Fondant (some people refer to them as creams) is not only candy in itself, but it is used as an ingredient for making many other candies such as pecan logs, meltaways, and peppermint candies. It’s even included in some fudge recipes.
The nice thing about fondant is that it can be flavored in many different ways. Varieties include mint, vanilla, maple, chocolate and fruit flavors such as raspberry, strawberry and key lime – the possibilities are endless! It is made with a few simple ingredients; sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and your choice of flavoring. Of course, you could choose not to flavor it while mixing and then divide the batch and give it a few different flavors.
There are cooked fondant recipes and no-cook fondant recipes. Personally, I feel the no-cook fondant recipes are as good as the cooked fondant recipes – and they’re a lot easier to make.
With the no-cook fondant, place all your liquid ingredients in first and blend them in a bowl. I use a stand-up mixer for this. Then add your dry ingredients and mix well. It will have the consistency of Play-Doh. Some people contend that adding the dry ingredients a little at a time works best; others say to put it all in at once. Either way works.
After the fondant is prepared, form it into a large ball, then pull some off and roll it between your palms to make a ball about 1-inch round.
If you plan on dipping the fondant in chocolate – my favorite way of eating it – set the pieces on a cookie sheet that has been lined with wax paper and allow them to set up for a few hours. This creates a crust that makes the balls easier to dip. If you want to roll it in nuts or put a candied fruit on it, do this before the crust sets otherwise it won’t stick.