Fondant is an amazing type of icing that is used to sculpt and decorate cakes. It is made from sugar, water, corn syrup, and glycerol, and when rolled, it is similar to dough or clay. It can also be poured and used as a filling in desserts.
You make fondant by supersaturating water with sucrose. When you heat water to boiling, it can hold twice as much sugar as it can at room temperature.
You boil them together until they become a soft ball. Then, you roll it out and use it to decorate your cake.
Tips for Using Fondant

Fondant is a versatile way to decorate your cake, and it can be flavored, molded, twisted, shaped into decorative objects, and colored. You should apply a sticky surface to the cake before you apply the fondant so that it will take hold. You can use buttercream, which will allow it to stick and tastes delicious.
You need to cool the cake completely before you cover it with rolled fondant. This will help to tighten up the crumbs and make the cake more solid.
Fondant is sugar based, so you need to apply it to the cake within a few days of serving it. If you do it too far in advance, it may break down from the moisture in the cake.
Storing Fondant
Fondant dries quickly, so you need to keep it wrapped in plastic. You can store it for one or two months at room temperature wrapped in plastic wrap, but make sure that you do not refrigerate or freeze it.
If it gets hard, you can soften it in the microwave for a few seconds.
Does Fondant Harden on its Own?

Fondant will harden when it is exposed to air, but how quickly it hardens will depend on the humidity and the air temperature. In humid environments, it takes longer to dry.
When you have made decorations for a cake, you need them to harden so that they will hold their form. You also need to dry the fondant on the cake before you can paint on it or decorate it.
You cannot put a fondant cake in the refrigerator or freezer because it will attract moisture. When you take it out, it will melt and become goopy and lose the clean professional look. You need to find another way to help it dry and then store it at room temperature until it is served.
How to Dry Fondant Fast
You can leave fondant out at room temperature, and it will normally dry in 24 to 30 hours. However, there may be times when you need to speed up the process. Take a look at the following tips for drying your fondant fast.
1 – Roll it Thin

When you roll fondant so that it is thinner, it will dry faster. The thicker pieces will remain soft on the inside, and you need to be very careful with them. If you roll it thinner, you will not need to wait nearly as long.
You can roll it thin and shape the decorations, then leave them on a flat surface. You can actually leave them on a grid rack to dry.
2 – Dry Fondant with Your Oven Light
You can place your fondant on a cookie sheet with a liner and place it in the oven. Turn the oven light on, and let it sit. If you have thinly rolled fondant, it could dry in as little as an hour.
You will save yourself a great deal of time by using this method. Just make sure that nobody turns the oven on while your fondant is drying.
3 – Use a Table Lamp

Another way to dry your fondant quickly is to use a table lamp. You do not want a high watt bulb, just a simple table lamp will do. Do not place the table lamp too close to the fondant, but place it above about the same distance as from the center rack of the oven to the oven light.
As long as the humidity in your kitchen isn’t too high, you should be able to dry thin smaller pieces in around an hour, and larger pieces will be dry in two or three hours.
4 – Dry Pieces of the Decorations Separately
If you plan to put together an animal or some other decoration, you should let it dry first and use an edible glue to put it together. If you put it together before it is dry, you may have trouble drying the center of the pieces. This could lead to cracking because the outside will dry faster than the inside.
5 – Try Using a Fan

When you move the air around the fondant, you can push the drying process along. Place the fondant on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper and set it on a counter next to a fan.
It will take a few hours to dry it, but it will take less time than it would without the fan.
6 – Use a Hair Dryer
This method will work for decorations that you have already placed on the cake. You should set the hair dryer on the cold or low heat setting and hold it six inches away from the decorations. Move it around to help circulate the air.
7 – Use a Food Dehydrator

If you have a food dehydrator, this is the best way to dry your fondant fast. You can place the fondant decorations inside, and they will dry in 10% of the time it would otherwise take.
If you don’t have a food dehydrator but are looking for one, there are several options to choose from starting from a simple digital dehydrator and going up to the Ninja Foodi Smart XL (which can do plenty of other functions as well, including baking).
8 – Add a Drying Agent to Your Fondant
There are several drying agents that you can add to your fondant to help it dry faster. Tylose and gum paste are two that you can use, and it will help the fondant to dry more quickly.
You should also make sure that you use cornstarch on your surface and hands when you are working with fondant to keep it dry.
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.
Lori J. Goedken
Thursday 25th of August 2022
Help!!!
Thank you for the tips. I made a rainbow and it’s on day 4 and not solid dry yet.
What temperature can I dehydrate on to speed up the process? Cake is due in less than 2 days. I have a ninja 10xl.
Thank you so much!
Cindy
Friday 6th of August 2021
You just saved me a trip into town! Thank you for your tips!!!
Connie
Saturday 30th of January 2021
Very helpful tips, thank you!