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Dessert

Fondant Coating for Cakes

A sugar syrup thickened with glucose that hardens into a glossy coating for cakes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Fondant Coating for Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the syrup

  1. In a pan, combine sugar and water. Stir until dissolved over gentle heat; do not boil.

  2. Add glucose and stir until dissolved. Remove any scum.

  3. Boil briskly and insert a thermometer, leaning against the side of the pan. Do not stir or shake the pan.

  4. When the thermometer registers 238°F (114°C), remove it and place it in a pan of boiling water.

Cool and knead

  1. Allow the syrup to settle, then pour it into a basin rinsed in cold water, no deeper than 1 to 1½ inches.

  2. When the syrup is cool enough to touch, stir with a wooden spoon until firm, then knead into a creamy mass.

Store and mellow

  1. Transfer to a jar, cover with waxed paper, a thick towel, and a plate on top. It will keep for several months.

  2. Allow to mellow for at least one hour before use.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Forms the sweet crystalline structure that sets into the smooth, firm coating.
Glucose
Interferes with sugar crystal formation, keeping the fondant smooth and soft rather than grainy.
Water
Dissolves the sugar so it can be boiled into a syrup before cooling.

The step that matters

Stirring after cooling. Stirring only once the syrup has cooled to a safe-to-touch temperature keeps sugar crystals small, so the fondant stays smooth; stirring hot or early can make it grainy.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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