Fondant - To Eat or Not To Eat - That is the Question

An interesting debate was had as my guests were enjoying the truly scrumptious cake that Christine Dahl created for my wedding day (pictured). By the way, it was a white cake with passion fruit, coconut and butter cream filling. The question was, "do you eat the fondant icing that surrounds the cake or not?"

A little background on fondant according to Wikipedia. "Fondant is a cream confection used as a filling or coating for cakes, pastries, and candies or sweets. In its simplest form, it is sugar and water cooked to a point, specifically the soft-ball stage, cooled slightly, and stirred or beaten until it is an opaque mass of creamy consistency. Fondant is commonly used to decorate wedding cakes. This gives the cakes a smooth appearance." Additionally, most bakers will lavish the cake with butter cream icing before laying the fondant over the cake, so that the fondant can stick to the cake.

For me, I love the taste of fondant, that chewy sugary taste that I just love, you do have to eat it sparingly - in no ways would I buy a tub full and eat it, but I do love the taste with my cake. Others on the other hand peel it off, stating that fondant is just for looks and to keep the cake moist, but it's not to be eaten. In the past, fondant was removed before serving the cake, but cake bakers have come a long way and fondant, to me at least, is very tasty.

Therefore, to my readers I pose this question, "Do you eat your fondant?"

At any rate, I think fondant looks beautiful on cakes and regardless if you are an eater or a peeler, fondant will remain a staple to well crafted and elegant wedding cakes, ultimately it's not about the fondant, but the taste of the actual cake encased inside this sugary confection.

-Percy

Photo by me