel it off. Also, because of the way wedding cakes are cut in concentric circles (see diagram below), only the servings on the outside ring will get fondant on the top and the sides. Slices from the inner circles will only have fondant on top.

If a client insists on buttercream–and some do–it is important that they know about any possible issues with melting. I have it written into my contract that it is the client’s responsibility to ensure that the cake is kept in a cool area away from direct sunlight.

I really enjoy hearing from readers, and am happy to answer all your questions, so keep ‘em coming. Best of luck in all your baking ventures.

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