If you are looking to decorate a cake and you want to make sure that the design is everything you are looking for in appearance, there’s a good chance that you are going to want to rely on fondant for the majority of the design.
Fondant is an incredibly common product that is used in decorating cakes in a fast, efficient manner or setting a platform for more intricate decorations. Because of how often people tend to use fondant to decorate their cakes, it can be hard to determine just how much you should be using.
Even if you measure everything out and plan for the appropriate amount of fondant, there is always going to be the possibility that you end up with more fondant than you know what to do with.
After all, it is better to end up making too much fondant and having some to use later rather than not making enough and having to skimp on the decorations. With that being said, if you have extra fondant left over, you may not know what to do with it or whether or not it can be stored.
If you are someone who doesn’t decorate cakes often and you only made the fondant for a one-time occasion and you don’t plan on using the fondant ever again, you might be more inclined to throw it out and not do anything about it.
On the other hand, if you are someone who decorates cakes regularly, whether for business or for your own interest, you are probably going to want to end up keeping the fondant for later.
Storing fondant can help you not only save money on purchasing the ingredients for another batch of fondant but it can also mean that you will have some smaller pieces to use on cakes that are a bit more intricate.
With this in mind, you might be wondering what the best way to store your fondant is going to be. There are many different ways that bakers choose to store their ingredients and storing ingredients in the wrong place can mean that you will have a lot of wasted food on your hands.
When all is said and done, the way that you store fondant will depend on the type of fondant you are using.
What Types of Fondant Are There?
There are two primary types of fondant that most bakers will come across. There is “rolled” fondant, which has a dough-like consistency and creates a smooth, iced and satiny surface. This is either bought from stores or homemade.
There is another type of fondant that is known as a “quick-pour” fondant. This type of fondant tends to be very sweet, shiny, and vibrantly colored. Because this type of fondant should be used immediately, it is very rarely bought from stores and is almost exclusively homemade.
Both types of fondant have their own properties that you will want to consider when you are decorating a cake as each fondant will offer different features. One fondant is more textured, meaning that you can cut, mold, and form it into decorations for your cakes.
The other type of fondant is practically a liquid that dries out to become a nice fondant, meaning that you can’t really use it for decoration so much as covering a cake.
How Long Will Frozen Fondant Last?
When it comes to storing your fondant, rolled fondant should never be put into the fridge or the freezer as this can mess with the consistency and texture of the fondant.
This means that if you are wondering how long you can freeze rolled fondant, the answer is that you cannot freeze it. Instead, you should coat the fondant with vegetable shortening, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it into an airtight container.
The other type of fondant, quick-pour fondant, can be frozen and used at a later time. The process for freezing this type of fondant is very simple.
Generally, you will want to wrap the fondant up in plastic wrap and put the fondant into an airtight container; from there, you can simply place the container into the freezer and let it sit.
It is generally recommended that you actually refrigerate quick-pour fondant, although if you have no space in your fridge or you plan on storing it for long periods of time, putting it into the freezer may be the better solution.
When it has been in the freezer, you should do a quick taste test to make sure that it hasn’t changed dramatically in taste, texture, or consistency before applying it to a cake again.
As for how long your frozen fondant can last, you can expect it to last several weeks in the freezer. If you are worried about the quality of the fondant dropping, you will want to check on it occasionally by heating it up and seeing if anything has changed dramatically.
However, fondant does not require a lot of maintenance so once you place the container full of fondant into the freezer, you can leave it alone until you are ready to use it again.
How Do You Thaw Frozen Fondant Out?
Speaking of using the fondant again, there will eventually come a time where you decide that you are ready to use the remainder of the fondant that you had previously stored in the freezer.
Because you cannot necessarily pour a chunk of frozen fondant onto a cake or a dessert, you will first want to thaw it out properly so that it retains its quick-pour properties.
When thawing out your fondant, it will always be better to be more cautious than too ambitious, meaning that you can reheat it at a lower temperature for longer rather than overheating the fondant and rendering it useless.
As you work to thaw your fondant out, you will want to heat it up slowly and watch as it reheats to ensure that it doesn’t go beyond the consistency that it should be.
Generally, heating it on a low setting for a longer period of time will yield better results than heating it quickly as it is easier to continue heating the fondant than it is to try and repair overheated fondant.
Eventually, your fondant will reach a consistency where it can be poured onto your dessert again and you can continue using it as you otherwise would.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.