More Helpful Hints - Kitchen Krafts, Inc.

More Helpful Hints

Working with Fondant

To color white fondant, use a paste color and knead the fondant until desired shade.
When using the fondant embosser, you should brush the assembled roller with shortening for easy release.
Before covering cakes with fondant, they must be lightly iced to seal in moisture and to help fondant stick to the cake.
Use a smooth surface for rolling fondant. A nonstick mat can serve as your workstation.

Using Confectionery Coatings

Don't rush the melting procedure - you can ruin the coatings through overheating. Also, water is dangerous to coating. Drops of water can make the coating seize and you will have to throw it out!
To color confectionery coating, do not use liquid food color as it contains water; instead, use powdered food color or oil-based candy colors. Flavors (extracts) or colors containing water will thicken the coating.
Spoon the melted coating into dry molds. Tap the mold gently to remove any entrapped air bubbles. Place mold in freezer for a few minutes to set the coating.

Creating Hard Candy

Working quickly and efficiently is important in cooking and molding hard candy. It is important to have everything assembled and ready for most efficient use of time.

Arrange your countertop so you have all utensils and ingredients within fast reach.
Keep paste colors and toothpicks near the stove for quick addition.
Have flavors available near stove.
You may want to have waxed paper or spoon holder ready for laying down sticky spoons or thermometer.

Hard candy may not harden on rainy or humid days. You may want to use Humi-Sweet instead of the corn syrup in your recipe to prevent sticky candies.
Thermometer Calibration for High Altitudes. Before making the candy, check your candy thermometer for accuracy by placing it in water and bringing the water to a boil. The thermometer should register 212 degrees F. (100 degrees C). If the reading is higher or lower, take the difference into account when testing the temperature of a syrup.
Prepare a lightly oiled cookie sheet to pour any extra candy syrup after molds have been filled.