Baker's Fondant

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Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Messages
1,439
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Location
Nr Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
8
Bakers Fondant

2lbs sugar
1/2 pint or less water
1 tablespoon liquid glucose

Heat water, sugar and glucose together until sugar has dissolved, bring to boil, boil to 240f. Put the pan into a sink of cold water and start stirring with a flat wooden spatula. It is important to keep the mixture moving, when it gets harder to stir and has cooled sufficiently to work with hands pour out onto a clen worktop splashed with water, knead the mixture like bread until cool. Wrap in cling film. The glucose keeps it supple.


It is quite easy to make Baker's Fondant without a thermometer, which aren't too acurate in any case.

The temperatures for sugar boiling and the results are :-

240f = soft ball - if you drop a splodge of mix into a bowl of water the resulting cool ball of sugar will be soft like a chewy mint.

250f = hard ball - same splodge, hard ball (I think this is what you boiled to)

280f = small crack - used for spun sugar (candy floss)

310f = hard crack - used for more brittle sweets like barley sugar

345f = caramel

When I learnt my sugar boiling skills at catering college we didn't use thermometers as the state of the syrup is better at showing the temp than a dodgy thermometer.

Once the water has gone and you are boiling pure sugar the temp rises reasonably quickly.

Have ready a bowl of cold water. When the mixture boils it will take a few minutes for the water to evaporate off, the easiest way to describe it is the boil "slows down" the temperature will then rise quite quickly. After it has "slow boiled" for 1 minute and using the spoon you are stirring with, drip a drop of mixture into the cold water, follow it with your fingers, if the temperature is right the drop will form a small soft ball, if it disintegrates under your fingers it has not boiled enough, keep boiling and trying till you get the "soft ball" When this happens stop boiling immediately, turn off the heat and put the pan into a sink of cold water and start stirring.
 
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Hi Guy's

Re Bakers Fondant. Instead of slaving over a hot stove why not buy it ready to use?
I have just boughta 12.5Kg box of fondant for ?10.00. This should last quite a while.

Regards; Bcrazy
 
Where did you get it from? Whats the name of it (and dont say bakers fondant lol)
 
St. Neots Cambridgeshire.
Ask the local cake shops as I think they order it in from suppliers.
Its called White Fondant made by Bako

Regards;
 
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Viscount Ltd.
10- 30 Robinson Street East
Grimsby, Lincolnshire
DN32 9AE

Tel: {01472} 345847/8

Or cheaper and the place a few of us get it from is like Bcrazy says:

Click this link Bako

I think its around £8 for 12.5KG (or around £30 for the same stuff from Thornes)

I just give a pound of honey to my local baker and ask him to add it to his Thursday delivery.
 
Hi Guy's

Re Bakers Fondant. Instead of slaving over a hot stove why not buy it ready to use?
I have just boughta 12.5Kg box of fondant for ?10.00. This should last quite a while.

Regards; Bcrazy

It is easily bought from a small local baker (not a big organisation) but the original post (not on this forum) was about something completely different :). If you only have one or two hives though a 12.5 kg box is too much and I actually enjoy making stuff like that and probably wouldn't buy it - I know I'm strange. . . . . some would even say "difficult" but there you go :rofl:
 
If your using as main winter feed a box is not too much,one hive will soon store this if light.I usully feed half a box per hive.then smaller slices in spring as and if needed.
 
I did half a box a hive and it was gone within 10 days on all hives.
 
Had some sugar syrup left over in a bucket so decided to make it into fondant. Now i didnt put any glucose in it and it has set pretty hard. Can i re-liquify it and add the glucose?
Also is it possible to freeze it and keep it for when needed?
 
The bees should take it hard(parden the pun).
During august with the wet weather I was caught out on one hive that was a swarm starving to death (literally)The only thing I had in the van was a 5kg bag of sugar so I used a newspaper on the top bars and just poured it in straight,they took it all down within 5 days so I would assume your fondant would be ok.
 
.
I have never used fondant. If it is short of food in sping, I pour stong syrup directly into combs. It is same with nucs in summer if their food store is near finish.

.
 
tip on fondent

TO stop the fondant going hard place a sheet of thick plastic right over the brood box frames, (NO Qexs) big enough to over hang down the sides cut a 3x1inch sq hole in the center making shore that bees have free access through the bars cut half a box in half and plonk the hole lot cardboard blue bag, candy face down over hole.
The candy will stay soft and if any left you can use it up in syrup in the spring.
All the best mike
 
Tesco sell liquid glucose, on the home baking shelf at ?1.04 for 140 gram bottle :) I think the brand name is super cook . look carefully, the bottles are small and usually on the top shelf.

John Wilkinson
 
Thanks Victor - Tesco came up trumps and for exactly the same price you stated.
 
Pete, most hives will take down 12KG no problem in the autumn if you give no liquid feed.
 
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