I’ve had the chance to try a few different types of rolled fondant, and I just wanted to share my results of the taste, workability and price.
Fondant has a really bad rap. And no wonder why! There’s lots of bad tasting fondant out there. Fortunately, there are some fondant brands and options out there that taste great.
Here’s a list of what I’ve tried out so far:
- Satin Ice Rolled Fondant
- Duff Buttercream Rolled Fondant
- Wilton Rolled Fondant
- Mimac Rolled Fondant
- Dawn Rolled Fondant
- Virgin Ice Fondant
- Marshmallow Rolled Fondant
- Scratch Rolled Fondant
Satin Ice Rolled Fondant: One of the things that’s really fantastic about Satin Ice is that it comes in an array of colours, which is great for when you need that bright red or pink (which can be quite challenging to obtain using food colouring). It also comes in large 20 lb pails. Satin Ice seems like the first choice for many of the popular cake decorators you see on TV. Check out http://www.satinfinefoods.com/ for many helpful fondant tutorials and videos.
Taste: 4.5/5 – In my opinion, the Satin Ice chocolate/dark fondant tastes fantastic. The white/vanilla is good to okay depending on your tastes. However the dark coloured fondant do taste like dark colours.
Workability: 4.5/5 – Very stretchable and can roll very thin. Blends nicely. I would consider it a bit stiffer, which can be both good and bad – this results in less sagging but can become a bit dryand form wrinkles (especially in this dry Calgary climate!).
Price: $35-$45 CAD – 5lb and $90-$120 CAD – 20lb
Available in Calgary, AB at: PM Hobbycraft, SAIT Marketplace, and wholesale distributors
Duff Buttercream Fondant: Duff Goldman, from the awesome TV show Ace of Cakes, has come out with a new line of fondant products. What’s interesting about this brand is that it comes in an natural off-white, as well as a few different colours. I like this because often anything white has white food colouring (titanium dioxide) added, which can change the taste quite a bit.
Taste: 4.5/5 – The white fondant really does have a very nice “buttercream” flavour to it!
Workability: 5/5 – Wow, does this fondant stretch! It comes out of the container rock hard, but once you get it kneaded, it’s great. You can hold it up, and no tears! Amazing!
Price: $29.99 CAD – 2 lb
Available in Calgary, AB at: Michaels craft stores
Wilton Pure White Rolled Fondant: Very common, easy to obtain. This brand is widely available at Michael’s craft stores, who carries a wide array of Wilton cake decorating supplies.
Taste: 2/5 – I was disappointed with the taste of this fondant. I found it unpalatable.
Workability: 3/5 -Dry, stiff, hard to roll and it was quick to from cracks.
Price: $29.99 – 5 lbs
Available in Calgary, AB at: Michael’s craft stores
Mimac Rolled Fondant: Common fondant used in industry, available from wholesalers. Lower price point.
Taste: 3/5 – This fondant has an average, somewhat mild, taste.
Workability: 3.5/5 – Can be very soft. Tears easily. Blends nice.
Price: $30-$40 – 10 lbs
Available in Calgary, AB at: Wholesale distributors
Dawn Decorice (White Sugar Paste) Fondant: Great blending capabilities. Lower price point. Available from wholesalers.
Taste: 2/5 – I found the taste and smell of this fondant unpleasant.
Workability: 4.5/5 – Very workable! Not too soft, not too stiff. Easy to blend and to roll out.
Price: $40-$60 – 15 lbs
Available in Calgary, AB at: It comes from wholesale (Dawn foods), but you can also buy it at PM Hobbycraft.
Virgin Ice Fondant: Easily available at Bulk Barn (Canada). I believe it may come in off white, black and red as well. Comes in a reasonable sized 4 lb container.
Taste: 3/5 – Average, neutral taste. Somewhat chewy texture.
Workability: 4/5 – I found this fondant to be more on the stiff/dry side, which I tend to prefer. However, because of this, some cracking may occur at corners/edges. It helps to work fast or use the mat method for this one.
Price: $15.99 – 4 lb (white)
Available in Calgary, AB at: Bulk Barn
Marshmallow Fondant: Easy, simple do-it-yourself recipe that involves melting marshmallows, then adding icing sugar and a little bit of water. Marshmallows happen to contain ingredients used in some types of fondant – sugar and gelatin. Can be a bit messy to make. There are many recipes available online, see here or here.
Taste: 4/5 – Very sweet taste.
Workability: 3.5/5 – Varies depending on the amount of icing sugar added. Not enough icing sugar will result in tearing; too much icing sugar will result in lack of stretchiness.
Price: Affordable. Works out to $5-8 for about 2.5 lbs of fondant
Available at: DIY. Can make it yourself.
Scratch Fondant: There are many recipes online available everywhere. Can be a bit messy to make and some ingredients may be occasionally hard to obtain sometimes (such as glycerine). But the taste is well worth it!
Taste: 5/5 – The best taste of all. Quite enjoyable actually. I’d compare it to the glaze on a donut.
Workability: 3.5/5 – Varies depending on the amount of icing sugar added. Not as stretchy, but will work on shapes that are easy to cover. Sticky to work with.
Price: Affordable. Depending on your choice of ingredients it works out to around $10 for about for 2.5 lbs of fondant
Available at: DIY. Can make it yourself.
Other brands of rolled fondant/icings that are out there:
Buy fondant online Canada from:
- Golda’s Kitchen
- McCall’s
- Flour Confections
- Cake Mischief
- For the Love of Cake Decorating Supplies
- Phat Cat Cake Craft (contact via email)
Buy fondant online in the US from:
Fondarific is one of the better tasting ones. It tends to be more expensive than other options, but makes up for it by rolling out relatively thin. The best tasting fondant I’ve had, though, is a brand that comes from Switzerland. I can’t remember the name of it, though… >.<
Great review! thanks for sharing!
FYI: Duff is the same as Fondarific– as in, I think it’s just select Fondarific colors, rebranded as Duff. I love working with it, and was very excited when I found out that I could get Fondarific (Duff) at the local Michael’s store. Now I go there almost weekly since they send out 40%-off-one-item coupons every week. Now I use it almost exclusively. But Fondarific does have many colors/flavors that aren’t offered as Duff brand.
Thank you Nyx & Alex for the heads up on Fondarific! I’d love to give it a try one day. Now that your mention it – upon closer inspection, the ingredients for Fondarific and Duff really are quite close.
I think I should adjust the post to mention the other brands out there. Has any one tried Choco-pan?
thanks for a great review… i use satin Ice..love the taste & works well for me..my clients like the taste too..although i have a good tasting from scratch fondant, it’s a bit sticky & not as stretchable as SI…anyway, have you used Patisfrance rolled fondant? .. i had the misfortune, sorry to Patisfrance lovers, of using it & it was pain in the *** … it’s wet & very sticky..sticks to every thing it touches….the work area surface, rolling pin, the hand gloves, plunger, cutter, EVERYTHING!….i tried rolling it w/ powdered sugar, cornstarch, & combination of both but to no avail.. This is more of a curiosity than anything, but is there a way around it? to make it work? =)..thanks
im a big fan of your creation.. do you mind i contact you via email ? id like to learn from you and ask some question regarding cake decoration.
By all means – check out the contact page to send me an email: http://rosesen.wordpress.com/contact/
Thank you,
Rose