Fondant
2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup water 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons corn sirup or 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar Put the sugar, corn sirup and water in a saucepan and heat slowly. Do not let it begin to boil until the sugar is dissolved. Wash down the sides of the pan with a fork wrapped in a damp cloth or else cover and cook for two or three minutes so that the stream will carry down the crystals that have been thrown on the side of the pan. Remove the cover and continue to boil slowly without stirring to the soft-ball stage, or 238 degrees F. While cooking, keep the cover on part of the time so the steam can help to keep the crystals washed down. Remove from the fire and pour at once on large platters or slabs which have been wet with water, and let it stand until it is lukewarm. Cream thoroughly; then knead with the hands until it is smooth and free from lumps. Fondant is better if allowed to ripen for several days. It may be wrapped in waxed paper and put in a tightly covered jar.
A basic sugar fondant, the foundation for cream centers, mints and dipped candies. Everything depends on keeping stray crystals out of the syrup until the moment you want it to crystallize.
- The hinge: no stirring after the boil startsOnce the sugar has fully dissolved, do not stir or jostle the pan again. A single undissolved crystal on the side of the pan will seed the whole batch into coarse grain.
- "Corn sirup"Ordinary light corn syrup. It and the cream of tartar do the same job here — interfering with crystal growth so the finished fondant is fine-textured. Use one or the other, not both.
- 238F means a thermometerA clip-on candy or digital thermometer with the bulb in the syrup but not touching the bottom. Without one, test by dropping a little syrup into very cold water: at soft-ball it gathers into a ball that flattens between the fingers.
- "Cream thoroughly"This means working the lukewarm mass with a stiff spatula or bench scraper in a figure-eight until it turns from clear to opaque white and stiffens. It happens fairly suddenly. Work it too hot and it will be grainy; the recipe's lukewarm — about 110F — is the right point.
- The slabA marble slab is ideal because it pulls heat out evenly, but a large heatproof platter, a rimmed sheet pan, or a clean granite counter all work. Wetting it, as directed, keeps the syrup from sticking as it cools.
- VanillaThe listed vanilla is not mentioned again in the method. Add it when the syrup has cooled to lukewarm, just before creaming — added to boiling syrup the flavor cooks off.
- RipeningThe recipe says fondant is better if allowed to ripen for several days in a tightly covered jar; moisture redistributes and the texture becomes smoother and creamier. Keep it well wrapped.
- YieldRoughly a pound of fondant. Knead in melted chocolate, nuts, or coloring after ripening.