How to Make Purple Fondant

Purple fondant adds a dramatic and colorful touch to a special-occasion dessert.

Fondant is a smooth icing that gives cakes, cupcakes and other desserts a smooth and polished appearance. You can leave fondant its natural color of white or add paste or gel coloring and tailor it to fit the occasion and your decorating theme. If you want a look for your cake that is striking and dramatic, consider decorating it with purple fondant. You can top the entire cake with purple fondant, or you can shape the fondant into flowers, butterflies or other 3-dimensional accents to add to a cake frosted in a complementary color. Making your own fondant guarantees the freshest and most flavorful final product, and you can control the intensity of the purple by adding more or less paste coloring until your desired shade of purple is achieved.

Things You'll Need

• 1 1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup water
• Bowls
• Double boiler
• 1/2 cup glucose syrup
• 1 tbsp. glycerin
• 2 tbsp. shortening
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• Wooden spoon
• Purple food coloring paste
• Toothpick
• Airtight plastic container

Instructions

1. Pour 1 1/2 tsp. of unflavored gelatin and 1/4 cup of cold water into a bowl.

2. Add the gelatin mixture to the top of a double boiler. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it dissolves. Stir the solution to aid in dissolving the gelatin.

3. Add 1/2 cup glucose syrup and 1 tbsp. glycerin to the solution. Stir in 2 tbsp. of shortening and remove the mixture before the shortening melts completely.

4. Pour 1 tsp. of vanilla extract into the mixture. Stir until the mixture cools and feels lukewarm.

5. Add 4 cups of confectioners' sugar into a large bowl. Create a well in the center of the sugar.

6. Pour the warm gelatin mixture into the mixture. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until it no longer appears sticky.

7. Knead the fondant when you can no longer stir it. Knead until the fondant appears smooth and pliable. Keep kneading until it no longer sticks to your hands. Add more sugar if the fondant feels too soft and add one or two drops of water at a time if it feels too stiff.

8. Add a small amount of purple food coloring paste to the fondant with a toothpick. Knead the fondant dough to mix the purple into the icing. Add a small amount of the paste at a time until you achieve the desired purple shade. Always add small amounts because you can always add more color but you can never take color away from the fondant.

9. Roll the fondant into a ball. Store the fondant in an airtight plastic container at room temperature.

Tips & Warnings

• Add an equal amount of red and blue food coloring paste if you do not have purple.

• Wear gloves when adding food coloring to fondant to prevent staining your hands.

• To keep the fondant from sticking to your hands when you're working with it, rub your hands with a little solid shortening.

• Never store fondant in the refrigerator or freezer because it can change the texture of the icing.

• Avoid using liquid food coloring because it makes the icing too wet, which dissolves the sugar and breaks down the fondant.

References

• Diana's Desserts: Rolled Fondant
• Food Network: Decorating with Fondant Recipe
• Baking 911: Decorating 101: Tinting
• Wilton: Add Color or Flavor to Fondant