fondant refrigerate or not

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Permalink Reply by ceshell on March 5, 2010 at 3:55am

Most chocolate mousse recipes that I have seen require refrigeration. Are you trying to make a mousse and cover it...or a regular cake filled with mousse?

Fondant can be refrigerated, and commercial fondants refrigerate with minimal condensation. I make my fondant so it does sweat a bit but only enough to give the cake a wee bit of shine, and often enough that moisture evaporates anyway and the cake looks like it did when I first applied the fondant. Straight marshmallow fondant gives me the most trouble with moisture though; I prefer recipes with glycerine in them or else ones that don't use marshmallows.

If you really don't want to refrigerate, I would suggest finding a recipe using a nondairy whipped topping that is shelf-stable such as Rich's Bettercreme and then adding pudding or something to turn it into a faux mousse. Personally I'd do a real mousse and refrigerate unless I know that the cake simply must sit out for a long time (sometimes at parties, the cake is the centerpiece, right?!)

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Permalink Reply by jean on March 7, 2010 at 11:20am

Thanks so much. Your not the only one to suggest Rich's Bettercreme. Gonna give it a try & pray it works. Again Thanks!!

ceshell said:

Most chocolate mousse recipes that I have seen require refrigeration. Are you trying to make a mousse and cover it...or a regular cake filled with mousse?

Fondant can be refrigerated, and commercial fondants refrigerate with minimal condensation. I make my fondant so it does sweat a bit but only enough to give the cake a wee bit of shine, and often enough that moisture evaporates anyway and the cake looks like it did when I first applied the fondant. Straight marshmallow fondant gives me the most trouble with moisture though; I prefer recipes with glycerine in them or else ones that don't use marshmallows.

If you really don't want to refrigerate, I would suggest finding a recipe using a nondairy whipped topping that is shelf-stable such as Rich's Bettercreme and then adding pudding or something to turn it into a faux mousse. Personally I'd do a real mousse and refrigerate unless I know that the cake simply must sit out for a long time (sometimes at parties, the cake is the centerpiece, right?!)

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Permalink Reply by ceshell on March 7, 2010 at 2:28pm

You're welcome and it will definitely work! It's just a matter of tracking down the stuff :-). I live on the West Coast and can't find vanilla Bettercreme ANYWHERE. I tracked down chocolate flavored Bettercreme at my local Smart&FInal stores (I think "Cash & Carry" is a similar store for East coasters?) but I'd rather use vanilla and flavor it myself. I found ONE cake shop that carries it (and it's 40 miles away...and I live in a metropolitan area!) - so that is often a longshot. Call around and see if you can track some down. There is a similar product out there called Pastry Pride but I think it has a more "processed" flavor and aftertaste and I threw mine out after trying it once or twice.

Another alternative would be to make a milk chocolate ganache and then whip it to add air. Not quite as light and fluffy as a mousse but still in the ballpark.

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Permalink Reply by shatama on March 10, 2010 at 12:23am

EVERY ONE SAYS DIFFERENT WHEN IT COMES TO FONDANT AND THE FRIDGE. FROM EXPERIENCE I'VE DONE IT PLENTY OF TIMES AND THE CAKES WERE OK. NOT TO MENTION THE CAKE I HAVE AS MY PROFILE PIC. I MADE FOR MY AUNT OVER 3 WEEKS AGO HERS IS IN THE FRIDGE UNHARMED, UNCRACKKED (I KNOW IT'S NOT A WORD) AND, UNEATEN.

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Permalink Reply by jeri c on March 10, 2010 at 3:16am

I never put it in the fridge but I do not use fillings that require refrig. Mainly because after I set up a wedding cake it can be hours before it is cut so I stay away from things that require refirg. The only time I did put one in the fridge it came out sticky so never tried it again.

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Permalink Reply by shatama on March 10, 2010 at 11:57am

I DON''T HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT I'M SORRY. MINES ARE ALWAYS HARD

jeri c said:

I never put it in the fridge but I do not use fillings that require refrig. Mainly because after I set up a wedding cake it can be hours before it is cut so I stay away from things that require refirg. The only time I did put one in the fridge it came out sticky so never tried it again.

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Permalink Reply by Nur Ainee Muhammad on March 10, 2010 at 11:49pm

Im following this thread of discussion with a lot of interest. I have never put my cakes in the fridge before. Im sure the humidity we have here does not help in any way as even taking the cake out of an airconditioned room would require a few hours before the shine (sweat) goes off. Like Jeri, I usually stay away from any cake/filling that requires refridgeration but I would like to put the fondant covered cake in the fridge just to experiment. Will let yu guys know of the outcome. Ironically, the humidity here requires the cake to dry/harden so putting it in the fridge will certainly defeat the purpose.

shatama said:

I DON''T HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT I'M SORRY. MINES ARE ALWAYS HARD

jeri c said:

I never put it in the fridge but I do not use fillings that require refrig. Mainly because after I set up a wedding cake it can be hours before it is cut so I stay away from things that require refirg. The only time I did put one in the fridge it came out sticky so never tried it again.

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Permalink Reply by Eva Johnson on March 11, 2010 at 10:38am

Could you please share your recipe for fondant? I am new to decorating with fondant. I prefer to make cakes from scratch as well as the fondant too. I tried one recipe using glycerine and unflavored gelatin and I made a rubber ball. I repeated it again with the same result. My husband (my math wizard) reviewed the amounts used in the recipe and it appears what is printed in my book is a misprint (unless you need a rubber ball). I then made a fondant using marshmallow. It was still soft after 30hours (made turrets for a castle). It would have been fine except that I had to drive the cake over 50 miles. Plus, it is sooo sweet. Even the children didn't eat the fondant. Please help. Thank you.

ceshell said:

Most chocolate mousse recipes that I have seen require refrigeration. Are you trying to make a mousse and cover it...or a regular cake filled with mousse?

Fondant can be refrigerated, and commercial fondants refrigerate with minimal condensation. I make my fondant so it does sweat a bit but only enough to give the cake a wee bit of shine, and often enough that moisture evaporates anyway and the cake looks like it did when I first applied the fondant. Straight marshmallow fondant gives me the most trouble with moisture though; I prefer recipes with glycerine in them or else ones that don't use marshmallows.

If you really don't want to refrigerate, I would suggest finding a recipe using a nondairy whipped topping that is shelf-stable such as Rich's Bettercreme and then adding pudding or something to turn it into a faux mousse. Personally I'd do a real mousse and refrigerate unless I know that the cake simply must sit out for a long time (sometimes at parties, the cake is the centerpiece, right?!)

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Permalink Reply by ceshell on March 12, 2010 at 3:30am

I use Michele Foster's fondant recipe - you can google it (be sure to put only one L in Michele) or find it on cakecentral.com in the recipe section. I also occasionally use the straightforward marshmallow fondant recipe, the one with just marshmallows and powdered sugar (and a little bit of water) but I prefer the M.F. recipe. It has never turned out like a rubber ball!

Eva Johnson said:

Could you please share your recipe for fondant? I am new to decorating with fondant. I prefer to make cakes from scratch as well as the fondant too. I tried one recipe using glycerine and unflavored gelatin and I made a rubber ball. I repeated it again with the same result. My husband (my math wizard) reviewed the amounts used in the recipe and it appears what is printed in my book is a misprint (unless you need a rubber ball). I then made a fondant using marshmallow. It was still soft after 30hours (made turrets for a castle). It would have been fine except that I had to drive the cake over 50 miles. Plus, it is sooo sweet. Even the children didn't eat the fondant. Please help. Thank you.

ceshell said:

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