I feel like this is a question that comes up a lot! When i first started TMB i took on every single piece of work that came my way. Part of this was definitely to get my business off the ground and get the word out.
So whats the difference between the 2?
So both are used to cover cakes. Buttercream can be used to fill as well. Buttercream is icing sugar and butter - American buttercream that i use - however there are lots of variations on this. It’s spreadable and smooth. Fondant is made to be rolled out thinly and used to cover a cake whole. It sets hard and can be used to make things like flowers, character decorations or figures to go on top or alongside cakes.
It wasn’t long before I realised how much I hated fondant. I don’t think I was great at it - you can see for yourselves in the photos - especially at the start. But also I didn't charge properly for my time and how long it took me to make things. It would take hours, i’d have 3am finishes at the earliest every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. So it would take forever and I'd make no money really.
The last fondant cake was the Minion I made was for my son’s 5th birthday and that was when I decided enough was enough. I just didn’t enjoy it and felt like you could tell in my work. Plus the more I practised with buttercream the better i got. Practise makes perfect, who knew?!
I absolutely believe and have proven that you can get the same sharp edge finish you can with fondant and you can create cakes that still look like things as such using buttercream and different things to decorate. I use a lot of non edible decorations and I love what they add to a cake. I also personally think that if you want specifically a certain finish or certain look it’s important to go to a cake maker that specialises in those things so that the cake is exactly how you want it to look. I do think if fondant isn’t done well you can really tell so it’s definitely worth paying for someone's skills.
