Buttercream vs. Fondant for your Wedding Cake. A case for fondant.

Buttercream vs. Fondant

From time to time I have a bride and her family come into the shop wanting “something simple”…   …they say that while handing me a photo from the latest bridal magazine or from Martha Stewart, Ron Ben Israel or a wedding website such as The Knot.

Almost always, the cake is designed in fondant, and they tell me they want this design, but it has to be buttercream.

What they may not realize is that the vast majority of these cakes are display cakes and were designed for inspiration. Styrofoam dummies covered in fondant and sugarpaste. And they took many hours to produce, not counting the hours and cost to custom design molds and templates.

They tell me they don’t want fondant because it “tastes horrible”.  And when I ask if they have ever tried fondant, the majority say no….  they have just heard about the way it tastes.

Now, I can understand that… after all, I probably won’t have time to taste everything or do everything myself to see if I like it.  So I will from time to time rely on the opinions of others.

A story of my past comes to mind.  I remember while dealing with those in the corporate world that most deals happened on the golf course as opposed to the boardroom.  And at the time, I thought golf was an incredibly boring and a somewhat stupid sport.  And wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

Now, having said that and also having close friends that loved golf…  they convinced me that the reason I didn’t like golf was because I wasn’t any good at it.  That if I took a few lessons I might change my mind.  Okay, point taken. At the time, I was taking a few classes at a local college and as it happed to be… they offered a semester of golf as one of their physical education classes.  So, I signed up, took the class and did indeed get much better at the game of golf.

Now, I know for a fact, that as least for me…. Golf is the most underwhelming game I’ve ever played. It’s even worse now; most courses won’t let you walk the course… You have to use a golf cart to “hurry up”.  So now, it’s just the little ball and chasing it around.

So, point taken, you may very well not like fondant should you try it.  But I invite you to taste it.

For me as a cake designer, there isn’t much you can’t do if you use fondant.  And I really have a hard time figuring out why a bride wouldn’t want it.  A fondant cake and a buttercream cake are the same cake.  It’s just that a fondant cake has a thin layer of fondant on top of the buttercream. As least, that’s the way I design my cakes.

And, fondant can be quite good.  I make mine from scratch and can flavor it many ways.  There are other cake designers that make their fondant from scratch as well… and the Internet is filled with marshmallow-based recipes that have a wonderful taste.  Fondant gives your cake a wonderful clean look and it also protects and insulates the cake.  And the truth is, your guests will only receive a very small piece with their slice anyway.

So, I’m a little dismayed as to why most brides won’t try fondant.  Here are a few reasons fondant may have gotten that reputation.  So I invite you to ask your cake designer what they do. For example:

Some cake designers buy manufactured fondant that has more chemicals listed in the ingredients list than foods you would recognize.

Some cake designers may apply the fondant days before delivery, causing it to dry out, which may make the taste less appealing.  After all the show cakes are all covered in fondant and you know how hard it gets.

Some cake designers put fondant-covered cakes in the cooler overnight.  Moisture reacts badly with fondant, causing it to “melt” giving it a very sticky taste and appearance.

When you order a fondant cake from us, we make the fondant from scratch, completely fresh.   We also apply the fondant the day of your wedding, so it is very soft and sweet.

We care that the taste of your cake equals the design of your cake.  …just simply delicious.  So give it try, you just might like it…  or you just might start playing golf.