Vegan Fondant–with stepwise pictures

Fondant is a product I got introduced in the last few years. I was so intimidated by it when I first saw and now I am more comfortable and love using it. Have you ever wondered at the pictures of tiered wedding cakes which look more like a photo and less like a cake and also the beautiful beads and decorations on them?? Looks awesome and so professionally done.. I have used store bought Fondant in the past and this time I tried my hands on home made one. I got this recipe from Veena who was sweet enough to share her recipe. It is very simple to do.. Hard part is finding the ingredients.. From ifoodtv – “History of Fondant  - Usage of fondant is traced back to 15th century, where people decorated their cakes with paste made from a mixture of sugar and almonds. Another earlier version was made with egg white, rosewater, lemon juice, and gum paste. Fondant, in early times, was mostly used in candies. It came to be used as an icing in the 20th century. In recent years, using rolled fondant has become a popular practice in cake decoration.” There are two types of Fondant – rolled fondant and poured fondant. This is rolled fondant.

Ingredients

Vegetarian Gelatin - 1 table spoon
Cold Water - 1/4 cup
Liquid Glucose / Corn Syrup - 1/2 cup
Glycerin - 1 table spoon
Veg Shortening / Ghee - 2 table spoons
Icing Sugar - 8 cups

Method

Mix together vegetarian gelatin and water and set aside for 10 minutes
Using double boiler method, heat the gelatin mixture until it is all dissolved
Add the glucose and glycerin and mix well
Once it is all well mixed, add the shortening and remove from heat before it is fully melted
Allow it to become lukewarm
Meanwhile, to a clean bowl, sieve 4 cups of the icing sugar and make a well in the center
Pour the lukewarm solution and mix it with a wooden spoon until the stickiness is all gone
Add more icing sugar to achieve this non sticky mass
Continue kneading with hands until the fondant is smooth, pliable and no longer sticking to the hands

If the mixture is soft, add icing sugar and if it is too dry, add cold water (a drop at a time)
Now the fondant is ready to use immediately or store it in an air tight ziploc in fridge until use.
When ready to use, remove the fondant from the fridge and bring it to room temperature and use it.
You can use fondant to cover cakes, cupcakes, make shapes and decorate the cakes with the shapes. It is fun
You could also add essence and color if required.