Ganache vs fondant vs frosting

[lauralu]

So we have changed our mind on our cake and this is a pic of what we would like. Only 2 tiers instead of just one. We are having a desert table as well, so we are not worried about not having enough cake for everyone. Not everyone likes cake anyway..

My question is this....We do not want to do the entire cake in fondant because neither of us likes the taste of Fondant. However, I do want to do the flowers in fondant to get that awesome molded look to them.

Can an entire cake be frosted with ganache? I have seen smaller cakes at bakeries in the displays frosted this way. However never anything bigger than a very small cake.

Or would it taste right to have regular wedding cake frosting on the cake with the flowers being fondant?

Anyone have any ideas for me?

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

The cake below is entirely fondant.

A lot of bakers like to use fondant because it can cover a lot of imperfections (yet still needs to be perfect to look right!) and it provides a smooth and clean canvas for them to work on. Buttercream is hard to get smooth and flawless and mars (gets messed up) easily. Ganache is basically just melted chocolate. I don''t think I''ve ever seen an entire cake frosted in ganache, but I don''t see why it couldn''t be.

I despise fondant. I love how it looks but I hate how it tastes. However, remember that there is buttercream under the fondant, so you still have some frosting there if you just peel away the F. You can definitely still have F flowers, I don''t see why you''d have to have the cake frosted in F to have the flowers. Just know that it''s going to be a different overall look with buttercream.

Freke knows tons about baking and frosting, I''m sure she''ll chime in here to give her expert opinion/advice.

mmmmm buttercream. You know, this is probably the one thing I''m a little disappointed about with my wedding. The venue we''re having the reception at is a restaurant and they''re doing a 4-layer chocolate torte frosted in ganache for us (it''s one of the chef''s specialties). I''m OK with that, but I LOVE wedding cake BC frosting and the more buttery the better. I may have a small cake made just for us so I can get my fix!

 

[lauralu]

thanks Hudson, when i talked with the bakery today I got the assistant and I do not think she was as clear on all of this as she should have been . Tuesday I am talking to the head gal.

I never knew about the butter cream in between the fondant and the cake. We love love the look of this cake. However, we both agree that the taste of fondant is

Hmmmmmmm what to do what to do....I hope Freke happens along

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I know they do a crumb coating in between the fondant and the cake to ensure a smooth base for the fondant to rest on. I''m not sure how thick it is though. Your baker might be able to do a little more if you ask and it''s structurally feasible.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

i don''t know much about any of this but suddenly i have a huge craving for cake, thanks ladies lol

 

[ilovesparkles]

I used to work in a hotel, in the restaurant through which the receptions were also catered. From personal experience, I have NEVER tasted a fondant frosted cake that I like. Most of the time I wouldn't touch it. The layer of butter cream, if any, is minimal and not enough to notice usually.

Cakes I have happened upon on The Knot, were butter cream frosted with ganache poured over top. So you get the best of both worlds, and then you could add the fondant flowers, the ganache would make an easier surface than the pure butter cream, to decorate on. Best of everything, no?!?!?!

 

[Jaders731]

That cake is covered in Chocolate flavored fondant.. which oddly enough is pretty tasty, considering it is fondant. More than likely it is a product called "Satin Ice"

I am now fortunate enough to be making wedding cakes... and here are a couple ideas:

First... ask your bakery, if you can try a piece of the chocolate fondant. I think it tastes very similar to a tootsie roll..and if you like it, you can choose that over plain vanilla flavored fondant which is GROSS...

Second... depending on your reception venue, your bakery may be hesitant to "frost" an entire wedding cake with ganache.. if it is outside, or warm especially.. this could be a VERY bad idea.. leaving you with a melted cake... ick.

Third...as far as the flowers are concerned... you could frost the cake entirely in cake frosting and decorate with fondant flowers, but any shape that is given to the flower itself, may not hold, as the fat content in the frosting will cause the fondant to soften, as well as any humidity in the air. As far as eating goes... most reception venues, peel off the fondant and decorations, and just serve the cake with the buttercream finish icing anyways...

Hope that helps!

 

[lauralu]

Okay well I am rethinking the whole fondant idea. I do not want to have to peel off any decorations. I do like that tootsie roll flavor idea though.

are there some form of sugar flowers that might give a more similar result?

Our venue will not be air conditioned. It is a huge Tudor style mansion made from stone and stays cool enough in the heat. but, still not like air conditioning.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Well there''s gum paste but I don''t know how edible those flowers would be....

 

[lauralu]

Good morning Hudson

Gum paste? I thought gum paste and fondant were the same thing. I need a frosting education.......



ETA:

Okay I found this.....
Fondant (and there are several kinds) remains soft for quite a while, but will harden over time -- it never gets bone hard. It can be used to make decorations and is great as a cake covering.

Gumpaste recipes vary but typically involve gum tragacanth, making it not as sturdy as pastillage. Because of the added gum, the dough is very elastic and soft, making it able to be rolled out thinner and worked with longer than pastillage. Both will hold up fairly well in humidity, but gum paste will soften slightly, as it will if it touches buttercream (because of its fat content) or is refrigerated.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

hrm....maybe I meant pastiage?

 

[lauralu]

Hmmmm maybe

I don''t even know what that is either lol

 

[Jaders731]

As far as flower decorations... if they are not buttercream flowers (think grocery store birthday cake.. ) I am 99.9% sure that your reception venue will NOT serve the flowers with the cake at all, even if they were gum paste, pastillage or fondant. Where I work (we make our cakes and decorate them, and then another department serves them), I have seen our beautiful cakes stripped before they get served. No one has ever complained about the look after the decor has been stripped.

With regards to floral decoration types...All three of the types you mentioned: fondant, gum paste and pastillage are sugar doughs:

There are gum paste flowers, that yes, with the addition of gum tragacanth, will harden and hold shape. Most bakeries use gum paste flowers. That being said, most bakeries, due to time and labor constraints, will buy in their sugar floral, rather than making them by hand. It is a rare (and delightful) sight to see a bakery hand make their flowers. But they come at a VERY high price. Just so you are aware.

Pastillage is another sugar dough that dries much faster than gum paste, and does not require any drying agents to harden.

Most bakeries now, are putting a thicker coat of frosting underneath the fondant layer, so just know that your cake will taste good, and look good, and that you wont worry about the icky taste of the fondant, because you more than likely wont eat it. Although it does sound like you are interested in the chocolate fondant idea. You really should check into that as a solid option. I think you will be happy with the finished product, and the flavor will not be a problem.

Hope that helps...

 

[House Cat]

I want a chocolate cake for my wedding so I have inquired about ganache. You can have an entire cake done in ganache and I''ve seen many examples of ganache wedding cakes on the net. It is true though that if the cake is going to be outdoors, in warm weather, it will probably be a disaster. Also, even if the cake is indoors, your caterer will need to know how to properly cut the cake with a WARM knife because ganache tends to roll onto the knife and stick otherwise.

If you do a google image search for ganache wedding cake, you will see examples. The ganache is quite a bit darker than the color of your cake and will definitely change the look of your cake. I think I like the color of the example you''re using now. It''s beautiful!

I was at a wedding recently and they used fondant on the cake but there was a very thick layer of buttercream under the fondant. I loved that cake because you could just peel the fondant off and have great cake with buttercream frosting. I''m sure you can ask your baker to do the same.

 

[FrekeChild]

I think Jaders covered just about everything. One other option is molding chocolate, and I''m not sure of the difference between that and Satin Ice, but molding chocolate really does taste just like tootsie rolls.

Also, ganache is going to have a very strong chocolate flavor, so I think that should probably be considered when thinking about flavors of the cake itself.

Personally, I''m not a huge chocolate lover. So when I''m given a piece of cake that''s covered in ganache, it''s usually chocolate as well, so I''ll eat very little because it''s so strong and rich.

Also, when ganache is poured onto a cake it is warm, so I have never heard of ganache being poured over REAL buttercream, because it would melt and be really gross.

<--buttercream Nazi.

As for buttercream, there is the sickly sweet "American" buttercream which is just sugar and hydrogenated oil, and then there are other types, my favorite being Swiss/Italian buttercream which is essentially a meringue with butter added into it, and is NOT sickly sweet. There is a huge difference between the two, and almost everyone I know has preferred the Swiss/Italian over American (just ask Gypsy!).

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 5/24/2009 12:52:45 PM
Author: FrekeChild



As for buttercream, there is the sickly sweet ''American'' buttercream which is just sugar and hydrogenated oil, and then there are other types, my favorite being Swiss/Italian buttercream which is essentially a meringue with butter added into it, and is NOT sickly sweet. There is a huge difference between the two, and almost everyone I know has preferred the Swiss/Italian over American (just ask Gypsy!).

HUGE difference. We went cake tasting, and thank god I posted on here because the frostings were just NASTY, and then Freke educated me on frostings and then I called around to find ones who could make the Swiss/Italian type and WOW was there a huge difference. Not even comparable. Our cake was lovely. Just as an FYI though, the frosting isn''t white white, it''s ivory as it has a LOT of real butter. Which was perfect for me... but I know some people like WHITE WHITE cakes. And fondant really isn''t that bad if you put nice buttercream under it. We''ve been to a few weddings that have done this, and all you do is peel the fondant off and leave it to the side of your plate. The cake tastes just lovely.

 

[Camille]

Satin Ice is o-k-a-y similar to other fondants= all yucky, but can stand humid/hot weather

Warm Ganache will make a marble effect if is poured over buttercream due to it''s fat content.
I agree with other posters, american buttercreams are as bad as fondant........
I''d def go Swiss Meringue buttercream, flavored w/oil based flavorings rather than extracts. My favorite ratio: 1:egg, 2:sugar & 3: butter=Yummo

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

mmmm camille that sounds YUMMY!!

 

[lauralu]

thank you all for your advice, I am armed with frosting/cake information when I talk with the head cake lady tomorrow. I am so excited!

I do like the choc fondant idea if we can get a taste of it. Than talk about the buttercream and go from there.

Mmmmmmmmmm yeah talking cake makes me want cake....

A side note, for fun this morning FI and I did a Mimosa champagne taste test. We bought two different types of champagne last night. Than this morning did a taste test. One with Pineapple juice,another w/Oj, as well as a Pinaapple, Oj, strawberry Kiwi combo juice w/the champagne. It was a nice morning! LOL

I think we are going to love our Champagne brunch wedding day!!!!