

Fondant is like edible modeling clay. It can be shaped, colored, cut or molded. It can turn a plain cake into a work of art. This pliable icing used to be something seldom used by amateurs, but with the advent of cake shows, fondant and other culinary ideas once relegated to professionals have moved right into our living rooms. If you've seen Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss you've seen some in use. A baker can make real works of art with the use of a little modeled sugary decoration.

However, commercial, pre-made fondant can be expensive and frankly doesn't taste very good. With some experimentation, much of it very messy, quite unappetizing and downright dangerous, I've arrived at a simple and inexpensive alternative to the commercial version that is surprisingly easy to work with.

This recipe costs under $10 per cake even including the initial outlay for a multicolor box of food coloring. Typically, I spend less than $5 per cake on fondant ingredients, even for cakes with a dozen colors of it!

All photos on this page by Kylyssa Shay unless otherwise credited.