Sunday 1 December 2013

How to Harden Fondant Quickly

   Hello everyone! I stumbled across something recently while making a cake for my crafting challenge, and I needed my fondant to harden quickly. I read that, for the most part, you should add tylo powder to the fondant as you kneed it and that'll help it set faster. Of course, I had read this only after painstakingly carving out what I needed, and I didn't want to redo it all, and I don't have any tylo powder anymore anyway. So I was a bit stuck. But then I stumbled onto a few forum posts.

   To harden fondant quickly after you've shaped it, you'll need the help of your oven, especially if you live somewhere humid. First of all, it needs to be said that heat will soften and even melt the fondant, so you don't ever want to put the fondant in an oven that is on. Instead, turn your oven on to a low setting and preheat it for 5-10 minutes. I have a gas oven, so I go for about half a gas mark at most and heat it up for 5 minutes. Once the oven is warm, I turn it off, then put the fondant in and set the timer for 10 minutes. The heat from the oven is dry, and it'll rid the fondant of moisture, and though the fondant is still soft when it comes out, it doesn't lose shape and it hardened up when it was allowed to cool for a few minutes. I've tried this with small and large pieces of fondant - small were my G.N.E.R.D.S. and large was the topping for a cake - and it's worked well, but the larger piece definitely took more time in the end.

   If you're making a fondant flower or something with lots of bits, I'd dry the petals and leaves separately in the oven before attaching them together. Dry fondant can be stuck together with tylose powder and water or some royal icing which effectively makes an edible glue, or into some soft fondant that will be hidden in the centre.

   I've heard other people say that turning the light on in the oven, but leaving the oven off at the same time, will also help. I don't have an oven like that, so I can't say for certain, but this pre-heating method works just fine for me.



31 comments:

  1. You have literally just saved my butt-ercream! I made a perfect rainbow to go over my cakefor this weekend and it snapped when i picked it up to place it last night... there were no tears Iam proud to say. I got to making another one, added tylose to the fondant and left it overnight to dry. BUT, it was still too soft to stand on its own when I got up this morning. Pulled your trick and BAM! Dry and stable rainbow!

    I have an electric oven. Did this once at 75degreesC and then again at 100degrees, leaving it in for about 10 minutes the second time.

    I so appreciate your help. There will be one happy 4 year old in Australia as a result.
    - Sam, Tasty Art Creations.

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    1. Awesome! I'm so glad I could help! In truth I tried it out because I was impatient but it's good to know it's saved an emergency! I hope there was a VERY happy 4 year old! :D

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  2. Thank-you so much. You've saved my 6 years old bday cake. I made a fondant monster high doll for my daughter and this worked great. Her party is today and I just finished the cake due to your help so thank you again.

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  3. Hello kim! Quick question, The fondant won't start melting once you put it in a warm oven? and do u make ur own fondant? 😊

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    1. Hi Olgita! No, I've never tried to make my own fondant. But as for melting the fondant, this is why the oven should be set to the lowest possible heat: not so hot that it will melt it, but just warm enough to evaporate the water in the fondant.

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    2. Spent ages making an Iggle Piggle. Put it in the oven and it melted and I had to throw it away. The oven had been on but was off when I put the figure in. Guess it was still too hot. Be careful!

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  4. I am rolling my fondant on a texture mat. Will this have any effect on the design?

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    1. It really shouldn't as long as the heat is low - the fondant shouldn't move, melt, smear or anything so you should be just as fine as the rest of us ^^

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    2. Do you have central air? I made 2 teddy bears for a cake topper about 3 months ago and they are still soft. We do not have central air. Any ideas?

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  5. Hmmm. I made dozens of stars to thread as a garland round my daughter's wedding cake (with tylose). They hardened nicely, but then I stored them in an airtight tupperware with kitchen paper between the layers and white bread to wick up the moisture. I've checked them a week later...and they are soft again :( How should I best store these 'flowers' for the next few weeks to keep them hard please?

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  6. Found this thread while looking for an answer for something (I didn't find it) lol but I notice wild swimmers comment about storing it, I'm no expert but iv been told not to store it in a airtight container and just a cake box to help them dry , possibly why yours were soft again , just thought I'd add the comment of my knowledge I'm off in search of my answer now haha happy baking x

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  7. Fondant holds up best if left to air dry, they won't soften again if left in the open, that's what I do. In a different note, I'm going to try this now, I'm making fondant camping chairs and I need them to be firm enough to hold fondant people. Thanks!

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  8. Hi, i am new to this. i was wondering if you could give me tips on how to make a spout and handle for a teapot cake using the same method? any bit of advise would be truly helpfulx

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    1. I'd love to be able to help, but I've not made anything like that before - have you checked the tutorials and forums on Cake Central? There's a whole forum dedicated to cake decorating, and a lot of that revolves around fondant: http://www.cakecentral.com/forum/c/9/cake-decorating

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    2. That is no problem at all, thank you for the reply. i will try this way and see how i go :) thank you x

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    3. You can get a clay extruder from the hobby store. Extrude a perfect line and shape your handle from that. Make sure to put a little cisco or coconut oil in the extruder first.

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    4. You could also try using rice crispy treats to make them. They hold shape very well.

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  9. Thanks so much. I have to cover a cake board tomorrow. .. forgot to do it today. But want the fondant to dry up asap.

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  10. Please help howlong does it take to harden my crwon fondant to put it on the top of the cake
    And if i make it aweek before will it soften again
    Thanks alot

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    1. I couldn't say how long it will take to harden because I don't know how much you're using. Start with 10 minutes as described above, then remove and let it cool. If it needs a little longer, reheat the oven, then put it back in for no more than 5 minutes.

      As for making it a week in advance, you shouldn't need to harden it in the oven. This method is for last-minute bakers.
      If, however, you did harden it in the oven one week ahead of time, it would have enough time to possibly soften again. In this case, you probably couldn't put it back in the oven without risking damage.

      I would say your best bet is definitely to make it 1 week ahead and let it dry naturally.

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    2. Thank u very much i so appreciate your help

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  11. Excuse me can i put my cake coverd with fondant in the fridge after finish it for 3-4 hours
    Will it soften my harden shaps
    Thanks for help

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    1. It should be just fine in the fridge if it's just for a few hours.

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    2. Thanks alot u are very helpful

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  12. Hi, I live in very humid weather. If I use this method to harden the toppers and then keep them out at room temperature, will they soften again?

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    1. It is possible. This method is really only suitable for last-minute projects, such as cake decorations that are needed the very next day, so I would say either make it ahead of time and let it dry out naturally, or make it the day before it's needed and use the oven to dry it out the day.

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  13. Hi, ive made numbers out of store bought fondant. Dries it out for two days and it was hard to the touch. Put them on top of butter cream cupcakes and the next morning the were soft and fell flat. Why is this. Can anyone help?

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    1. Was there a lot of buttercream? If it was a deliciously piped mound, then there would have been a lot of moisture involved which the numbers likely absorbed. If you can remove the numbers from the buttercream you could put them in the oven to dry them out again, though you do risk cracking.
      With large cakes the buttercream is thin and spread out so there's less moisture in one area for fondant to absorb, so fondant is generally fine on larger cakes for a longer period of time.
      Thickly-frosted cupcakes, though, are another matter. All that moisture is just waiting to be absorbed, so it's best to place fondant on cupcakes the same day they're to be presented.

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  14. It has been raining all day in Bangalore, India and my gumpaste rainbow wont dry....i just tried the oven trick and it worked....nice and stiff. Thank you

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  15. Hi I stay in Singapore and am trying Satin Ice gumpaste rainbow..tried hairdryer, aircon, oven light( light on only, not heated oven) but my gumpaste is floppy and not a hard rainbow..what do I do wrong..Also, one loop is cracking

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    1. It's been a really long time since I've used anything like this, but if your surroundings are warm and humid then it may not work. I'm not honestly sure.
      I would think a hairdryer would be too hot, and the force of the blow would possibly damage the gumpaste. And as I've stated, I don't have an electric oven, I'm merely passing on what I've heard in this case.
      You want to put it somewhere warm, not hot, and dry.
      And if a loop is cracking, it sounds like that part has already dried out.

      Gumpaste dries hard naturally whereas fondant doesn't, and this post is about hardening fondant. It's possible that the process doesn't work for gumpaste and it should just be allowed to dry naturally.

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