Chocolate Rolled Fondant Food

CHOCOLATE FONDANT

Steps:

• First get your moulds ready. Using upward strokes, heavily brush melted butter (use 50g in total) all over the inside of the pudding mould. Place the mould in the fridge or freezer. Brush more melted butter over the chilled butter, then add a good spoonful of cocoa powder into the mould. Tip the mould so the powder completely coats the butter. Tap any excess cocoa back into the jar, then repeat with the next mould.
• Place a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, then slowly melt 200g good-quality dark chocolate and 200g butter, both chopped into small pieces, together. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir until smooth. Leave to cool for about 10 mins.
• In a separate bowl whisk 4 eggs and 4 egg yolks together with 200g golden caster sugar until thick and pale and the whisk leaves a trail; use an electric whisk if you want. Sift 200g plain flour into the eggs, then beat together.
• Pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture in thirds, beating well between each addition, until all the chocolate is added and the mixture is completely combined to a loose cake batter.
• Tip the fondant batter into a jug, then evenly divide between the moulds. The fondants can now be frozen for up to a month and cooked from frozen. Chill for at least 20 mins or up to the night before. To bake from frozen, simply carry on as stated, adding 5 mins more to the cooking time.
• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Place the fondants on a baking tray, then cook for 10-12 mins until the tops have formed a crust and they are starting to come away from the sides of their moulds. Remove from the oven, then leave to sit for 1 min before turning out.
• Loosen the fondants by moving the tops very gently so they come away from the sides, easing them out of the moulds. Tip each fondant slightly onto your hand so you know it has come away, then tip back into the mould ready to plate up.
• Starting from the middle of each plate, squeeze a spiral of caramel sauce - do all the plates you need before you go on to the next stage.
• Sit a fondant in the middle of each plate. Using a large spoon dipped in hot water, scoop a 'quenelle' of ice cream.
• Carefully place the ice cream on top of the fondant, then serve immediately. Repeat with the rest of the fondants.

ROLLED FONDANT

Steps:

• Combine gelatin and cold water; let stand until thick. Place gelatin mixture in top of double boiler and heat until dissolved.
• Add glucose and glycerin, mix well. Stir in shortening and just before completely melted, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Mixture should cool until lukewarm.
• Place 4 cups confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and using a wooden spoon, stir in the lukewarm gelatin mixture. Mix in sugar and add more a little at a time, until stickiness disappears. Knead in remaining sugar. Knead until the fondant is smooth, pliable and does not stick to your hands. If fondant is too soft, add more sugar; if too stiff, add water (a drop at a time). Use fondant immediately or store in airtight container in fridge. When ready to use, bring to room temperature and knead again until soft.

ROLLED FONDANT

Steps:

• Combine gelatine and cold water; let stand until thick. Warm gelatine mixture and heat until dissolved(Do Not Boil).
• Add corn syrup and glycerine, mix well. Stir in shortening and just before completely melted, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Mixture should cool until lukewarm.
• Place 4 cups confectioners' sugar in large bowl. Make a well in the center and using a wooden spoon, stir in the lukewarm gelatine mixture. Mix in the sugar and add more a little at a time, until stickiness disappears.
• Switching to your hands, knead in remaining sugar making sure to keep a lot of icing sugar between your hands and the fondant to prevent the fondant from sticking to your hands. Knead until the fondant is smooth, pliable and does not stick to your hands. If fondant is to soft, add more sugar; to stiff, add water(a drop at a time).
• Wrap fondant tightly in plastic wrap and store in a n air tight container. Allow the fondant to set for at least 12 hours before using it.
• When ready to use dust the table with cornstarch and dust rolling pin as well. Roll out fondant as desired and cover cake. Will cover a 12 inch cake.

CHOCOLATE ROLLED FONDANT

Steps:

• Place sifted confectioners' sugar into a large bowl and make a well in the center.
• Pour the water into small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin on top to soften for about 5 minutes.
• Gently heat the gelatin and stir until it is dissolved and clear. Do not boil.
• Remove from the heat and add the glucose or syrup, glycerine and shortening, stirring until well blended.
• Pour the mixture into the well of sugar and mix until most of the sugar is blended.
• Knead with your hands until all of the sugar is combined and the mixture becomes stiff.
• Knead in melted chocolate. If the mixture is very sticky, add small amounts of confectioners' sugar.
• Shape the mixture into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature overnight in an airtight container.
• To make a chocolate brown colored fondant without the chocolate taste, knead in brown icing color with a small amount of red icing color to white fondant.

ROLLED FONDANT

Steps:

• In a large bowl (do not use metal), sift the sugar and make a well in the center. In a small saucepan, add the water and sprinkle the gelatin on top to soften for about 5 minutes. Begin to heat the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is dissolved and clear. Do not boil. Turn off the heat and add the glucose and glycerine, stirring until well blended. Add the flavoring. Pour into the well of sugar, and mix until all of the sugar is blended. Use hands to knead icing until it becomes stiff. Add small amounts of confectioner's sugar if the mixture is sticky.
• Form the mixture into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place in an airtight container. This icing works best if allowed to rest at room temperature for about eight hours before using, particularly if the weather is humid. Do not refrigerate.
• To cover a cake with fondant: Dust a clean pastry cloth, or a smooth, clean surface, with cornstarch and roll the fondant with a rolling pin until it is approximately 1/4 inch thick. Make sure that the fondant is large enough to fit over the top and sides of the cake. Slide both hands under the fondant and carefully center it on top of a cake that has been freshly iced with buttercream. (The icing makes the fondant adhere to the cake.)
• Dust your hands with cornstarch and smooth the fondant, starting at the top and working down the sides until the entire surface is even and flat. Cut off the excess icing around the bottom of the cake with a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Decorate the cake with buttercream or royal icing. This fondant keeps a cake fresh for two days at room temperature. Do not refrigerate a cake with fondant icing.

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW FONDANT ICING

Steps:

• 1. TIPS: --> You want to use fondant on a fairly dense cake that will support the weight of the decorations. In comments, I will link to my pound cake recipes as I do not see a way to do it here. So far, only the chocolate pound cake is posted, but any others are similar - basically just omit the chocolate. --> Wilton sells a mat you can use for rolling the dough - not necessary to use theirs, except that it is very nice because it is marked with measurements - very helpful in figuring out sizing. You will have a much easier time using a mat than trying to lift it directly off the counter when you are ready to place it on your cake... read USING FONDANT TO DECORATE below and you'll see why. --> Wilton also sells a rolling pin for fondant ... again, not required, but very helpful as it has bands on the ends to help you determine thickness, which you may not need, but I sure do as I am not so skilled at rolling dough evenly. --> Wilton... yes, they make a lot of helpful tools (they also make a fondant you can purchase, I just don't like the taste)... has various mats, embossers, cutters, etc. that you can purchase for fun with making shapes and other decorations for your beautiful cake. For the cake pictured here, I used their "Fondant Impression Mat, Graceful Vines Design", which I found at Wal-mart, but you can purchase nearly anything you can imagine online from them. In this case, the bride and groom wanted a simple, elegant design, so I included a ribbon in the wedding color and did not add further decorations. You can see a little more decorative one on my recipe for regular marshmallow fondant, which I will link in comments below...
• 2. MORE TIPS: --> How thick to roll the dough? 1/8" to cover the cake, cut out shapes that will go in the cake covering (have to cut/remove the base cover and press them into the cut-out in the base cover). 3/16" letters, numbers & appliqué shapes 1/16" realistic flower petals and leaves --> Want a different flavor fondant? Just add whatever extract you wish... be creative and have fun! I haven't done it yet, but I suspect orange extract might be nice... --> Want colors? Wilton makes gel colorants for icing... also sold at Wal-mart and craft stores. (Wear food grade gloves to mix or it will stain your hands... not too bad though, if your hands are well-greased with the Crisco & colors are not too dark.) --> NEVER freeze fondant icing and NEVER refrigerate a cake that has been decorated with fondant icing. The fondant will "sweat", causing spots on your beautiful cake. :( Store decorated cake in cake box (yes, Wal-mart) for best results. --> They will keep for about 3 days as the fondant seals in the moisture in your cake... another reason I love fondant! --> As I think of other tips or you post them in comments, I'll add them here as I am able, so please let me know how this goes for YOU!
• 3. INSTRUCTIONS: 3 Melt marshmallows, chocolate and 2 tablespoons of water in a large, microwave-safe bowl: Put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, open microwave and stir, back in microwave for 30 seconds more, open microwave and stir again, and continue doing this until melted. It usually takes about 2 1/2 minutes total - watch that you don't overdo it. 4 Add extracts and stir with wooden or plastic spoon - use a strong one - this is going to get very thick. 5 Sift in the cocoa powder, about 1/4 of the powdered sugar and stir. Repeat until about 1/2 - 3/4 of the sugar is in the mixture and at least partially stirred. 6 Remove any jewelry on your hands & place in safe location for after you are done mixing this dough or it will be hard to clean out later. 7 GENEROUSLY grease your hands (palms, backs, and in between fingers), and then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle. 8 Start kneading like you would bread dough - the faster you work, the easier it will be as it gets harder to knead as it cools... just use caution that you do not burn yourself when you remove from the microwave - that is why I start by stirring with a spoon first. It is very sticky at this stage and you will need to continue adding the powdered sugar until it reaches the right consistency. Re-grease your hands your kneading surface as needed. 9 If the mix is tearing easily, it is too dry, so add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time and then knead it in). It usually takes me about 8 minutes to get a firm smooth elastic ball so that it will stretch without tearing when you apply it to the cake. 10 It is best if you can let it sit, double wrapped, overnight (but you can use it right away if there are no tiny bits of dry powdered sugar). If you do see them, you will need to knead and maybe add a few more drops of water. 11 Prepare the fondant icing for storing by coating it with a good layer of Crisco shortening, wrap in a plastic-type wrap product and then put it in a re-sealable or Ziploc bag. I use Ziploc freezer bags and I always double bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal your bags well. 12 MM Fondant icing will hold very well in the refrigerator for weeks. If I know that I have a cake to decorate, I usually make two batches on a free night during the week so it is ready when I need it. Take advantage of the fact that this fondant icing can be prepared well in advance. NEVER freeze fondant icing and NEVER refrigerate a cake that has been decorated with fondant icing. .
• 4. USING FONDANT TO DECORATE: 14 Your cake should be completely cool before decorating... or you will have a mess. 15 You don't want to work with cold fondant. If taking it straight from the fridge, pop the bag of fondant in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time to bring it up to about body temperature. Please be CAREFUL as it has a lot of sugar and can get hot VERY fast!! If it's been out at room temp, you can probably skip the microwave step. 16 Sprinkle some corn starch on the counter where you will be working. I understand that some people use Crisco for this step also (always pure white), but that does not work for the humidity here in Virginia... I get greasy dough - not pretty. If you are in a dry area, the Crisco may work better for you. Re-apply either to your counter and rolling pin as needed. 17 Knead the dough until it is pliable and to work in the Crisco coating you put on it to seal it. You may need to add a little water. You want it to be smooth and for the consistency to be that it will stretch a little without tearing. 18 Ice your cake with a light coating of butter-cream (or similar) icing. Important because: This will help seal in the moisture in your cake. It will help the fondant to "stick" to your cake. It will give you a smooth finish. 19 How large to roll the dough? Measure your cake... I'll use a 9" round cake as an example - two layers. Top is 9" across. Sides are 3" tall - and you have to go up one side and down the other, so add in this figure twice. One inch for breathing room and in case the edge tears a little. 9 + 3 + 3 + 1 = 16" So, roll out a 16" circle of dough that is AT LEAST 1/8" thick. If you are decorating a rectangular cake, roll your dough into that shape. Please do not be tempted to skimp on the thickness. I wish I could post another pic of what happened to a cake I tried that with once... the fondant cover was too thin and tore... fortunately, it was for family, but it ruined the look of the cake and I've never skimped since! MM fondant is pretty forgiving, but I rolled that one very thin.
• 5. 20 Use caution trying not to let your fingernails mark the fondant at this point - dents are hard to remove, but I do have a tip below if it happens. 21 Do not try to bring fondant to your cake. Bring your cake to the fondant - as close as possible. If you do not have a mat, you can ROLL the fondant on your rolling pin to move it... just be careful NOT TO FOLD it. 22 Gently lift the mat where you rolled your fondant and flip it upside down onto your cake. Gently adjust so your entire cake is covered. You will need to gently smooth, starting at the top center to remove bubbles and get the entire cake to a smooth finish... because this dough is elastic, it will work with you. 23 A soft, clean pastry brush will remove gently any excess cornstarch. 24 Get a pizza roller and gently roll around the base of your cake until you have removed all excess dough. Now, gently press the edge along the base in to tidy the appearance. Lovely, yes? :) 25 Roll balls, place butter-cream around the base to "finish" and "anchor" your cake or if the edge at the base is not as tidy as you want. Use your cookie cutters, mats, hands, and whatever else you want to create shapes and other decorations for your cake. 26 I prefer to use a little bit of butter-cream icing every time I stick on a fondant decoration as it helps to anchor it in place. I usually have butter-cream the same color as my fondant also because if I accidentally knick it with my fingernail or something, butter-cream saves that smooth finish by simply dabbing and smoothing a small amount at the damaged area. 27 Store any unused fondant back in individual bags for each color, coated with Crisco and double-bagged. It will hold for up to a couple of months. 28 Store your decorated cake in a sealed cardboard bakery box (yes, Wal-mart or craft stores again), but never in the fridge as explained above. If it is only overnight, I will sometimes just leave it open.