Truth is, it depends.
But I think the most burning question would be - is it better to taste good than to look good? I personally feel the need to discuss this as to help my client and many other curious cake fans out there to better understand the choices they're going to make when ordering a cake. Especially a wedding cake.
If you're a novice to cakery, here's what I'm talking about.
The most common finishing (or icing) used for cakes are buttercream and fondant. Buttercream is a blend of sugar and butter which results in a smooth creamy texture that can be mixed with various flavourings. Fondant is made from sugar, glucose syrup and gelatine. It's then rolled out into sheets and molded over the cake. The result is a smooth shiny finish.
Now when it comes to taste, I happen to be a BC devotee. I simply love the satisfying rich, creamy texture of buttercream. While some of health-conscious, diet freak ladies eat their cakes and left the icing, I'll eat my slice and shamelessly finishing off my neighbour's leftover icing.
The only downside is, buttercream does have a limitation. It's not as smooth as fondant when finished. But if you're skillful, there are ways to overcome this. For eg. using poured buttercream technique (or steamed buttercream some may call it) which I've tried once and still not perfectly smooth either. Perhaps takes me few more practice to achieve that smooth finish.
Fondant however leaves me flat. It's tasteless and has a rubbery texture. Not to mention it costs a fortune too. But in terms of appearance, fondant is kicking buttercream behind. It's so much more easy to decorate a cake with fondant and you can even make life-like figurines, flowers and myriads of other amazing creations that buttercream can't possibly produce.
So what's my opinion you ask?
To me, it all boils down to these 3 important factors - taste, appearance & budget. And who says that you can't have your cake and eat it too? Of course, it's important that your cake looks smashing AND tastes divine as well. And most importantly, your cake doesn't break the bank and caused you headaches at the end of the day.
And that leads me to this project during last weekend.
Now I know fondant isn't exactly my forte but I'm gonna give it a try regardless. Why? Simply because I adore staring at gorgeous fondant cakes and unfortunately like many of you, I loathe the taste as well. Hence, I started my mission to find ways to improve fondant particularly in the taste department. The answer is : MMF. Again if you're a novice, MMF means marshmallow fondant :)
Nope, this is not a client's order. Just my spare time experimentation.
This is a 7" madeira butter cake covered with my self made MMF. To my surprise, it's not hard at all to cover a cake with fondant. The secret lies in your good quality of fondant, the correct technique and skill (which BTW acquired through my countless failure as well as lots of practice!).
And the MMF that I did? Heaven! It tastes so much better than the usual fondant I made. Creamy and as sweet as candy, yum! And did I mention it was so simple to make too? All you need is marshmallow, water & icing sugar and you're good to go.
I didn't have much time to decorate so I just go for simple design like this. I just wanted to learn covering the cake anyway.
Speaking of fondant, the store bought ones are great to use too. I used Bakels Pettinice ready to roll white fondant in this project, basically just to try out. It definitely saves more time and pretty essential for someone like me whose baking depends solely on my humble Mr. Ken (a.k.a Kenwood mixer).
If you don't have a heavy duty mixer and too lazy to knead with your bare hands, just buy the RTR (ready to roll) fondant. Easy peasy, costs pretty much the same and helps to prolong the life of your mixer :)
My little experiment somewhat proved me wrong. Fondant CAN taste great, with MMF that is. If you're interested to try, you may email me and asked for the recipe. FOC. The recipe is somewhere in my hard disk (will take some time to find it if u want now) and I've been typing too long already. Till then..
XOXO. Eda.
But I think the most burning question would be - is it better to taste good than to look good? I personally feel the need to discuss this as to help my client and many other curious cake fans out there to better understand the choices they're going to make when ordering a cake. Especially a wedding cake.
If you're a novice to cakery, here's what I'm talking about.
The most common finishing (or icing) used for cakes are buttercream and fondant. Buttercream is a blend of sugar and butter which results in a smooth creamy texture that can be mixed with various flavourings. Fondant is made from sugar, glucose syrup and gelatine. It's then rolled out into sheets and molded over the cake. The result is a smooth shiny finish.
Now when it comes to taste, I happen to be a BC devotee. I simply love the satisfying rich, creamy texture of buttercream. While some of health-conscious, diet freak ladies eat their cakes and left the icing, I'll eat my slice and shamelessly finishing off my neighbour's leftover icing.
The only downside is, buttercream does have a limitation. It's not as smooth as fondant when finished. But if you're skillful, there are ways to overcome this. For eg. using poured buttercream technique (or steamed buttercream some may call it) which I've tried once and still not perfectly smooth either. Perhaps takes me few more practice to achieve that smooth finish.
Fondant however leaves me flat. It's tasteless and has a rubbery texture. Not to mention it costs a fortune too. But in terms of appearance, fondant is kicking buttercream behind. It's so much more easy to decorate a cake with fondant and you can even make life-like figurines, flowers and myriads of other amazing creations that buttercream can't possibly produce.
So what's my opinion you ask?
To me, it all boils down to these 3 important factors - taste, appearance & budget. And who says that you can't have your cake and eat it too? Of course, it's important that your cake looks smashing AND tastes divine as well. And most importantly, your cake doesn't break the bank and caused you headaches at the end of the day.
And that leads me to this project during last weekend.
Now I know fondant isn't exactly my forte but I'm gonna give it a try regardless. Why? Simply because I adore staring at gorgeous fondant cakes and unfortunately like many of you, I loathe the taste as well. Hence, I started my mission to find ways to improve fondant particularly in the taste department. The answer is : MMF. Again if you're a novice, MMF means marshmallow fondant :)
Nope, this is not a client's order. Just my spare time experimentation.
This is a 7" madeira butter cake covered with my self made MMF. To my surprise, it's not hard at all to cover a cake with fondant. The secret lies in your good quality of fondant, the correct technique and skill (which BTW acquired through my countless failure as well as lots of practice!).
And the MMF that I did? Heaven! It tastes so much better than the usual fondant I made. Creamy and as sweet as candy, yum! And did I mention it was so simple to make too? All you need is marshmallow, water & icing sugar and you're good to go.
I didn't have much time to decorate so I just go for simple design like this. I just wanted to learn covering the cake anyway.
Speaking of fondant, the store bought ones are great to use too. I used Bakels Pettinice ready to roll white fondant in this project, basically just to try out. It definitely saves more time and pretty essential for someone like me whose baking depends solely on my humble Mr. Ken (a.k.a Kenwood mixer).
If you don't have a heavy duty mixer and too lazy to knead with your bare hands, just buy the RTR (ready to roll) fondant. Easy peasy, costs pretty much the same and helps to prolong the life of your mixer :)
My little experiment somewhat proved me wrong. Fondant CAN taste great, with MMF that is. If you're interested to try, you may email me and asked for the recipe. FOC. The recipe is somewhere in my hard disk (will take some time to find it if u want now) and I've been typing too long already. Till then..
XOXO. Eda.
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