Looking for a simple poured fondant recipe? Fondant is a very versatile type of cake decorating icing. In addition to its most common rolled form, fondant can also be used as a glaze. When fondant is poured over your cake or dessert, it creates a hard, shiny, smooth coating. This can be easier than trying to frost your cake or small desserts by hand.

You might have heard of a type of dessert called “petit fours” which is French for “small oven.” These are small dainty desserts often made from sponge cake and are sometimes found at wedding receptions and baby showers. They often are covered with pastel decorations.

You don’t need to make poured fondant from scratch. There are many pre-made varieties to choose from, including powders that you mix with water and heat up on your stove, to solid fondant that you melt until it reaches the right consistency. Dry powdered fondant can be mixed with unsalted butter and water, alcohol, or flavoring to make poured fondant icing.

However, if you want to make your own poured fondant recipe, it really isn’t that hard, considering you probably already have the ingredients stockpiled in your pantry.

The following recipe yields 4 cups (enough to pour over an entire cake) and gives you a thick fondant shell with a sweet vanilla flavor.

6 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon clear pure vanilla extract

Simply combine all ingredients together in a large and heavy saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until the mixture reaches 110 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Pour evenly over your cake.

For petit fours, if you try to pour the mixture over each one you’ll be sure to make a mess and waste a lot of fondant. Instead pick up each piece with a long, pronged utensil, such as a kebob holder or chocolate fork (I like to use a campfire roasting fork).

Hold the petit four in one hand over your bowl of warm fondant. With the other hand, take a spoon and cover the petit four on all sides with your poured fondant. The excess won’t make a mess but will simply drip down back into the bowl. Once it’s covered, slide the petit four off your fork with the flat edge of a knife onto a cooling rack. Continue with the rest of your pieces. As the fondant cools, the shell will harden completely.

If you enjoy working with poured fondant and are looking for ideas and inspiration, one book I would recommend for your library is Pretty Party Cakes by Peggy Porschen. She is well known around the world for making cupcakes, petit fours and other small treats look both yummy and fanciful with poured fondant!

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Do you get bits of crumbs stuck in your frosting? You’re not alone. Many home bakers struggle to get a smooth finish on their cake, despite doing all they can to make their cake look “professional.” In cake lingo, the secret to a super-smooth cake is what’s called a “crumb coat”. A crumb coat is used to describe a thin layer of frosting that keeps crumbs where they belong–on the cake–not the frosting! This article outlines 3 simple steps you can use to create the professional look you’ve always wanted.

The Wilton #789 Cake Icer tip
can make applying your crumb coat
much easier.

1. After your cake has finished baking let it cool completely on a cooling rack. Level the cake using your preferred method (whether it be by hand or with a cake leveler) and brush off any remaining crumbs.

2. Gently spread a thin layer of frosting across all sides of the cake. Start with the top first and then do the sides. You don’t have to make it look perfect at this stage. A thin layer is all you need. You should still be able to see the cake itself through the frosting. A tool which may make life easier for you is the Wilton #789 Cake Icer tip. Some people prefer using this enormous cake decorating tip instead of a spatula. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Buddy from the Cake Boss use this tip or a similar one to apply a crumb coat to his cakes before adding fondant. Except, instead of a crumb coat Buddy calls it “dirty icing”, probably because the crumbs in the frosting make it look dirty.

3. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. This allows the cake to settle and the frosting will crust over and harden slightly. This settling will hold in any crumbs you missed brushing off earlier.

When the next layer of frosting is applied you won’t have to worry about any crumbs messing up your presentation. Applying a crumb coat is so easy. Yet this simple step is so often overlooked by many beginner bakers. In the video below a square cake is used for the demonstration but the same idea applies if you have a round cake.

For tips and tricks on getting a smooth finish after you apply the crumb coat, you can read this post: Cake Decorating Icing Tips and Tricks for a Smooth Finish.

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