Fondant cake how-to videos

I posted a series of three how-to videos showing how I baked my last fondant cake:

First fondant cake

I made this cake for Mother's Day.

Cake:
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Dark-Chocolate-Cake-2496

Buttercream frosting:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Vanilla-Buttercream-Frosting-From-Sprinkles-Cupcakes-222188

Fondant:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm


The cake recipe made two thin (1" to 1.5") round 9" diameter cakes. I cut the top off one cake to flatten it, then covered it with frosting. I put the second cake on top, then trimmed the two cakes and spread frosting over the whole thing. I could have used a little more frosting than was made with the above recipes. Although the 1 cup of butter is scary. Maybe I will try to spread a thinner layer between the cakes next time.

The fondant takes a little time to knead, but it is very elastic, and I didn't have much trouble rolling it out, and smoothing it on the cake.

The ribbon, flowers, and leaves are all colored fondant. I made some fondant lettering for Mother's Day, but my handwriting is so terrible, that I was sure the cake would look better without it. I guess the most elegant cakes do not have any lettering on them anyway.

I used a thick mixture of powdered sugar and water to glue the fondant decorations in place.

Cupcakes with Fondant

The recipe for these cupcakes is pretty basic, so I am concentrating on the fondant. This is first time I have tried decorating with fondant and also the first time I have made it.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm

I heavily greased a large bowl with shortening, added 1/2 lb of marshmallows (half-recipe) and microwaved for 30 seconds. I stirred them, then microwaved for 30 more seconds. With enough shortening, the marshmallows will not stick to the sides. I then added 1 lb powdered sugar and started mixing. Once the mixture wasn't too sticky, I kneaded it with my hands until almost all of the sugar had been incorporated.
I left a fourth of the fondant uncolored, then added gel food coloring the the each of the other fourths, and kneaded them until smooth. I tried making black fondant with some black "gel icing", but all I got was grey.


This stuff is really fun to shape. It's just like play-dough, and tastes like marshmallow.

A half-recipe yielded way too much fondant for 12 cupcakes. I only used about half of the amount that I made.