TIP OF THE DAY: Fondant Cake Topper
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Here’s an idea to turn a plain cake into a stunner for Mother’s Day. All you need is the cake, fondant and a cookie cutter.
But there’s a bonus below: an absolutely delicious, old-fashioned ginger-sultana cake, courtesy of the England’s high-end food store chain, Waitrose. Whether you buy or bake the cake, people will ooh and ahh over the beautiful rosette topping. WHAT IS FONDANT Fondant (sometimes called fondant icing) is a coating for cakes that is made from sugar and water, cooked to the soft-ball stage and then stirred or beaten to a creamy mass. It dries to a smooth, opaque matte finish and can be colored and/or flavored or left white. Fondant is formed into a dough, rolled out and laid over cakes (typically wedding cakes) or petit fours. It not only gives the cakes a smooth and elegant appearance, but acts as a preservative and protection: The dense fondant keeps the cake underneath moist for the extra day it may take to assemble and transport. Also, fondant does not mar easily like buttercream. |
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We enjoy the taste and texture of fondant, although some people don’t care for the thickness or flavor. It should be noted that commercial fondant, bought already prepared, does not achieve the glory of made-from-scratch fondant. Homemade fondant can be addictively delicious, especially to people who like marshmallows. |
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 It’s easy to make a beautiful petal topping with fondant: scoop, roll, cut, place. Photo courtesy Fondarific. |
RECIPE: ROSETTE GINGER CAKE Prep time is 15 minutes, cook time is 35–40 minutes. The cake serves 8–10. tablespoons syrup from the jar |
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*You can buy or make stem ginger: Blanch peeled, diced fresh ginger in boiling water for about 10 seconds; drain water and repeat process two more times. In a different saucepan, make a sugar syrup and then add the ginger, simmering for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge. †Self-rising flour is flour with baking powder and salt already added. It is traditionally milled from softer, lower protein wheat; and it produces softer, more tender baked goods than all-purpose or higher-protein flours. If you don’t want to buy a bag, you can make a home version: Combine 1 cup all-purpose flour with 1½ teaspoons baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt. 1. PREHEAT the oven to 356°F. Grease and line the base of an eight-inch-round cake pan with nonstick baking parchment. 2. PLACE the butter, sugar, 1 cup of golden syrup and the chopped ginger and syrup together in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the butter has melted. 3. PLACE the flour, ground ginger, baking soda and sultanas in a large bowl. 4. WHISK together the eggs and milk in a pitcher. Pour the melted syrup mixture and the egg mixture into the bowl of flour and beat well with a wooden spoon until blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35–40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. 5. LEAVE the cake to cool in the pan, then invert the cooled cake onto a serving plate so that the flat bottom is on top. Brush with the remaining golden syrup. 6. ROLL out the fondant on a sugar-dusted surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Using a 1- to 1-1/2 inch diameter cookie cutter, stamp out as many discs as possible (you should get 55–60 pieces). Arrange an overlapping ring of fondant discs around the edge of the cake. Continue to arrange the overlapping discs towards the center of the cake, alternating the direction in which the circles overlap each other so that each ring forms a rosette pattern. Allow the icing to set for a couple of hours before slicing and serving.
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