INTRODUCTION TO FONDANT HOMECLASS on 21st May, 2011

Yes, dear friends, Chef Baini is back again with another homeclass; this time, its about fondant. You might say that  its a beginner's class, for it is an introduction to fondant as cake decoration. Today's class will introduce students to the basics of fondant; mixing, rolling, and shaping into decorative elements like flowers, leaves etc.

 Previously, this class used to be called 'The Single Tiered Wedding Cake', when the Babams mentioned to Chef Baini that she really should have tweaked the class into a beginner's course into the world of fondant. And that is precisely what Chef Baini did: She selected basic elements of fondant and designed them to be part of a single tier wedding cake.

And so you can see in the following pictures what today's batch of students went through: kneading the fondant dough. rolling the covers, adding the colour.....

Spreading the drapery, crafting the flowers (just a few kinds of flowers; there are many, many different types of flowers that can be made out of fondant)...Why this is important is that the elements of fondant combine to create a visually interesting cake. Plus that if you were to sell cakes, the price of the cakes will depend on what kinds of elements that are on the cake!



From the flowers that are delicately crafted by the hand to the finished product on the cake, its all a straightforward, step-by-step, systematic process! Anyone can learn it!

With that said, please have a look at the finished products that were the students' handiwork today. Notice that while they all bear similar features, they each have their own individual characteristics!

In the pictures above and below, please notice how the glaze on the centrepiece flowers leave a decidedly different effect than some of the cakes where the flowers are just plain.....

Its the same for the drapery too!

And of course, the theme also determines the 'mood' of the cake. Witness how the turquoise or aquamarine theme gives off different vibes than the pink!

Why, even the number of flowers on the centrepiece leave a different effect. Just compare the pictures of the cakes above and below. Notice that the theme is the same, but the one above has more flowers (which are the same also) than the one below. But note the effect that the one above gives off a sense of abundance, than the one below.

Which is why design is the most important aspect of cake decoration. Once you acquire the skills of cake decoration, your expert craftsmanship becomes secondary to your design. But first things first, yes? Lets focus on the cake making and decoration skills, and then the designing skills will come naturally!

That's all for today's blog, dear friends! Hope you enjoyed reading it!

Until next time, take care!

Love always.

Chef Baini.