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I am a student training to become a baker or pastry chef someday. Life in general excites me and I love new challenges. I am currently studying baking and pastry at culinary school and seriously considering pursuing a career in research and development.

Monday, August 16, 2010

A Rope to Lasso a Groom's Cake




I cannot tell you how much I LOVE weddings! The music, the way everyone rises when the bride shows up at the back of the church, the way the couple looks at each other as they say their vows, and most of all the playfulness of the bride and groom as they share their first bite of cake as a married couple!
This past weekend I went to a friends wedding in Austin and was fortunate enough to get to work on a real wedding cake. The bride's mother asked if I would make a fondant rope to go around three tiers on the grooms cake. I was ecstatic and slightly nervous because this was a big deal. After surfing the web to find a credible fondant recipe I ran across a recipe from whatscookingamerica.com:

Marshmallow Fondant

16 oz white mini-marshmallows (choose a good quality brand)
2-5 tbsp water
2 pounds icing sugar (preferably C&H brand Cane Powdered Sugar)
1/2 cup of Crisco Shortening

*For chocolate, add 1 oz of melted (high quality) chocolate to the melted marshmallow mixture and add 1 tbsp of cocoa powder to the icing sugar.

Method:
Using a double boiler, melt the marshmallows and 2 tbsp of water in a large bowl. Once the mixture is all melted, add 3/4 of the powdered sugar to the bowl and mix gently. Grease a large area of your counter or butcher block with Crisco (be generous). Then, grease all over your hands GENEROUSLY and take the bowl of marshmallow mix and powdered sugar and scoop that mixture onto the counter. Knead everything together and add the rest of the powdered sugar in stages until the fondant is no longer so sticky, but it shouldn't be cracking too much. If you feel like it is too dry just add a 1/2 tbsp of water and knead again. Repeat that process until it is the right consistency. (Don't be scared about messing it up because you can always add more icing sugar if it becomes to sticky again)
The fondant can be colored using gel food coloring and it can be stored in a plastic bag (remove as much air as possible) in the fridge for several weeks. I really like this fondant because it actually tastes good compared to store-bought fondants.
Let me share with you one thing I did wrong when I made the rope: I twisted the top and middle tiers rope the same way, however, I twisted the bottom tiers rope the wrong way and it didn't match the other two. Luckily, the cake designer, Hope, was able to place the groom's chocolate-dipped strawberries over the bottom tiers fondant rope so that no one even knew there was a mistake. What a weekend!