Fondant vs. Buttercream - which is best for a wedding cake?

I have been asked to make a 2-tier hawaiian wedding cake. I have ingredients to make a buttercream and I also have white fondant. Do you think it is better to ice the cake in buttercream and do the decorations in fondant? or Do the whole thing in fondant? I want the cake to taste good and also look beautiful. Also, to color the fondant I have regular food coloring is that ok to use? should I knead it or paint it after? types of decorations: palm trees and flowers.

Fondant vs. Buttercream - which is best for a wedding cake?
Well, as any professional cake decorator will tell you, it is much easier to cover a cake with fondant than it is with buttercream. Also, with fondant you get the best of both worlds, the perfect and smooth look of fondant and the yummy taste of buttercream, as buttercream is the "glue" you use to adhere the fondant to the cake. Now, as for fondant's taste, if you use a good recipe for fondant (not the Wilton commercial stuff, yuk!) then, you will have a great tasting cake with great tasting fondant. Bad tasting fondant is a thing of the past, if you know what your are doing... And there is sooo much you can do with it, decoration wise. And well, if guests don't want it, they can just peel it off! As easy as that! Also, take under consideration, if the decor, the theme, or the couple that requested it are "traditional", then don't even bother with fondant. Don't be intimidated, that stuff is amazing!!!! Another plus for fondant is that it keeps cake fresh for longer periods of time as it seals the cake. It will remain very moist.
Reply:Fondant and buttercream are both great for any cake. Fondant does have a smoother look and can look more elegant. A lot of wedding cakes I have seen utilized both. You can buy colored fondant. I hope you are good at decorating cakes. Fondant can be a PITA. Practice first. Weeks in advance if possible.
Reply:I personally love Buttercream frosted cakes YUMMY. I would say do the buttercream frosting with the decorations in fondant. Plus I always finf fondant too sugary (is that a word) to frost a whole cake.
Reply:I often wonder why fondant is still used on cakes because the stuff just doesn't taste that good. Yes, it makes a great presentation...but yuck. Buttercream is very tasty, but you can't get the sleek, smooth look you get with fondant.





If you do need that smooth look, why not compromise and glaze the cake with chocolate ganache? If you need to colour it, use white chocolate instead of dark or milk.





For ganache:





1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or white chocolate)


3/4 tablespoon light corn syrup


3/4 cup heavy cream





In a heatproof bowl, place the chocolate chips and the corn syrup. Bring the heavy cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk it until smooth then set it aside. Place cooled cake on a cooling rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper and pour ganache over the top of the cake and allow ganache to spill over the sides. If the ganache doesn't coat evenly, touch up the bare spots with a silicone spatula. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or longer.


Serve the cake cold or allow it to come to room temperature before serving.





This will make a softer glaze. If you need a firmer one, reduce the amount of cream to 1/2 cup.





If you're going to colour it, gel, paste or powdered colouring is best because liquid food colouring will affect the consistency of the final product more. You can find gel, paste and powdered food colouring at bakery supplies dealers and online. I believe Wilton has a line of them.





If you decide to use fondant, the colour has to be kneaded in unless you have an airbrush. Painting with a brush will give you more the look of a water colour than an even coat of colour. Check around your area though, there are a few companies that make pre-coloured fondant and this will definitely save you some time and effort on your project..
Reply:I say do a layer in both. I love the butter cream but u can do so much More decorations with the fondant.
Reply:If you do fondant- do homemade. It actually tastes pretty good (the commercial fondants that I've tried are pretty icky). I especially looooove marshmallow fondant!





If you are doing the cake outdoors (especially in a humid condition), go with fondant. Although that might not be an issue this time of year.





Some of the decorations are easier to do in fondant- it's like edible sculpture! You should you an icing paste or powder, not the liquid stuff that you get at the grocery store to color the fondant, otherwise it will get too sticky.





Talk to the bride about what she thinks will taste best- bake some sample cakes (or cupcakes) with the buttercream and fondant, and ask which one she likes best. She may like the smoothness of the fondant, or she might prefer buttercream.
Reply:I just got married last year and had a huge butter cream frosted cake. It was green with white piping all over it, so pretty. Everyone loved it!! My friend just got married and had fondant. She chose that so they could paint a design on it. It was pretty but does not taste good. She had a TON of left overs. No one I spoke to liked the taste at all. Everyone wants that creamy, yummy frosting on wedding cakes, not play dough. (If you're into to chocolate the best tropical wedding cake I've every seen was a chocolate frosted cake with tropical flowers cascading down it. The brown with all the bright colored flowers was gorgeous. Just a suggestion)