Difference Between Fondant and Icing

Icing is an important factor in cake decorating, some say that it completes the look of a cake.

Icing is a mixture that usually has a sweet flavor, a combination of sugar, liquid, and other ingredients like butter, chocolate powder, or any flavoring that may be added.

The flavor of icing can be very versatile depending on what recipe you use.

Icing also has a lot of different textures it can be runny, thick, or fluffy depending on the type of icing you make. Glaze and ganache are usually runny and only coats the cake thinly. Watch out for the time when making a ganache-coated cake. If it’s served too cold, it can be harder to slice. Usually these two first types of icing create a modern look. Thick buttercream and royal icing are more solid and look rich and classic, as it has been the preferred choice since the previous centuries. The aspect to watch out when choosing buttercream icing is also the timing. But in this case, we need to make sure that the buttercream chilled enough and not left out in room temperature for too long, otherwise, you might compromise the texture. The fluffy meringue icing is certainly unique as it is not the popular choice nowadays. 

Icing is used to coat and decorate the cake or baked goods.

As you bake the cake you have to choose the right icing for your cake. You can certainly use more than one type of icing to achieve the look that you want. Combination of several types of icing will give a play of textures on your decorated cake.

Some icings can be poured over the cake like a glaze or thin ganache, and other types of icing can be piped like buttercream or meringue to create more complex decorations.

Fondant is also considered a type of icing, as the fondant is made from sugar, gelatin, water, shortening, and glycerol. It only has one dimension of flavor which is sweet, but the texture and consistency of fondant are what sets it apart from the other types of icing, as mentioned above.

There are two types of fondant, poured and a rolled one. Poured fondant texture is thick while rolled fondant has similarity to clay texture, it is pliable so it can easily be molded, sculpted, shaped, and rolled to decorate baked goods like cakes, cookies, or pastries.

Many cake decorators choose fondant to decorate their cakes because it is great for any theme cakes. By using fondant, you can easily mold it to personalize your cake with any decorations you want, be it two or even three dimensional, from bricks to petals, or even make edible statues or toppers of your favorite characters.

So simply put, if you’re looking for the best taste for your cake you might want to choose other types of icing, but if you’re looking for intricate decorations for the cake then you can opt for fondant. This is of course not mutually exclusive options. Many bakers prefer to combine them as well to cater to the client’s demand, or to push the boundaries of their creativity.

Now that you know the difference between fondant and icing, you can make your wonderful cake creations by choosing the most suitable icing for your cake. Remember that you can also opt for chocolate ingredients from Tulip Chocolate to get that tasty creamy chocolate flavor icings. We have a wide range of choices on our product page to find out more high-quality chocolate products. Happy baking!