[MUSIC PLAYING]
One of the things that can be tricky about fondant
is just knowing how to work with it.
So I'm going to take you through some of the basics--
kneading it, rolling it, and storing it.
While these things are all pretty simple,
they're going to go a long way in helping
to ensure that you have success with your fondant decorations.
So let's talk about the fondant itself first.
Fondant is actually a pliable sugar-based dough
that can be formed into various shapes
and rolled out for making decorations.
Wilton's Decorator Preferred Fondant
comes in a variety of colors.
All of them are going to be vanilla flavored,
except for the brown, which is actually chocolate.
And these colors are especially useful if you
want a dark or saturated color.
And that can be a little bit difficult
to achieve when you're tinting white fondant.
If you need to do just a few small decorations,
look for the smaller packages that
come in a variety of colors.
You can also make fondant from scratch with just
a few simple ingredients.
However, homemade fondant tends to be a little bit softer.
So that's going to be better if you're
looking to cover a cake with rather than making decorations.
So if you're new to working with fondant,
it's best if you stick with the readymade fondant
because that's going to have a more consistent texture that's
going to hold up for cutting and shaping.
Before working with fondant, you're
going to have to knead it to make it pliable,
because out of the package it can be a little bit hard.
So it doesn't matter if you're going to be forming it
into shapes or rolling it out.
First you'll have to soften it.
So I'm going to be using a small package of fondant here.
Because I just have a few decorations to make.
So you only want to knead the amount
that you're going to use.
You'll want to start with a clean, dry surface.
I'm going to be using a silicone mat.
And we're going to start by just putting the fondant down.
And with a downward motion, I'm going
to use the heel of my hand to apply pressure.
If you're using a lot of fondant,
you might want to stand up to do the kneading because that's
going to be able to make it easier
to apply a lot of pressure, which is really
going to speed up the process.
You'll probably need to do this for about 30 seconds or so.
It just depends on how much fondant you're working with.
Now, this is how it's going to look once we're done kneading.
It's going to stretch a little bit.
Once your fondant is out of the package,
it's going to dry pretty quickly.
And if it dries too much, you won't be able to use it.
So there's a few things that you can
do to keep that from happening.
I'm just going to move these out of the way here.
First of all, you want to roll up your fondant in a ball.
And if you apply a small amount of shortening,
a thin coating is going to help lock
in the moisture in your fondant.
This shortening is also going to help
if you put it on the surface.
So when you roll it out, if it's too dry,
the fondant will stretch a little bit better
with some help from the shortening.
When you're not using your fondant,
you're going to want to keep it wrapped up or in a plastic bag.
So I'm actually going to wrap this tightly.
So when you're still working with your fondant,
it's going to be best to keep it wrapped like this, just
to prevent it from drying out.
So now that your fondant is kneaded,
we're just about ready to roll.
But first we want to fill our dusting pouch.
This is an essential tool when you're working with fondant.
You can fill it with either corn starch or confectioner's sugar.
And we'll be using this to dust our surface.
So to do this, we're just going to twist off the purple lid.
And I'm actually going to be using corn starch.
And now we're just going to attach the lid.
And then you'll notice that there's
a white ring around the outside that's attached to the base.
I'm just going to twist that off.
And now our dusting pouch is ready to use.
Both corn starch and confectioner's sugar
absorb moisture.
And they can be used to keep your fondant
from getting sticky.
In general, corn starch is going to help your fondant dry
a little bit quicker.
So that's going to be better to use in high humidity
or if your fondant is really sticky.
However, too much corn starch could
end up drying out your fondant or leave your fondant
with a chalky taste.
Confectioner's sugar is going to be
good for wetter applications.
Or if you're working in a drier climate,
it also tastes a little bit better.
Just be careful not to add too much, because that could end up
changing the texture of your fondant.
Because weather can vary, you're probably
going to want to experiment with both
and just see which works best.
You could even consider doing a blend of both.
Regardless of which one you choose,
you just want to make sure you don't
use too much because it could end up giving
your fondant a powdery look.
Now we're ready to start rolling.
If you remember, I had put a white coating
of shortening here.
We're actually not going to knead this.
We're going to start by dusting our surface with some corn
starch.
So we're going to flip this over.
When you start rolling, you want to make sure
that you have a nice, clean surface that's
free of any dirt or lint.
If you want, you can just use your table or countertop.
Just make sure that it's clean and dry.
Again, because my fondant is already soft,
we don't need the shortening.
We're just going to go ahead and dust our surface
with a little bit of corn starch so that it doesn't stick.
So I'm going to be using my roller.
And I'm going to just use one set of guide rings here.
And the guide rings are going to help us to roll this out
to an even thickness.
I'm just going to start with an outward motion.
And I'm actually going to dust the top of the surface
because my roller is sticking a little bit.
And this is actually going to help when we go
to do cutting out our shapes.
So I'm actually using the purple guide rings,
which are going to help me roll out my fondant
to an 1/8 of an inch thickness.
If I want to go a little bit thinner,
I would use the pink ones.
They're going to let me roll out evenly to 1/16 of an inch.
So I rolled this a little bit too long.
So I'm actually going to go ahead and pick this
up and rotate, which is fine to do.
You just want to make sure that you
don't flip your fondant over.
So I'm just going to continue rolling this way.
That way my guide rings aren't going to get in the way
and leave dents in the fondant.
Now my fondant's all rolled out.
When you're not working with your fondant,
you actually want to keep it covered so it doesn't dry out.
And if you have leftover fondant, don't get rid of it
because it is reusable.
You just want to make sure that you're storing it properly.
So to prepare it for storage, you
want to roll it back up in a ball.
And then you just want to apply a thin layer of shortening.
And that's going to lock in the moisture.
And then I'm going to wrap it tightly in my plastic wrap.
And then you can either put it in a resealable bag--
I'm actually going to put it in a plastic airtight container.
And then your fondant won't stay indefinitely,
but it should last at least a couple of months.
You just don't want to put it in the refrigerator or freezer.
I hope this takes the mystery out of fondant for you,
because it really is so easy to use.
Now that how to knead it, roll it, and store it properly,
you're all set.
[MUSIC PLAYING]