MAKING FONDANT ICING RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Butter a 25 x 20cm baking tin, and line the base with baking parchment. Stack a sheet of baking parchment over a sheet of foil, then fold in half so the parchment is facing out. Use this to divide the tin into three sections crosswise, each about 8cm wide.
• Melt the butter, remove from the heat and set aside. Put the sugar and eggs in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of just simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Beat using an electric whisk until really thick and pale, about 4-5 mins.
• Add a fifth of the mixture to the melted butter and mix to combine. Pour the butter mixture into the egg mixture, and carefully fold in along with the flour. Divide the mixture between three bowls. Leave one bowl of batter plain, then fold a drop each of pink food colouring and raspberry extract into the second bowl, and a drop each of yellow food colouring and lemon extract into the third bowl.
• Carefully pour one of the batters into each of the three sections in the prepared tin. Bake for 12-15 mins until cooked through, or a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then carefully transfer the three cakes to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
• To make the buttercream, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and milk together for 5 mins with an electric whisk until pale and creamy. To assemble the cake, put the plain sponge on a board and spread with half the buttercream. Top with the raspberry sponge, then spread with the remaining buttercream and top with the lemon sponge. Trim the sides so they're straight, even and neat.
• To make the fondant icing, sift the sugar into a bowl and mix with 1½-3 tbsp water until you have a thick, droppable icing. Transfer a quarter of the icing to a second bowl, and mix in a drop of pink food colouring. Transfer the pink icing to a piping bag.
• Spread the plain fondant icing over the top of the lemon sponge, making sure it doesn't drip down the sides. Pipe thin lines of pink icing on top across the width of the cake, space apart. Drag a cocktail stick through the lines lengthways to create a marbled effect. Leave to set slightly, then slice the cake into six even rectangles.

Steps:

• Before starting to prepare the ingredients to make buttercream icing without powdered sugar, you must bear in mind that the proportion of syrup must be equal to that of butter.If you don't know or remember how to make syrup, do not worry. You only need water and regular white sugar - not icing sugar: learn more in our article on how to make syrup at home. Once you have your homemade syrup ready, you can continue working on your icing.
• It is important that you keep the butter at room temperature in order to beat it more easily. If you have forgotten to take it out of the fridge, you can heat the butter in the microwave. Be very careful not to overdo it, because you'll need to make a cream, not an oil or liquid.In order to make buttercream icing without powdered sugar, the butter should be soft but still solid and workable.
• And so, beat the butter with the help of a whisk - an electric one or the food processor whisk will always be of added help. Your goal is to achieve a creamy texture, never a liquid one.
• Once you have the right texture for your homemade buttercream icing, add the vanilla extract or other flavoring of your choice. Mix it further so that the vanilla flavor completely permeates the cream.If you want to give color to the buttercream icing, now is the time to add a few drops of food coloring and mix it again with with the whisk to integrate it.
• The next step to make buttercream icing will be to slowly add the syrup that you previously prepared. Do not pour it in all at once; rather, pour it slowly as it absorbs well into the mix. Your goal is to avoid two differentiated parts.Keep stirring for some extra minutes, until you see that your homemade buttercream icing has a fluffy consistency.
• And ready! That is all you must do to make buttercream icing without powdered sugar. Now you will be able to decorate all kinds of cupcakes, biscuits, tarts or whatever comes to mind. Will you share with us your opinions and what you thought of the results?If you're looking for more cake decoration ideas, don't miss these great fondant icing and fondant with marshmallows recipes.