Hi, all!

I’ve never made fondant of any kind, but Rose mentions her CRF tasting a bit like an upscale Tootsie Roll, and everyone says it’s delish, so I thought of making some tootsie rolls for Christmas with it.  Since it won’t be rolled and have to do all kinds of fancy fondant calisthenics, do you think I could use butter rather than shortening?

Thanks for your thoughts!!

—ak

Hmmm, good question.  Butter is about 81% fat and shortening is 100% fat, so for starters you would need to clarify or brown the butter to remove the water and milk solids.  And clarifying should also help extend shelf life, though it may not be quite as long as shortening.  Butter will not remain as stable at a wide range of temperatures as shortening, so keep that in mind with your storage and wrapping, etc. 

Aside from those, I’m not sure if the different makeup of the clarified butter will have additional problems that I’m not aware of- maybe start with a small test batch before you make a larger, gift-sized portion.

Please report back!

Thanks, Julie!  If I go for it, I will (although I am currently remiss in my show & tell duties)!!!

Anne in NC - 16 November 2010 11:19 AM

(... I am currently remiss in my show & tell duties)!!!

We await with bated breath!

Very tiny minor baking only…..but yummy!!!

Julie, that is one excellent science explanation.  i would be interested to see alternatives to shortening for chocolate fondant.  i think it is possible.  i recently made a mistake when doing the chocolate frosting for the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake, and it turned into fondant!  pure cacao butter that was.  cacao butter, as well as shortening, has a higher melting point than butter, and it may be important to form the fondant.

Cocoa butter—great thought, Hector!

May I ask—re the chocolate covered strawberry cake—do you mean the White Velvet Cake with Strawberry Mousseline and Sticky Chocolate ganache/frosting? If so, please tell me what you think of the cake. I’m very curious about this cake. Many people seem to find that the strawberry mousseline is so wonderful that it’s the high point of the cake, so I was thinking of simply using that to frost a cake in it’s entirety (though I might go with the Golden Lux Butter cake, as I love yolks) and forgo the chocolate.

Do you think it all comes together as a whole, or is the strawberry so delicious, and maybe unusual, that, since it’s going to showcase itself, anyway, it might as well be used alone?

Thanks so much!

Obviously, I’d be interested in the thoughts of anyone who has made this cake.

the strawb mousseline becomes amazing only when using premium strawb conserves.  I loved it as a filling on the white chocolate cake.  I fruit jam fillings are EXCELLENT on white cakes.  the yolk version may be an overkill…

yes, this is the cake u mention.  I have closeup pics on my web.  happy baking.

Thanks, Hector, for your thoughts on all, including the tip re yolks.  Looking forward to scoping it on your site!

I just wanted to comment about the chocolate fondant -

I made it to today for the first time (w/ shortening) and it was sooooo easy to do and turned out very well!

I was very impressed with this fondant