Fun with Fondant and a Giveaway
You know those big beautiful cakes that you see on all those reality baking shows? With all the different shapes and colors of fondant? I’ve honestly never had ambitions to make anything like that. But I’ve also never given it a shot. When Megan from Delicious Dishings and I were talking about our latest baking date, the idea was thrown out there to play with fondant. We figured it would be a fun first to tackle together.
And, to sweeten the deal, the lovely people at King Arthur Flour offered to send us each a tub of their white fondant to play with. In preparations for our fun with fondant day, I baked up a couple cake layers for each of us (we also decorated some cupcakes, that post will be coming later).
Megan decided to make a fall themed cake, while I decided to make a pink ribbon cake. I had great great ambitions in my mind of what this cake would look like. I wanted a big fat pink swirled ribbon draped over the entirety of my cake. But let me back up a minute.
First, we frosted our cakes with some buttercream. We let the cakes chill in the fridge for a bit while we each rolled out some fondant. To coat the cake, we rolled the fondant fairly thin, about 1/8″ thick. To get the rolled out fondant onto my cake, I folded my fondant in quarters, laid it on top of the cake and unfolded it. This was my first mistake of the day. When I unfolded the fondant, it had little seams in it from the fold. I had hoped to be able to smooth them out, but wasn’t able to. Next time, I’d roll the fondant onto the rolling pin and unroll onto the cake.
The next step was to press down the fondant on the sides of the cake. Megan ended up cutting part of her fondant out and I went with the approach of just continuing to press it down and try to smooth it out. Both strategies ended up working, although we both had some uneven fondant on our cakes.
Next cake the decorations. We both took a small portion of fondant and put a few drops of gel food coloring into it. With our hands, we kneaded the fondant until the color was dispersed. Then we played around with the marbling. I’m sure Megan has some intermediate pictures, but I didn’t get any that day. I basically took a small ball of dark pink and a small ball of light pink. I divided each ball in half and rolled them into a long snake. Then I basically laid the ropes out and twisted them together. Then I just rolled the colors together and flipped and kept rolling and flipping until I got a swirl in my fondant. I rolled out a very large piece and just cut out the pink ribbon with a knife.
I draped the pink ribbon over the cake and I loved it instantly! That’s when I discovered my second mistake (or maybe it was my first in reality). You see, my cake layers were frozen at the beginning of the day. They were defrosting while the plain white fondant sat on the cake. This resulted in my white fondant sweating as the cake layers cooled. This was great in the fact that the pink ribbon stuck to the white fondant without any additional aid.
I then decided that the cake felt a little naked. So I mixed my swirled pink fondant with some white fondant to make more swirls. Then I made the dots to decorate the rest of the cake. I think it turned out pretty nicely for my first fondant cake. I’m not sure I’ll be making any big masterpieces in the near future, but it sure was fun to try something new with a friend.
And NOW, after all of that, comes the good part. The giveaway. King Arthur Flour has generously offered one lucky reader of mine and Megan’s the chance to try playing with fondant themselves. I will choose one entry at random to win one tub of white fondant.
Rules for Giveaway:
– Be sure to follow King Arthur Flour either on Facebook, Twitter, or by subscribing to their newsletter (check the lower right hand corner of their website)
– Leave a comment by 11:59PM (EST) on Friday October 7th answering this question – What do you think about fondant? Love it? Hate it? Peel it off before digging in? Eat it all up?
– Only one entry per person
– US or Canada shipping addresses only
Don’t worry, I’ll post more about the inside of this cake shortly. This post is long enough already…
Don’t forget about my Power of Pink Challenge – make something PINK by the end of the month to raise Breast Cancer Awareness!
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I prefer a nice soft chewy cookie.
ljyoung85 at gmail.com
chewy for sure!!
Love Chewy cookies
Facebook fan
I’m lovin’ chewy cookies
ralphlucy at comcast.net
Tate’s facebook fan/liker
ralphlucy at comcast.net
crispy! 🙂 with a chewy center! perfect.
i’m a fan!
Most definitely a chewy cookie person!
Soft and chewy is the way to go!
I’m a Chewy cookie person!
facebook fan of tate’s
I used to be a cripsy fan but now i love chewy 🙂
You have been doing some great giveaways lately! I’m a chewy cookie person for sure!
chewy cookies all the way
love soft chewy cookie. yum. want a cookie NOW!
Crisp outside with chewy center.
I am 100% a chewy cookie type of girl!
It depends on the cookies. Most cookies I like chewy, but some cookies are best crispy.
chewy!
Definitely chewy!
Chewy all the way! Num!
I’m already a fan of Tate’s Bakery!
chewy all the way!!
I think it depends on the type of cookie. I tend to like crispy kinds better though.
Chewy for sure!
CHEWY cookies please
LIKED them on FB!
Chewy, for sure.
I love a chewy soft cookie but now you got me intrigued with these Tate’s crispy cookies!
I am totally a crispy cookie kind of girl!
Liked them on Facebook!
chewy of course!
I like chewy & crispy.
I also love Tate’s.
They’re so good!
definitely chewy!!
I am totally a soft chewy cookie person. The hubs like crunchy cookies though so sometimes I burn a few ha
I usually prefer a chewy cookie, but my favorite is a combo of the two.. nice and chewy with a crisp and crunchy edge!
For the most part, I like a chewy cookie. However, there are some exceptions to the rule.
Definitely chewy cookies for me!
Chewy all the way!
I prefer a soft chewy cookie.
msgb245 at gmail dot com
CHEWY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! almost raw!
I prefer chewy cookies, but all cookies are good!
If it’s a cookie, it’s for me! haha
I’m definitely a chewy cookie gal. I will pass up a crispy cookie any day.
I like Tate’s on Facebook!
Crispy 🙂
Chewy cookies are my favorite!
I love crispy!
I like chewy and my husband likes crispy ciikies . . . so we can do damage to both! Ha.
Like on FB
I prefer soft cookies but I love Tate’s crispy cookies!
I am a fan of Tate’s on Facebook.
I like a soft cookie
terrylee5151 at aol dot com
I fan them on fb
I’m a chewy but my husband is a crispy!
<3 crispy cookies!
fan on fb
Chewy all the way!
I like both, I want crunchy on the edges with a chewy center.
I am already a facebook fan.
Crispy for me!
Chewy! Don’t ask me why! I just do!
Crispy. Yesterday I made Tate’s Chocolate Chip cookies. They were divine.
I usually like chewy more, but sometimes I feel like it’s better for me to have crispy cookies in the house because I’m less likely to scarf them all down at once!
First time poster, but I want to say that you have such great recipes on here! I like cookies that are a bit crisp on the outside but nice and chewy on the inside. Oatmeal raisin are the best cookies for this texture!
I am a huge fan of the chewy cookie!!
I love crispy cookies. They are perfect for dunking in milk.
phjones21@yahoo.com
definitely chewy!
DEFINITELY a crispy cookie! Hockeypuck style, preferably – I’m just kidding, kinda – gingersnap crunchiness would be perfect. When I was younger, I used to adore all things cookie dough. One day, I decided to eat one of those giant cartons of premade ready-to-bake cookie dough (I used an ice cream scoop and everything) and was horribly sick. Just the thought of raw cookie dough is nauseating now *shudder*. So I can enjoy the amazing taste of cookies without the terrifying flashbacks to a dreadful day.
And that is my lovely holiday story. =)
(ashleyso2030@gmail.com)
Already a fan of Tate’s on Facebook (Ashley So). Have a wonderful holiday season! =)
(ashleyso2030@gmail.com)
I am a strictly chewy cookies person. Mmm, cookies. 🙂
Love the crispy cookies! and Tate’s is definitely the BEST crispy cookie!
Chewy gets my vote
chewy cookies! most definitely
chewbacca
I’m a chewy fan, but the boy adores anything with crunch.
kaseyawickman at gmail.com
Love chewy cookies.
Yentuyen at hotmail dot com
chewy cookies all the way!
I “liked” Tate’s on Facebook, too!
I love all cookies, but a nice soft center with a slightly crispy outer shell is definitely the way too go!
I would love to try these!
I usually prefer chewy but crispy is great too!
I like Tate’s on FB
I like all cookies!!!
liked them on fb!
To me a cookie us a cookie. It ass depends on how it taste.
I like crispy cookies.
karin56381 (at) gmail.com
I like cookies that are crisp and the edges and chewy in the middle. But I really love all cookies 😀
I like chewy cookies all the way.
I love chewy cookies all the way…yumm!!!!
sweetstreatsbycarolyn@gmail.com
This comment has been removed by the author.
Definitely a chewy cookie person
I “like” Tate’s on FB
Crispy with a chewy center. They are the best, glad to say they are from MY Hometown.. Belinda King
Chewy is the way to go!
Definitely chewy!!
Crunchy! I make soft ones for e eryone else then a crunchy batch for me.
I think I like cripsy better but there are a few cookies that are best on the chewy side.
Marniebrian@gmail.com
I like crispy edges, chewy centers…
I’m a fan on facebook 🙂
I love chewy cookies!
Hands down, I love a chewy cookie!
I love chewy cookies, but my favorite is both chewy and crispy (with rice krispies in it)!
I’m a fan of Tate’s on FB!
Chewy cookies plz!
FB Fan, in da house!!
Crispy, chewy…don’t matter. Me like cookies! 🙂
Liked on FB!
Crispy, definitely crispy.
I just went to Tate’s and “liked” them on facebook;)
I usually like chewy cookies!
I prefer soft cookies!
I also liked Tate’s on Facebook!
I like both crispy and chewy, but if I had to pick I’d go crispy!
CrystalW07 at aol.com
I’m a chewy cookie fan!
Also a tate’s fan on FB
I’m a chewy cookie person!
I’m definetely a chewy cookie person! 🙂
meggie_sue@woh.rr.com
Facebook Fan!
I definitely prefer chewy cookies!
I am a “Tate’s Bakeshop” fan already. 🙂
Chewy in the middle, crispy on the outside
I like Tate’s on fb
Love chewy cookies
williamfsullivanjr at comcast.net
I’d pick chewy!
jlynch6341@aol.com
I prefer chewy, but there aren’t many cookies I’ll turn down. 🙂
i LOVE CHEWY COOKIES!!!!
I am a fan on Facebook!
I prefer chewy cookies, but really, I don’t seem to have a problem turning down any cookies! 😉
I already like Tate’s on FB.
I like chewy cookies…unless of course someone is offering free crispy ones!