# Fondant

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{{Short description|Type of confection, filling, or icing}}
{{about|the sugar-water mixture used in confectionery|other uses of the term|Fondant (disambiguation)}}
'''Fondant''' is a mixture of sugar and water used as a confection, filling, or icing. Sometimes [gelatin](/source/gelatin) and [glycerine](/source/glycerine) are used as softeners or stabilizers.

There are numerous varieties of fondant, with the most basic being  '''poured fondant'''. Others include [fondant icing](/source/fondant_icing), chocolate fondant, and honey fondant.

== Poured fondant ==

''Poured fondant'' is a creamy confection used as a filling or coating for [cakes](/source/cakes), [pastries](/source/pastries), and [candies](/source/Candy) or [sweets](/source/sweets).

In its simplest form, it is [sugar](/source/sugar) and [water](/source/water). Sometimes it is stabilized with [gelatin](/source/gelatin) and [glycerine](/source/glycerine). It is cooked to the [soft-ball stage](/source/Candy_making), cooled slightly, and stirred or beaten to incorporate air, until it is an opaque mass with a creamy consistency. Sometimes lemon or vanilla is added to the mixture for taste. Other flavorings are used as well, as are various colorings. An example of its use is the [Cadbury Creme Egg](/source/Cadbury_Creme_Egg), the filling of which is [inverted sugar syrup](/source/inverted_sugar_syrup), produced by processing fondant with [invertase](/source/invertase).<ref>LaBau, Elizabeth. [http://candy.about.com/od/candyglossary/g/What-Is-Invertase.htm What is Invertase?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406171447/http://candy.about.com/od/candyglossary/g/What-Is-Invertase.htm |date=2015-04-06 }} About.com. Retrieved 10 April 2015.</ref> [Fondant fancies](/source/Fondant_Fancy) are a type of cake typically coated in poured fondant.<ref>{{cite news | last =Rainey | first =Sarah | title =So, Mary, how do you bake the perfect fondant fancy? | work =The Daily Telegraph | date =18 October 2012 | url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9615108/So-Mary-how-do-you-bake-the-perfect-fondant-fancy.html  | access-date =23 November 2013}}</ref>

== Physical chemistry of poured fondant ==

Poured fondant is formed by [supersaturating](/source/supersaturation) water with [sucrose](/source/sucrose). More than twice as much sugar dissolves in water at the [boiling point](/source/boiling_point) as at room temperature. After the sucrose dissolves, if the solution is left to cool undisturbed, the sugar remains dissolved in a supersaturated solution until [nucleation](/source/nucleation) occurs. While the solution is supersaturated, if a [seed crystal](/source/seed_crystal) (undissolved sucrose) is put into the mix or if the solution is agitated, the dissolved sucrose [crystallizes](/source/Crystallization) to form large, crunchy crystals (which is how [rock candy](/source/rock_candy) is made). However, if the solution is left to cool undisturbed and is then stirred vigorously, it forms many tiny crystals, resulting in a smooth-textured fondant.

==See also==
* [Marzipan](/source/Marzipan)
* [Pastry cream](/source/Pastry_cream)
* [Sugar paste](/source/Sugar_paste)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{wiktionary|fondant}}

Category:Confectionery

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fondant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fondant) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fondant?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.