Lesson Five: Fun with Fondant Flowers

Tuesday I started my second Wilton class.  I wasn't really keen on going.  It was very cold outside and so nice and cozy in my bed.  But I managed to bundle myself up, brave the chill and get myself to class.  I was the first one there besides Mary, the teacher.  She was very glad that I signed up for class 2.  She told me how great I was doing and how impressed she was with my buttercream flowers, etc.  She was almost shocked when I admitted that I did not sign up for class 3.  I don't know if she's trying really hard to sell the class or if she really wants me to be in it.

The same two women from class one are in my new class.  Of course the chocolate franchise owner once again did not read her supply list and hadn't brought anything with her that she needed except the class 2 kit.    And both of them forgot to bring fondant - the key ingredient for this session!  Good thing Michaels sells it  . . .

There were two newcomers as well - two middle-aged women.  I liked them; they were funny and everything was just amazing to them.  They are simultaneously taking class one and two, so they are there from 11-3 pm.  Now that's dedication.

For this lesson, we were learning to play with fondant.  Now I've used fondant before - it usually looks nice and tastes horrible.  Once upon a time I made my own fondant.  I think I was on a "I can make all this stuff on my own and it will be much better" sort of kick.  Yeah.  Who knew you could buy glucose and glycerin in a bottle?  And who knew they would be so hard to use?

Made with my own homemade fondant.  First and last attempt.

Now I just buy my fondant at Michaels.  I generally try not to use it all that much, if possible.  But it can be nice for embellishments.  For our lesson, we made button flowers and pansies.  I got to use my first fondant press.  It's kind of like a cookie cutter with two pieces, and it's kind of fun to use.  It felt like we were playing with Play-doh.  I mean, that's basically what fondant is - edible Play-doh.  You roll it out ("not like a pie crust!" exclaims Mary), put it in the cutter and presto!  Pieces for your flower.

Ideally the lines and dots are supposed to be imprinted on your fondant.
This effect is harder to achieve than it looks.

Once the pieces dry, you glue them together using gum glue.  Which does not involve gum or actual glue.  It's just water with a little dissolved fondant in it.  Use sparingly.

Aww, so cute!  A whimsical flower.

The pansy was a more realistic flower and slightly more complicated.  There was a lot of rolling, pulling and dusting involved.  We used the pansy cutter and then rolled the petals thinly to get them to look like this:

Then we rolled single petals to stick in the middle.  A little glue, a bit of paper towel to help it dry standing up, a little rounded stamen and voila!  (I'm just realizing I say that a lot.)

And the best thing about fondant flowers?  They last for a really really really long time.  So if I ever wanted to make a flowery cake, like say, someone's wedding cake, I could make all the flowers in advance.  Way in advance.

Hallelujah.