fondant icing

melie3

can anyone enlighten me please as to what it is.
ive just bought a box this tate and lyle. i read ingredients and its got glycerin in it. what i need is to ice a novelty cake sides, and intructions say thinned white icing. i need to then border, and pipe stars etc onto cake. im still only a novice, attempting to make my DD3 1st b/day cake. should i have bought royal icing? how do you get the right consistency for icing? last time i tried doing stars they piped ok, then just 'melted' into lava lol...
thanks a lot

countrygal

This icing can be used like pastry i.e. rolled out and laid over the cake and then smoothed over, the best way to attach/glue it to the cake is to either put a thin layer of butter cream icing (if that is what you are using in the middle of the cake) or thin some jam (a couple of tablespoons of jam and 1 tablespoon of boiling water and stir), brush this over the cake, then roll out the fondant icing and place over the top of the cake, smoothing it over with your hands. You can prevent the icing from sticking to your counter by dusting the surface with icing sugar.
I have always the used the remains of the fondant icing to add decoration the easiest way is to use buscuit cutters. You can colour the fondant icing with the liquid ones but don't use too much as it will turn the icing gooey - you can use more icing sugar to prevent it getting too wet.
A nice way to put a border around the cake is to roll the icing into a long thin sausage and stick to the cake with a bit of water, then use a fork or cocktail stick to add a pattern.
I hope this makes sense - I have always used fondant icing for children's cakes as it tastes nicer and doesn't set rock hard like royal icing.
If you need more help let me know - if you tell me more about the design you are using I may have more suggestions.
Hope that helps
CG

Gingernutmeg

If you want to pipe icing, then you really need royal icing (although you can do as countrygal says and use cutters with the fondant).If you want to stop it setting like concrete then add a spoonful (tea or table, depending how much icing you're making) of glycerine - you can get this from chemists, or most supermarkets sell it now alongside the colourings and flavourings.

If you make your own royal icing, remember that it uses raw egg whites so you might want to avoid this if you're giving it to very young children. You can buy pasteurised egg white, or the boxes of icing mix use that anyway. I'd still add the glycerine though, even if you use a mix.

Benthosboy

Evening all.

Still basking in the glow of my glorious apple crumble :j , I now need to bake a cake. There is, however, one small proviso :rolleyes:

SWMNBM has recently done the sharing out of the food cupboards so I am now the proud owner of a 1kg block of Te$co roll-out fondant icing. (if you knew me, you'd wonder about this ) In a bid to kill 3 birds with one stone, (ie: have something sweet to eat instead of chocolate, use up the icing, and prove to her that I can do more than bread and jam ), I'd love to take a cake into work for tea-break and be able to say "I made this". Well, 4 birds really. A spot of internal gloating at the look on her face will do my self-esteem no end of good. I know, it's not big and it's not clever, but there you go

As a culinary virgin (oh what a picture that conjures up :rolleyes: :eek: ) can anyone recommend a fairly simple cake to bake for at least 11 people, preferably double then I can freeze what's left in true OS style :T and that I can use this damned icing on? I've got all the usual ingredients such as flour, black treacle, muscavado sugar, dried herbs, bacon, sausages, tinned tomatoes, breadsticks, chicken stock, leftover apple crumble, a big bag of carrots, etc, etc.

Martyn.

Forgot to mention that I've trawled the threads but I'm not much wiser.

ceridwen

'fraid I am not a cake baker myself! Someone will doubtless be along in a minute that can help out there. My only thought is that I've only ever seen icing on a pretty rich type of fruit cake (ie wedding cake - whoops, sorry!/birthday cake/christening cake/Christmas cake). So I think you have to either google for a rather rich type of fruit cake or think of doing some other type of cake.

Can understand your wish to do a culinary "see - I'm managing just fine without you - indeed - better than fine" - but not sure the icing is the way to go on this.

Trust me - make a more ordinary everyday type of cake here - perhaps an apple cake or a coffee cake?

Benthosboy

ceridwen wrote: »

Can understand your wish to do a culinary "see - I'm managing just fine without you - indeed - better than fine" - but not sure the icing is the way to go on this.

Any suggestions what to do with the stuff instead? I got as far either as making a voodoo doll, (yes, you've guessed it ), and biting it's head off after sticking the pins in, OR, eating it as it is. I fear that might have the same effect as eating yellow snow _pale_

Martyn.

squeaky

Wait until you're a bit more handu with cake baking and then do one for some "special occasion" or other at work a little later?

Make sure you add the following link to your bookmarks RIGHT NOW! Or else!

http://www.be-ro.co.uk/f_insp.htm

It's absolutely stuffed full of easy and bullet proof recipes. It was my baking bible when I first started out cooking for myself, and still much used even now, many years later.

You can actually buy the book in "some" major supermarkets, often in the baking section, or you can order it from the address listed at the bottom of their "About" page.

Pick something that looks like you can comfortably manage with your current skill level (which, he sez, is probably at "bit" lower than your enthusiasm level ) and take it from there.

Penelope_Penguin

Benthosboy wrote: »

SWMNBM

Translation, please

Have you a food mixer? It's easier if you have, but no matter if you don't. I'd try an "all-in-one" cake. You can mix everything using a wooden spoon. Delia's recipe is good; make 2 cakes and have one for later. I'd ice with water icing (icing sugar and a splash of water - you really don't need much). Cover the cooled cake with this and decoarate with silver balls. Or you could roll out your fondant, use the base of the cake tin to cut a piece to cover the cake. However, that stuff tastes like cakkk, so will taint the flavour of your fresh HM cake.

HTH, Penny. x

ceridwen

howzabout that then? Squeaky's link - apricot cake recipe - sorted. Sounds like that will do for starters.

:eek: ...and no.....pass on the voodoo doll!:D You could try making that icing up and throwing dollops of it at a suitable photo/drawing on the wall to release a few feelings in that direction......might be a bit better idea. Theres also punching pillows/throwing glass bottles at wall (after drinking the contents!)....oh dear, this is beginning to sound a bit like "voice of experience time"..errrmmmm! of course it aint! (eeerrrrrr......wellll....just maybe a little).;)

katiecoodle

Right - I LOVE baking so this is such a good thread for me. Here's a FANTASTIC recipe for a delicious light and moist chocolate cake which will not fail. Get to a supermarket for cup measures - they are based on mass, not weight, which is a very american way of baking. Alternatively use a cup - but not a large mug!
3 x cups Self Raising Flour
3/4 of a cup of cocoa
2 x cups of sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp bicarb of soda
1 x cup of milk
1 x cup of oil (I use sunflower)
Mix the dry ingredients, add the wet. Then add one cup of HOT water. Beat well. It is a very runny mixture at this stage - you'll wonder how on earth it will turn into anything solid. Gas 5 (190 degrees C). It will make a large cake (say an 8" deep tin) in approx 40 - 45 mins, or around 25 fairy cakes.
IMPORTANT - This cake is sooo light that you need to cool it in the tin before turning out. Slice it in half and buttercream the middle, then reassemble. BUttercream the entire cake then and roll the icing and cover it. Someone told me a top tip when using ready rolled icing: use a little cornflour to stop it sticking to the surface/rolling pin, this is very fine and will brush off easily so won't affect the cake or flavour of the icing.
If the icing all goes wrong (it's surprisingly tricky when you're not used to it), then stick sweets all over the cake with more buttercream! (Jellytots and smarties kind of sweets - it'll still look good, really edible, I promise)

Hope it goes well.
And by the way I used this for my daughters castle cake last year at her princess birthday party (aged 4) - hope this link works.

morwenna

ceridwen wrote: »

howzabout that then? Squeaky's link - apricot cake recipe - sorted. Sounds like that will do for starters.

:eek: ...and no.....pass on the voodoo doll!:D You could try making that icing up and throwing dollops of it at a suitable photo/drawing on the wall to release a few feelings in that direction......might be a bit better idea. Theres also punching pillows/throwing glass bottles at wall (after drinking the contents!)....oh dear, this is beginning to sound a bit like "voice of experience time"..errrmmmm! of course it aint! (eeerrrrrr......wellll....just maybe a little).;)

Absolutely pass on the voodoo doll!! :rotfl: Go outside, break a milk bottle (or some such) stamp all over it and put it ( with a warning note to beware broken glass, in the recycling) Okay, may also be speaking from experience just like ceridwen....

Make up a sponge in a roasting tin..? Not sure if you have one..