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Plain Fondant
4 cups granulated sugar 1 cup Karo, Red Label 1 cup boiling water 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar Combine the ingredients. Stir until dissolved and heat to boiling point. Boil without stirring until a little, when tried in cold water, forms a soft ball, 238 degrees F. Pour onto a large platter slightly oiled with Mazola; cool until luke warm. Beat with a spoon or whisk, until creamy, then knead with the hands so it will not crumble. Put into a bowl lightly oiled with Mazola, cover and do not use for twenty-four hours. Then divide into portions, flavor, stand the bowl in warm water, color if desired, and use in making bonbons, etc. As this fondant contains Karo, it will not become grainy.
A classic ripened fondant, the base every home candy-maker once kept on hand for bonbon centers, dipped creams and mints. The technique is unforgiving in exactly one respect, and forgiving in all the others.
- Do not stir after it boilsOnce the syrup reaches a boil, the spoon stays out. A single sugar crystal dragged back into the pan will seed the whole batch coarse. Wash any crystals off the pan sides with a wet pastry brush, or cover the pan for the first two minutes so the steam does it for you.
- 238°F is the whole recipeUse a calibrated candy thermometer rather than the cold-water test; the difference between a soft ball and a firm one is a couple of degrees. At altitude, subtract roughly 1°F per 500 feet above sea level.
- Karo, Red LabelKaro was sold in several grades identified by label colour, among them a light Blue Label and a darker, more strongly flavoured Red Label (a Crystal White grade was also sold). Light corn syrup is the usual modern substitute and gives a whiter fondant; a dark corn syrup will colour and flavour it noticeably.
- Why the syrup and cream of tartar are thereBoth are interfering agents. Corn syrup contributes glucose and other sugars that physically block sucrose crystals from growing large, and the cream of tartar inverts a little of the sugar to the same end. With neither present, a fondant grains easily.
- MazolaCorn oil, from the same company that made Karo; the doubled brand names read like promotion for both. Any neutral oil works, used sparingly; too much and it will streak the finished fondant.
- "Cool until lukewarm"About 110°F, cool enough to hold a palm against the underside of the slab. Beating while hot produces large crystals and a gritty texture. A marble slab or a chilled rimmed sheet pan works better than a platter.
- The 24-hour rest is not optionalRipening lets moisture equalize through the mass and the crystals settle; fondant used straight from the beating is stiff and short. Keep it covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap so a crust does not form.
- RewarmingStanding the bowl in warm water means warm, not hot — around 140°F at most. Overheated fondant loses its gloss and sets grainy when dipped.
- YieldFour cups of sugar plus a cup of syrup gives something over two pounds of fondant, enough for a great many small bonbon centers. Tightly covered, it keeps well.
Fondant — from the French fondre, to melt — is the sugar paste that underpins nearly all European-style confectionery, the soft interior of a chocolate cream and the base of poured mints and dipped bonbons. Its manufacture depends on controlled crystallization: cook a sugar syrup, cool it undisturbed, then agitate it so that it sets as microscopic crystals rather than coarse ones. By the early twentieth century it had reached the home kitchen, and this version reflects the moment when commercial glucose syrup made it reliable for amateurs. The insistent brand names are telling: Karo and Mazola were both products of the Corn Products Refining Company, which issued promotional recipe booklets of this kind. The claim at the end is honest enough — corn syrup genuinely does inhibit graining, which is why it still appears in fondant formulas today.