This was my first cake working with this fondant. I had only made one cake using marshmallow fondant, and it wasn’t a favorite of any of us. This recipe though, it rolled out so beautifully, draped nicely, and was a lot of fun to work with. I had a great time using the fondant, and look forward to using it again. We need more the birthday’s in our family spread out a bit more, so I could play with it year-round, instead of all from September to November.
The fondant was easy to colour using gel colours, and it was as simple as playing with play dough. If it intimidates you, don’t let it! Give it a try! 
By the way…the Lightening McQueen was made doing a frozen buttercream transfer.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs (908 gr) of sifted confectioner’s sugar
- 1 packet of gelatin (1 Tbsp)
- 1/2 cup of white corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp flavouring (clear butter flavouring is what I used)
- 1 Tbsp glycerin
- 1/4 cup cold water
Optional: food colours if you want to pre-mix the whole batch one colour
Directions:
- Sift your confectioner’s sugar. If you don’t do this, you will have little gravel-like lumps of hard sugar bits in your fondant.
- In a heat-safe small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/4 cup of cool water to soften; let it set for 2 minutes. While that is getting all plump, put a small pot of about a half-inch of water to simmer. Place small bowl over your simmering pot of water (double boiler style), let the gelatin melt. Turn off the heat and add your other liquid ingredients (corn syrup, flavouring, glycerin and cold water). Stir until well blended.
- With half of your sifted confectioner’s sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer outfitted with a dough hook (or have a good, heavy wooden spoon in hand), pour the warm gelatin mixture into the sugar. Add the rest of the sugar, half of a cup at a time. Keep stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl. After a few minutes of mixing, you will notice that the mixture is quite stiff, and it will be only slightly sticky, but no longer wet.
- Sprinkle a fine dusting of confectioner’s sugar on the counter. Using some shortening, grease your hands. Place fondant on counter, and start kneading the fondant by hand. Sprinkle with more confectioner’s sugar as needed. You want to create a nice, ball of fondant that is not sticky, but is still easy to form. It should be somewhat soft, but not sticky.
- Double wrap the fondant with plastic wrap and place in a resealable plastic bag. Place on the counter and let it sit for 24 hours. This just assures that all the confectioner’s sugar is moist. You can use it right away, if you wish. You can also store it in the fridge, but will need to reheat it slightly to work with it.
Source: CakesCanada.com
NOTE: From here, you can cut off chunks, and using gel colours, knead the colour into the fondant. Be sure to wear plastic gloves to do this. I did find that if the fondant cracked a bit while I was rolling it, microwaving it for a few seconds helped make it more pliable again. Remember, only a few seconds (literally) or you’ll have a big mess on your hands. When rolling the fondant, you want the fondant to be about 1/4″ thick when you place it on your cake. Keep that in mind, you don’t want it to be too thick.
You can find a lot of GREAT information at Cakes Canada and Cake Central. Your imagination is your only limitation.
Don’t feel up to the challenge of doing it yourself? Live in the southern Manitoba area? Then check out Amanda’s Creative Cakes. She is one amazingly talented cake decorator!
Ahh Jeanine you caught the perfect look..I love that photo of your son with his cake..precious!
What a cutie, and cute cake! So adorable, instant smile
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What a great job!! It looks amazing and your son is adorable!
Wow, fondant making. That is impressive. You make it sound so very easy. That cake is adorable! I have never eaten fondant. Perhaps I should give it a whirl. Is that vegetable glycerin?
Wow… I am very impressed!
The colors of the cake are beautiful! Do you have any idea of a good substitute for the corn syrup? Unfortunately, I am also alergic to corn products.
Thanks!
You can use glucose instead of corn syrup. It looks, feels and tastes just like it. And can be substituted for corn syrup. I use half of both.
Thanks for the tip, Shimmering!
What an awesome looking cake. You are incredibly talented.