The Best Homemade Fondant Recipe - from Scratch

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If you are looking for the best homemade fondant, sugar paste, or rolled fondant recipe that's affordable and also tastes good, then this is it. This homemade fondant recipe is soft, elastic, and works great in any weather. And, most important, unlike store-bought fondant, it actually tastes delicious.

Buying fondant can be expensive. And, often, you have to either buy a big bucket with more than you need, or you end up not having enough to cover the entire cake.

Furthermore, my big problem with store-bought fondant, if it's good it's really expensive, and if it's cheap it tastes like chalk. So, often, we cake decorators say, "ah well, you don't have to eat it". Just peel it away. And yet, the truth is that kids love eating sugar paste. So, if you use it on a kids' cakes - guess what? They will eat it. Hence, all my kids' cakes are made with homemade fondant.

And, this recipe is also so simple and easy it will have you making fondant for all your cakes. In addition, you will also be surprised at how easy it is to work with.

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About this fondant (without marshmallows)

I have spent months perfecting this fondant and it is a dream to work with, as you can see in the video. And, even if you are a novice, and making your first decorated cake, you will master this like a pro. Also, kids will love to eat it because it tastes like sweet buttercream. Because it's made with fresh cream and meringue powder for taste and glycerin and gelatin for elasticity and stability.

Furthermore, the best thing about this fondant is that it has good elasticity. I remember my very first fondant cake. It was tearing like crazy. So, smoothing it was a nightmare. On the other hand, with this one, you can roll it out really thin.

Consequently, you will have a nice thin layer of fondant on your cake. And, since I don't like a thick layer of fondant on my cakes, it's a big plus for me. In addition, when you place it on your cake it doesn't break easily. In fact, it stretches.

As a result, when I started cake decorating I used this almost exclusively on all my cakes. And I never complained about my kids eating it. Since I know what goes into it.

In addition, below I have answered all your fondant related questions, including how much fondant you need. And, I also provide troubleshooting and other dietary related questions you may have.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Powdered sugar - Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar. You want to use 10x, well-sifted powdered sugar to prevent a lumpy fondant. Ideally, cane sugar will give you a better smoother fondant. Since, fondant made from beet sugar can be grainy.
• Gelatin - This is what gives fondant that elasticity. So, make sure to use a brand that works well. Gelatin is made from fish or beef bones and both work great for fondant. And, agar-agar is a vegetarian alternative. In fact, I used that in my homemade vegetarian fondant recipe.
• Light corn syrup - This is available in most supermarkets these days. And, if not, try liquid glucose, which is usually available in most cake decorating or pastry shops these days. Both glucose and light corn syrup work the same, so use the same quantity.
• Glycerin - Keeps the fondant soft. And, if you can't find glycerin, you can omit it. But, you will find that the fondant is a bit tough and needs more kneading.
• Non-diary creamer - Use non-dairy so it can extend the shelf life of the fondant. But, I love using fresh cream because the fondant is tastier and still can be kept out for over a month because the sugar quantity is so high. Also, milk or water can be used instead of cream just as well. However, thinner liquids will use more powdered sugar. Therefore, fondant with water will need more sugar compared to fondant made with thick fresh cream.

Step by step instructions (pin)

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Prepare

• Have all your ingredients ready.

• Place 600 grams of powdered sugar in a mixer or bowl along with the Meringue powder and salt. Stir to combine.

• In a separate microwave-safe bowl - add the cream. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cream and let bloom for 2 minutes.
• Place in the microwave on high at 30-sec interval until all the gelatin dissolves.
• Stir in the corn syrup, glycerin, and vanilla - and combine well.
• If needed place back in the microwave for 10 secs more.
• You can add your color gel at this point.

Knead

• Make a hollow in the center of the powdered sugar and add in the liquid ingredients.
• Start mixing from the center outwards.
• Make sure you get all the sugar mixed well and incorporated before you add any more powdered sugar.
• Add in the butter or veg shortening while kneading - this also helps with sticking.
• Once you have a dough formed, transfer to a flat surface and knead. And if you feel the mixture is dry add a tbsp of butter or vegetable shortening to your hands and knead.
• Do not add any more powdered sugar at this point since it will stiffen with the gelatin.
• You want the fondant to form a dough and yet not be too dry.
• Divide into two or four portions and place each in a zip-lock bag. And seal well.
• Finally, leave in the fridge overnight to rest.

I colored this batch of fondant and used it on this cake. And, I also have a tutorial on my blog on how to do this Brush Embroidery on this cake. I hope you will also check it out - How to color homemade fondant.

Using the fondant

Lastly, when ready to use. Remove from the fridge and let it reach room temperature. Once at room temperature, knead well until soft, and yet not sticky. Now, you can also add more powdered sugar if needed. Can you see the elasticity? You should be able to pull it like this - like taffy. Read my 14 tips for working with fondant

How much fondant do I need for my cake?

The chart below is based on 4-inch tall cakes. And, for shorter cakes you will need less and tall cakes will obviously need more.
Having said that, this presumes rolling fondant closer to ⅛" thickness. So, if you roll fondant too thick closer to ¼" inch thick you will need more.

Round	Square	Metric	lbs	OZ
6-inch	5-inch	600 g	1.3 lbs	18 oz
7-inch	6-inch	750 g	1.6 lbs	20 oz
8-inch	7-inch	900 g	2 lbs	24 oz
9-inch	8-inch	1 kg	2.2 lbs	30 oz
10-inch	9-inch	1.2 kg	2.6 lbs	36 oz
11-inch	10-inch	1.5 kg	3.4 lbs	40 oz
12-inch	11-inch	1.7 kg	3.7 lbs	48 oz
14"inch	12-inch	2.5 kg	5.5 lbs	72 oz
	14-inch	2.7 kg	6 lbs	108 oz

Non-sairy / parve recipe

• If you need a white fondant, I recommend you use white-colored gelatin (unlike Knox which is almost beige), and veg shortening instead of butter (because veg shortening is white while butter is yellow).
• Also, if you want to make this parve or non-dairy, use non-dairy liquid creamer and veg shortening instead of butter.

How do you color fondant

As a cake decorator, I have tons of posts related to fondant, including tutorials. So, I won't bore you by repeating myself. Therefore, I shared two detailed posts one was 14 must-know tips for working with fondant and the other being How to color fondant. In addition, I'll also give you a few important tips here.

• First, always use edible food color gels for coloring fondant. Because they will not make your fondant too soft in-consistency since they are very concentrated in color.
• And, if you don't have food color gels - you can also use liquid color at the beginning of the recipe while reducing the original quantity of liquid in the recipe.
• Food color gels will intensify over time. So, if you color it ahead of time - make it one shade lighter and keep it for a few days. That way, you won't have to add more white or use too much color gel.
• Also, color gels can dye your hands. So, it's best to use gloves when coloring fondant. In addition, rubbing veg shortening on your gloved hands also helps. However, I find that working with gloves is not easy, especially with sticky fondant. So, I work with fondant by just rubbing my hand with vegetable shortening, and then washing them clean with a cream-based detergent.

Frequently asked questions

Troubleshooting tips

If you are new to working with fondant, you may find this article 14 tips for working with fondant useful. It answers many of your fondant questions such as the following:

• Why is my fondant cracking?
• What to do if my fondant is too soft?
• What to do if my fondant is too dry?
• Why is my fondant sweating?
• Why is my fondant tearing?
• My marshmallow fondant is too hard what can I do?

What other fondants can you make?

Here are a few other fondant recipes that you may find useful.

• A marshmallow fondant uses two main ingredients and is just as easy to use.
• And if you plan to make a cake that needs brown fondant, then perhaps make chocolate fondant.
• In addition, I also have two brown fondant recipes for you, and one made with chocolate marshmallow fondant.
• Also, if you need a black fondant, I would prefer to make a black fondant from scratch rather than just add colors.
• And then there is a vegetarian fondant, which works for those who do not want any dairy or gelatin.

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