A fondant cake typically has intricated, and impressive designs that other types of cake frosting cannot achieve. Because of how different it is from traditional frostings, such as buttercream or ganache, it is important to know how to store fondant cakes. In this article, I will give you a basic understanding of fondant and how temperature affects it, both while working with it and when storing it. Fondant can seem intimidating for first-time bakers, but with the strategies, I will share with you, you will be a fondant master in no time!
What is Fondant?
Fondant is a type of icing used to decorate cakes, cupcakes, and an assortment of pastries. It is either rolled or poured, but rolled fondant is the most popular kind of fondant. It is made of sugar, water, and corn syrup and added with gelatin and glycerin to help retain its shape. Rolled fondant is made into sheets that you can drape over a cake or from which you can cut out shapes. Because of its unique texture, fondant can be molded into all types of shapes.
Fondant can give you so many decorating possibilities. From flowers, unicorns, to cartoon characters, you can adorn a cake with fantastic designs. Popular trends right now are illusion cakes or cakes that do not look like cakes. You can use fondant to disguise a cake as a hamburger, stack of pancakes, giant donut, a plate of sushi, and more!
Fondant icing will hold up for a long time, unlike buttercream or boiled icing, which can begin to melt after a few hours outside of a fridge. You can be pre-rolled fondant in baking stores, or you can make your own.
How Does Temperature Affect Fondant Cakes?
Because it is stiffer and not prone to melting, does temperature affect fondant when your working with it? To some extent, yes. When decorating a cake with fondant, you cannot simply attach or drape fondant over it. You need something that will act like a “glue” to help the fondant stick to the cake. Usually, spreading a thin layer of buttercream will do. You will also need to use royal icing to adhere fondant pieces to the rolled fondant draped over the cake. Additionally, before applying fondant, the cake should be cooled, preferably 24 hours, to help make the cake more solid and prevent crumbs from sticking to the fondant.
Fondant dries quickly, and if you do not work quickly or do not keep the fondant well-wrapped in plastic, it can crumble and crack. If you see any cracks, knead it to add a little warmth until it is smooth and satiny again. Do not use water to treat the cracks as water will dissolve the sugar in the fondant. Knowing these things can help you understand more about how to store fondant cake.
What type of cake do you have? Does your cake have a filling? The moisture in a cake can help fondant break down faster, so if you have a cake that is especially moist or has any perishable fillings, decorate the cake with fondant a day or two before you plan on serving it. A good thing about fondant-covered cakes is they help seal in the moisture, which means the cake strays fresh.
As you can see, even when just working with fondant, the temperature has an effect on fondant. It is important to know the different elements of your cake and not just the fondant icing to know how to store fondant cake.
When Do You Need to Refrigerate a Fondant Cake?
Learning how to keep a fondant cake fresh is essential if you’ll take the cake out a little longer. If the weather is hot or humid, you will need to sore a fondant-covered cake in the fridge. But knowing how to store fondant cake is just the first step. What do you do with a fondant cake once it is out of the fridge? If the fondant is tinted or colored, the colors can bleed when the frozen fondant begins to thaw and condense.
You can avoid this in two ways. Remove the cake from the freezer, then transfer it to the refrigerator for a few hours. If you have an air-conditioned room, transfer the fondant cake to this room, and let it sit for a while so the fondant can slowly adjust to the change in temperature. This is especially important in storing fondant and if you are planning to serve the cake somewhere warm or outdoors.
The second method is to place the cake in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Remove the cake and cover it in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Store it back in the freezer. To defrost the cake, transfer it to the refrigerator, but leave the wrapping on. Do this a few hours before you plan on serving the cake. Finally, transfer the cake on a table or counter. Allow the cake to reach room temperature before unwrapping and serving. Know more about food storage.
Conclusion
Knowing how to store fondant cake is just as important as knowing how to decorate with fondant. After all, you want to protect your masterpiece before showing it off. Remember that fondant is food too, and you want to keep it fresh and consumable aside from looking good. If you want to know how to store leftover slices of fondant cake, you can keep them in the refrigerator like you would regular cakes.
Do not forget the other elements of the cake you have to protect, such as the buttercream layer and any fillings. You also have to factor in how to store fondant decorations. Do not fear the fondant! As long as you have a functioning freezer, fridge, and plenty of patience, your fondant masterpiece will turn out fine.
If you are new in baking or you don’t know about springform pans for baking, then readout a great guide at kitcheniest.