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| The Fondant Bow |
As I was looking at the gender reveal cake below, I was struck with the sense that I should probably practice making fondant bows before I create another cake with one. I want to make them look as close to real ribbon as possible, but to really do that it actually takes two days to let the fondant set. Waiting is never my favorite game but I fortunately had lots of free time after work this week. So let the fondant fun begin!
What you'll need:
Box of fondant, your choice of color
Powdered Sugar
Crisco
Rolling Pin
Pastry Brush
Icing
Work Mat, I use one by Wilton that's great because of the 1" grid lines
And the key ingredient whenever baking... WINE!
In order to make the fondant workable and less sticky, massage a small amount of Crisco into the fondant as you knead it. This will help to keep the fondant from sticking to the mat and rolling pin. The fondant should have the consistency of play-doh before you start working with it. Sprinkle a small amount of powdered sugar onto the mat. Unlike working with dough, do not rub the rolling pin with the sugar, you want to keep the top of the fondant free of all sugar.
Roll the fondant out to your desired size. I rolled it out into a rectangular shape so that I could cut strips for the ribbon. The Crisco you put into the fondant will keep the rolling pin from sticking. Once you have the fondant rolled out, cut the strips to the size you want. I used 1" x 5" strips.
That was the easy part. Now with one strip in your hand, brush a tiny bit of water on one end of the strip. Adding too much water will react with the sugar in the fondant and make it disintegrate, so less is more. Press the ends of the ribbon together to make them stick, pinching the corners together at the same time to connect the loop.
Lay each loop on their side on a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil. Laying the loops on the side is important to prevent them from collapsing on themselves. They will need approximately 24 hours to become hard enough that they won't lose their shape once you start working with them. By the time I had already rolled out and cut the fondant I realized I would make the strips thinner next time for a more delicate look.
24 Hours Later
Take a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper and place a dollop of icing in the middle. This will act as the glue for your bottom layer of loops.
Once I took this picture, I realized I used a little too much icing. The icing is more visible from the outside of the bow than I was looking for. Once you have the bottom later in place, put another dollop in the middle to act as glue for the next layer. Arrange the loops similar to the first layer, again alternating the direction they are placed. For the top loop that goes directly down into the bow, place a little bit of icing on the pinched end to secure it. Once you have the bow arranged the way you like, place in the fridge for another 24 hours to let the icing harden. After that, your bow is ready for the top of your cake!
My lessons learned for the next time:
- Make the fondant layer thinner. This will allow for a more delicate look and to include more loops in the bow. The flip side is that it will also make the loops more fragile to work with.
- Use less icing so that it isn't as visible from the outside.
- Drink more wine!
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