what's cooking wednesday - rolled buttercream fondant

I apologize for the delay!

I love the look of cakes wrapped in fondant. They are so pretty, but fondant tastes like ass -- more or less -- and it's not convenient for me to get my hands on the pre-made stuff you buy, if I wanted to use it. Then while chatting with someone as equally baking/decorating crazy as myself, I found out you can make it yourself. Which you would think I would already know, but surprisingly not. She had actually suggested Marshmallow Fondant, but I didn't have any marshmallows in the house, so I went with a buttercream one.

So this past weekend was Jammie Movie night with some of my girl friends. The movie we picked this month was Bride Wars. So it made perfect sense for me to make a wedding cake. Well it made perfect sense to me. That's just how I roll.



Rolled Butter Cream Fondant

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp clear vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners sugar

In a large bowl stir together the shortening and the corn syrup. Mix in the salt and vanilla, then gradually mix in the confectioners sugar until it is a stiff dough. If you are using a stand mixer use your dough hook. Otherwise knead by hand. If the dough is sticky, knead in more confectioners sugar until it is smooth. Store in an air tight container at room temperature.

To use, roll out on a clean surface that has been dusted with confectioners sugar until it is 1/8 inch thick or thinner, if you can. Drape over frosted and chilled cakes and smooth the sides down.

Recipe Notes: This was very easy to work with and it tasted pretty good compared to most fondants. I managed to get my cake covered with nary a tear. Mike helped me with the draping bit. If you're a beginner an extra pair of hands is a big help. I don't think I would attempt this without a stand mixer. That seems like insanity. It wasn't a difficult process, but mixing all that confectioners sugar in little bits did take a while. I will absolutely be doing this again. It makes the cake look so pretty.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday