FONDANT BIRTHDAY CAKES

A birthday isn’t complete without a birthday cake. Whether you’re into outstanding birthday cake designs or simple yet delicious birthday cake flavors. Fondant birthday cake is right for you.

 

Fondant is a pre-rolled icing often used to cover cakes. Fondant is made from gelatin and food-grade glycerine, which helps the sugar flexible and creates a dough-like consistency. It can also be made using powdered sugar and melted marshmallows. You can cover any cake that has been iced with buttercream or ganache. Fondant will make the cake a smooth professional look and you can do anything you want with a fondant covered cake. The fondant will also keep the cake moist, once it is covered you are essentially sealing your cake in an “air-tight container” and the cake will keep up to a week, depending on any fillings.

 

Fondant is very pliable. It can be molded and kneaded into all forms of shapes. It can also be colored with various dyes. These features make it ideal for decorating cakes. Many cake makers drape sheets of rolled fondant over their basic cakes to cover them before decorating with finishing touches.

 

Fondants have two main types, these are rolled and poured. Rolled fondant is draped over cakes and also used to create specific shapes and/or designs. This is the most widely used form of fondant. It is made with sugar, water and corn syrup, it is more like a sweet dough. To make a pliable dough, gelatin and/or glycerine is added. It will be rolled out into sheets that can be colored and used to decorate cakes. On the other hand, Poured fondant is creamy is a sweet paste usually used as an icing or filling for cakes and other pastries. Just like rolled fondant, poured fondant is made of sugar, water and corn syrup. 

 

Fondant is mainly made by supersaturation of water with sucrose or sugar. Water can only hold so much sugar. When it is heated and reaches its boiling point, it can hold over twice as much. The best fondant is made by boiling water and sugar together until it forms a softball. Cream of tartar is also added sometimes for extra stability. Once it’s ready, you can then thin it out more with corn syrup to make poured fondant. Or you can roll into sheets to produce rolled fondant.

 

If you are looking for a simple fondant cake recipe, we have here two fondant cake recipes that you could choose from. The first one is a chocolate fondant cake recipe while the second one is a vanilla fondant cake.

 

Here is the best recipe in making a chocolate fondant cake that is perfect for birthdays: 

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of flour

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 cups of buttermilk

2/3 cup of cooking oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 pieces

 

Other ingredients:

1 recipe Marshmallow Fondant

1 recipe Mocha Ganache Frosting

1 recipe Whipped Mocha Frosting

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. After you preheat the oven, grease and flour two 9 x 2 inch cake pans.

 

Using a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, making sure the dry ingredients are well blended. 

 

Sift dry ingredient mixture and then add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat until just combined.  Add the egg and beat for a couple of minutes more, then spread batter into the prepared pans, putting an even amount of batter in both.

 

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. You can use a toothpick to check if it’s done. Just insert a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean then you’re good to go.  Allow to cool for 10 mins. in a pan, then flip out of the pan and cool completely on the cooling rack.  Using a bread knife or long serrated knife, slice the rounded cake top off, to achieve a level surface, if desired.

 

While the cake is baking, make the ganache frosting and leave out, since it needs to be spread while warm.  Make the whipped mocha frosting which can be refrigerated while waiting for the cake to cool, if need be.

 

Here is the recipe for making vanilla fondant cake that is ideal for birthdays:

 

INGREDIENTS

4 whole eggs (separated at room temperature)

3 egg whites (at room temperature)

2 1/4 cups of sugar (must be divided)

¾ cup of room temperature butter

¾ cup of shortening

1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract

3 cups of cake flour 

(Note: To make cake flour, replace 2 tbsp of flour with cornstarch per cup. So, for this recipe, add all the flour to a bowl, remove 6 tbsp and then add 6 tbsp of cornstarch. Whisk well to combine.)

2 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup buttermilk, full fat, at room temperature

 

Optional Ingredients:

½ teaspoon lemon extract

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 325 F. After preheating the oven, grease and flour three or four 8 or 9 inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with a round of parchment paper that is also slathered with a bit of butter or shortening.

 

Separate the 4 whole eggs, placing the 4 yolks in a small bowl and the whites in a separate medium size bowl. Add the 3 additional egg whites to the other 4 for a total of 7 egg whites. 

 

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy. Slowly pour in 1/4 cup of the sugar, beating as you pour. Continue to beat until the meringue is glossy and stiff peaks form when you lift the whisk from the beaten egg whites. Then set aside.

 

Fit the standing mixer with the paddle attachment and cream the butter, shortening and remaining 2 cups of sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl a time or two. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extracts.

 

Add 2 of the egg yolks and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining 2 egg yolks, beat for about 20 seconds, until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

 

Add the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg to a large bowl and mix with a wire whisk just to combine.

 

Beating on low speed, add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, in 3 additions, beginning and ending with the flour: 1/3 of the flour, 1/2 of the buttermilk, 1/3 of the flour, 1/2 of the buttermilk, 1/3 of the flour. With each addition, beat on low speed, just long enough to incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

 

With a rubber spatula, gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter just until distributed. You should still see some streaks of egg white throughout the batter. Do not over mix.

 

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. If baking 3 layers, bake for 40-50 min. If baking four layers, bake for 30-35 minutes. When done, the cakes will be golden brown and pull away from the sides of the pan. To check for doneness, stick a toothpick into the center of one of the layers. Remove the toothpick and look for signs of raw batter. If only cake crumbs stick to the toothpick, the cake is done. You can also scoop a tiny amount of cake from the center of one of the layers to check for doneness. 

 

Let the cakes cool on wire racks for 5 minutes in the pan, then gently turn them out of the pans onto the wire racks to cool completely. If you don’t plan on frosting the layers immediately, wrap each tightly with plastic wrap. The layers can be stored at room temperature for 1 day, or frozen for up to 2 months.

 

There you have it! Fondant birthday cakes could elevate every birthday celebration into something more special. 

 

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