Pâtisserie / Recipe

Mastering white pâtissier fondant, step by step

One of the first things you see through a boulangerie-pâtisserie window in France is a herd of glazed éclairs and choux. Pretty in pink, brown, white, and more often than not, green too.

Fondant can be bought in professional shops, most likely in one or seven kilo buckets. But did you know you can make it at home with just two ingredients?

It takes around ten minutes to make a kilo of fondant. So get ready to glaze éclairs like there is no tomorrow, because you’re about to learn how to make fondant pâtissier.
Here I’ve only made 250g because that’s all I needed for a recipe I’m developping for le petit cookbook, but the recipe can easily be doubled as fondant will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a year.

To make 250g of fondant, you’ll need:
250g caster sugar
100g water

As for the equipement, nothing super-fancy: one large pan, a brush, a probe, a stand-mixer (or failing that, hand-beaters). A plastic scraper is handy too!

01.

Place the sugar and water in a large pan. Cook the syrup to 114°C over medium heat. The ideal temperature to make fondant is in between 114 and 116°C, so remove from the heat at 114 an the temperature will naturally reach 115-ish. Perfect!

02.

While cooking the syrup, brush the sides of your pan with a wet brush to remove any bits of sugar which might caramelise or even worse, crystallise.

03.

Fill the sink with 3cm of cold water and dip the bottom of your pan in it to cool the syrup to 75°C.

04.

Pour the cooled-down syrup in the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachement.

05.

Beat for approximately five minutes, or until thick and white.

06.

Transfer to a clean work surface. Work the fondant, first with a scraper and then with the palm of your hand until cold. Don’t hesitate to really push it to remove any lumps. Form a smooth ball.

07.

Place in an airtight container. Clingfilm to the touch and close with a lid. Keep in the fridge. Use within a year. Ooh yes!

Now I just have to show you how to glaze éclairs and choux. And perhaps even a millefeuilles! Next time…

21 Comments

  • thelittleloaf
    May 29, 2012 at 12:26 PM

    I love baking but have never bothered to make my own fondant – I didn’t know it was so easy! Love this post with it’s little live action videos – brilliant 🙂

    Thank you. PS. I can’t believe I had never come accross your blog before. It’s a gem. xx

    Reply
  • la tavola toscana
    May 29, 2012 at 1:46 PM

    Evviva Fanny!
    Thank you so much for the recipe: my little daughter’s birthday is just approaching… 🙂

    Reply
  • Camilla
    May 29, 2012 at 5:17 PM

    Hello 🙂 Love all the little videoes! Thank you for the recipe, well explained, which I am excited to try. Look forward to the following eclairs.
    Camilla 🙂

    Reply
    • fanny
      February 26, 2019 at 1:39 PM

      Glad you like the little animations. I looove to make them!

      Reply
  • marghe@lechatdesucre.com
    May 29, 2012 at 6:52 PM

    I always wanted to learn!!! Thanks, Fanny!!!!

    Reply
  • Andy
    May 29, 2012 at 10:17 PM

    Tes photos sont toujours si belles! And I am craving millefeuilles now…

    Reply
    • fanny
      February 26, 2019 at 1:40 PM

      Merci. Pas facile de shooter en mode raffale avec le seul objectif que j’ai pris avec moi en France: un 100mm! x

      Reply
  • Virginie
    May 30, 2012 at 12:53 AM

    Hi!

    Is that the same kind of icing we find in the supermarket? It is like a paste that it is used to cover cakes?

    Reply
    • fanny
      February 26, 2019 at 1:40 PM

      Virginie, this is fondant to glaze éclairs and millefeuilles. I’ve never used, let alone made “American fondant” before. It might be the same thing although I’ve seen recipes using marshmallows as a base. Possibly to make it more pliable.

      The fondant pâtissier here is heated to 32°C along with a little syrup and then éclairs/millefeuilles/choux are glazed.

      Reply
  • Emma-zucchero e zenzero
    May 30, 2012 at 9:43 PM

    I really, really love this recipe! I’ll try it soon!
    Thank you! 🙂

    Reply
  • Andy
    June 1, 2012 at 3:44 PM

    Virginia: there are two different things that are commonly called fondant. Fanny’s recipe here is what ( at least in America) we call ” poured fondant” which you use as a liquid icing and there is “rolled fondant” (a different recipe that I’m not familiar with) which is like a dough and is applied dry to cakes and usually is wrapped around the entire cake and sometimes used to design shapes and figures on fancier cakes. I’ve never tried it though. If you search for those two terms on google you are sure to find more info.

    Reply
  • rob
    June 2, 2012 at 2:54 PM

    Hi Fanny
    love your work! would adding some glucose make a smoother fondant?
    thx
    rob

    Reply
  • Claudia
    June 5, 2012 at 10:54 AM

    Hello, this is great, i had been looking for this recipe for a while! (cannot find fondant at the supermarket…)

    Just two questions:
    1- how do you use it? i mean, to make it liquid in order to pour it on to eclairs, do you have to heat it? with water?

    2- can i add a couple of pieces of chocolate, to make it brown and “chocolaty”?

    thanks/merci/grazie
    C

    Reply
  • Sara Green
    August 1, 2012 at 9:16 PM

    What a cool way to prep this post and explain how to work with fondant! I appreciate all the work behind those animated gifs and the beautiful illustrations that I assume do to. Vous avez réussi à faire des merveilles d’une leçon!

    Reply
  • nathan yarrow
    January 20, 2013 at 9:59 PM

    when beating the cooled syrup in the electric stand mixer, i put the speed on full and once it was thick and white, it was quite hot, and worked it, but it was quite grainy. does it mean the fondant has crystalised or should i beat the syrup on a lower setting??…. i have a chou pastry exam coming up and needed a good fondant recipe to glaze my eclairs with.. thanks!

    Reply
  • Anita Menon
    February 22, 2013 at 11:40 AM

    Beautifully designed website. Love the watercolor illustrations and the video ideas.

    Reply
  • Louise
    January 19, 2014 at 1:20 PM

    Thank you. thank you. thank you – been looking for this recipe for ages 🙂

    Reply
  • shutishuti
    January 27, 2014 at 9:14 PM

    hi, thanks for sharing this recipe. I just gave it two attempts and I didn’t succeed 🙁 i heated the syrup until 114, cooled it, poured into my mixing bowl but very soon after (not at all 5 min) crystallised became a bit grainy too. it was still hot and not easy to work with at all when i tried to knead it into a ball. Any suggestions, what went wrong? many thanks.

    Reply
  • Lisa
    October 31, 2014 at 4:34 PM

    Bonjour, est-ce que on peu utiliser ce fondant pour recouvrir entierement un gateau? Dois-je alors augmenter la recette?
    Merci beaucoup,
    Lisa

    Reply
    • fanny
      February 26, 2019 at 1:43 PM

      Lisa, ce fondant est utilisé pour glacer des choux ou des éclairs. Pour un gâteau, je ne recommande pas son utilisation mais plutôt celle d’un fondant de type “américain”, plus adapter” à la tâche 🙂

      Reply
  • Lisa
    October 31, 2014 at 8:55 PM

    Hi, I’m so sorry, I just realised I submitted my question in French before!
    – Can this fondant be used to cover an entire cake?
    – Will the recipe yield enough fondant for an entire cake cover or should I make more?

    Thank you 🙂

    Lisa

    Reply

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