Fondant

Ingredients:

2 c. granulated sugar 1/2 c. cold water

Method:

Mix the sugar and water together in a saucepan. Place saucepan over heat and stir the contents with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Allow the sirup to boil gently without further stirring until the "soft ball" stage is reached. Turn sirup on to a greased platter and let it remain undisturbed until a thin film has formed over the surface. When this has formed, with a wooden spoon stir the sirup until it becomes white and creamy. If sufficiently stiff turn the fondant on to.a marble or kneading board and make perfectly smooth. The fondant will work up better if allowed to remain in the ice box overnight, but if necessary, it can be made up at once.

Precautions:

1. Scald the saucepan before using for boiling fondant, lest any odor of previous cooking appear in the fondant.

2. Do not stir the sirup after the sugar is melted. (Why?)

3. Do not allow the sirup to boil vigorously. If the sirup boils vigorously, crystals of sugar will be deposited in thick masses on the sides of the saucepan and are likely to mix with the sirup and appear in the final product. A damp cheesecloth on a fork used to remove the crystals as fast as formed on the sides of the saucepan will help to prevent crystals from mixing with the sirup.

4. When testing the sirup always remove the saucepan from the burner so that if the proper stage is reached it will not proceed to the "hard ball" stage and so become too crystalline.

5. Have the platter ready greased before the sirup is to be poured out.

6. Do not scrape the last of the sirup from the pan, as it will appear as a hard sugary mass in the fondant.

7. Use a minimum amount of butter with which to grease the platter.

8. Wash the hands with cold water just before kneading the fondant.

9. Cover the fondant with paraffin paper when putting it away to stand overnight.

10. If fondant is quite soft when done, do not leave it in the ice box - a cupboard is better - but if quite stiff put it in the ice box to stand overnight and it will be easier to handle.

Fondant may be used as follows:

Creams

Drops

Walnuts

Balls

Filling

Dates

Cherries

Chocolate peppermints

Covering

Small fruits

Nuts

Fruit sections pineapple orange

Eclairs

Cake

Hot cross buns

To make Cream Drops

1. Divide the fondant into as many parts as you wish to make colors.

2. Have ready the following: double boiler spatula teaspoon toothpicks saucepan of boiling water color flavoring sheet of paraffin paper spread on a perfectly flat surface

3. Place the fondant in the double boiler and allow it to heat over hot water until soft. With the toothpick take up a tiny bit of color and stir it through the softened fondant. If sufficient color has not been added, repeat, but remember that a little color on the toothpick goes a long way in the fondant.

4. Now add the flavoring, using precaution that too much is not added.

5. If the fondant is still quite thick, add a few drops of boiling water and stir the whole mixture with the spatula 1 only enough to mix the color, flavor, and water, as too much will make it " grainy."

6. Bring the double boiler to the side of the paraffin paper and, using the teaspoon, allow the fondant to drop from the tip of the spoon on to the paper. Hold the spoon in this one position so that the fondant will be directed into the center of the drop and the result will be a circular candy.

Notes : 1. If the fondant piles up on the spoon, not enough hot water was added.

2. If the drops are coarse-grained or rough, the fondant has been overcooked and over-stirred. This can sometimes be remedied by complete recooking as though using cane sugar.

3. If white spots appear in the drops on standing, the fondant was stirred in the double boiler too much. These are not absolutely undesirable, but the creams will be hard or brittle. They are not perfect cream drops.

4. The candies dropped on the paper if irregular or too thick may be remelted and redropped once, but more than that is likely to cause coarse-grained candies.

5. Do not mix the candies to be done over with first mixture in the double boiler, but wait until that is used.

1 The spatula is the most convenient utensil for this purpose. The fondant clings to any utensil used, but is more easily removed without waste from the spatula than from a spoon.

To make Walnut Creams:

1. Divide the fondant into portions by measuring with the teaspoon, 1 tsp. to each portion.

2. Wash and dry the walnuts, using unbroken halves.

3. Shape the fondant by rolling it lightly between the palms of the hands.

4. Place a walnut meat on one side of the ball and arrange the second in a corresponding position on the other side. Press together slightly and the fondant will form a uniform mass between the nut meats. The fondant should protrude very slightly beyond the nuts.

5. Pecans or almonds may be used in place of walnuts.

To make Chocolate Peppermints:

Prepare cream drops as in making Cream Drops, using peppermint flavoring but no color. To cover the creams, chocolate for the purpose is on the market, but unsweetened chocolate may be used. The latter will not have a glaze, but a little butter melted with the chocolate gives a slight glaze.

Melt the chocolate over hot water, place the cream drops in the warm chocolate, and remove when well coated by using a fork. Place on a paraffin paper to dry.

Care must be taken in removing from the chocolate and placing the creams on the paraffin, or the chocolate becomes unevenly distributed on the creams.

Fondant used as Covering:

1. When fondant is used as a covering for fruits, melt it in a double boiler and immerse the fruits in it. Remove to a paraffin paper to dry.

2. When fondant is used as a covering for small cakes, have slightly more liquid than for fruits. Use cake one day old so that a fork can be held in it.

Put the fork in the bottom of the cake and carefully lower it until the fondant comes well up on the sides of the cake. Lift the cake out and place, right side up, on a paraffin to dry. A little practice will probably be required before a perfect result will be obtained.

Decorate the cakes with tiny pieces of angelica, citron, candied fruit, nuts, rose leaves, violet leaves, or candy flowers.

3. To cover large cakes or hot cross buns with fondant, melt it in a double boiler and arrange it on the cake as desired, using a spoon and spatula while it is still warm. This is the easiest process of any of the ways of using fondant and requires very little skill.