The Duff!

Okay, so I don't really know who he is. Nor have I ever seen his show (Ace of Cakes). *GASP* Or read his book. But I have seen his new line of products at Michaels. Does that count for anything?!



Well, for my hubby's upcoming birthday, I will need to cover the cake in black fondant. And if you've ever tried to make black fondant, you will understand why I gave up before even trying! Hehehe! Plus I heard Duff's fondant tasted pretty good. So I figured I'd give it a try, and off to Michaels I went (with coupon in hand). A little of a sticker shock with it's $10 per pound price tag ($20 for a 2 lb tub)...since I usually pay $20 for 5 lbs. of the Wilton fondant. Anyway, I got it home and read the directions. It says to microwave for 10 seconds on power 3. I did just that and it came out too soft. But I do have a super duper microwave that cooks everything faster than it should, so microwaving really does vary. Next time I will try for less time. And I will try not to follow directions so diligently (it's a bad(/good?) habit of mine).

Then I tasted it...and others were right. It did taste better than any other fondant I've tried (which has only been Wilton and Satin Ice). I will actually let guests eat this when I hand them their piece!

Now, I had to make the first part of the cake in advance to let dry and hold it's shape. So I mixed about a quarter of the Duff fondant with a tsp and a half of tylose. I tried picking it up right away, but it was still way too soft. So I let it sit for a couple hours and still too soft. So I decided maybe overnight will do the trick, but that didn't work either! I tried picking it up and it just stretched and tore. Eventually I started over by using my Wilton practice board with a ton of powdered sugar sprinkled on it so that I could just flip it over and let the fondant fall off. Well, it didn't fall off, but I finally got it to slowly peel away.

In the end, the piece came out pretty cool (pics later...can't let the hubs see yet)! It still hasn't hardened, but I've got a couple more days.

To review, the Duff fondant (which I've heard is the Fondarific brand) tasted great, looked good, would probably work just fine if you don't microwave it for too long, but costs a little more than I would like! But, if you're like me, the only way to get decent fondant (especially different colors) is to buy online, and who always has the time for that (not to mention the extra moula for shipping costs!)?

If you try it out, let me know what you think. Happy caking!