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Fondant substitute

Best substitute

Marshmallow fondant

Use the same amount by weight as the fondant you are replacing

Best for covering cakes

Close match

Marshmallow fondant substitutes weight for weight and tastes far better: melt a 280 g bag of marshmallows with a tablespoon of water and beat in around 450 g of icing sugar. Modelling chocolate is the best option for sharp edges and figures, marzipan rolls beautifully if almond suits the cake, and for most home bakers a well-chilled, smoothed buttercream is honestly the better choice.

Other fondant substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Fondant with ratios

  1. 2Modelling chocolate

    Different texture

    Use the same amount by weight for covering

    Chocolate or candy melts kneaded with corn syrup or glucose into a firm, sculptable paste.

    What changes
    Best for
    sharp-edged cakes, figures and models, draped panels, bows and ruffles, covering small cakes

    The best substitute for anyone who actually wants to eat the decoration. Make it by melting chocolate and stirring in corn syrup or glucose, roughly three parts dark chocolate to one part syrup by weight, or four parts white chocolate or candy melts to one part syrup, then rest until firm. It gives razor-sharp edges, sets solid and tastes genuinely good. The trade-offs are that it softens in warm hands, so work quickly, and it cracks if you roll it as thin as fondant.

  2. 3Marzipan or almond paste

    Different taste

    Use the same amount by weight

    Ground almonds and sugar, the traditional covering under royal icing on a fruitcake.

    What changes
    Best for
    Christmas and fruit cakes, simnel cake, covering under royal icing, moulded fruit and figures

    It rolls more easily than fondant and is far more forgiving over awkward corners, which is why it has been used for this job for centuries. Two real differences. It tastes strongly of almond, so it changes the flavour of the cake rather than sitting neutrally on top, and it is an allergen you must flag to anyone eating it. It is also beige rather than white, so pale colours look muddy over it unless you cover it with a thin layer of white icing.

  3. 4Chilled, smoothed buttercream

    Different texture

    No direct ratio, cover the cake instead of draping it

    Not a like-for-like, and the right answer for most home bakers.

    What changes
    Best for
    birthday cakes, sheet cakes, cupcakes, semi-naked and rustic finishes, cakes that need to taste good

    Say this plainly, because it saves a lot of people a bad afternoon: if the only reason you were buying fondant was a smooth finish on a birthday cake, buttercream does that. Crumb coat, chill until firm, apply a thick second coat, then smooth with a bench scraper or a palette knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry. What buttercream cannot do is hold a hard edge in a warm room, take heavy decorations, or be draped as a sheet, so tiered and sculpted cakes still want a paste.

  4. 5Royal icing

    Taste and texture differ

    No direct ratio, spread rather than roll

    Icing sugar beaten with egg white or meringue powder, which sets hard.

    What changes
    Best for
    fruit cakes, flooded and piped cookies, snow-peak finishes, piped detail and lettering, gingerbread houses

    A different look rather than a substitute for the same look. Royal icing is spread or flooded, never draped, and it dries to a brilliant white surface that is either rough-peaked in the traditional Christmas cake style or glass-flat if you thin it. It sets genuinely hard, which is perfect for cookie decorating and for gluing gingerbread together, and it shatters rather than cuts, so slice a royal-iced cake with a hot knife.

  5. 6Nothing performs like fondant for sculpted work

    Different taste

    Use Add 1 tsp tylose or CMC for every 250 g to stiffen paste for figures

    The honest limit, for tiered cakes, thin drapes and modelled figures.

    What changes
    Best for
    tiered wedding cakes, sculpted figures, thin drapes and ruffles, razor-sharp edges

    If the design needs paper-thin drapes, standing figures or knife-sharp edges on a stacked cake, there is no substitute that performs the same way, and improvising will cost you the cake. Gum paste is the correct upgrade for figures because it dries hard and holds fine detail, and you can turn fondant into something close to it by kneading in about a teaspoon of tylose or CMC powder per 250 g and resting it for a few hours.

What is Fondant?

Fondant is Rolled fondant, known in the UK as sugarpaste or ready-to-roll icing, is a pliable dough of icing sugar bound with glucose or corn syrup, gelatin or gum and a little fat, rolled into a sheet and draped over a cake to give a smooth, matte, sealed finish.

Cooking tips

  • Knead fondant or marshmallow fondant until it is warm and elastic before you roll it, and roll on a surface dusted with cornflour rather than flour. Flour tastes raw and leaves a dull, floury bloom on the surface that never quite brushes off.
  • Fondant needs a firm, set base or it will slide and dissolve. Crumb coat the cake with buttercream or ganache and chill it until the coating is genuinely firm to the touch, since sugar paste absorbs any moisture it finds.
  • Do not put a fondant-covered cake in the fridge uncovered. Condensation forms as it warms back up and leaves the surface sticky, patchy and streaked, and there is no way to repair it. If you must chill it, box it and let it come back to room temperature inside the closed box.
  • Humidity is the real enemy. On a damp day fondant sweats and dark colours bleed into light ones, so decorate as late as you can and keep the finished cake at room temperature in a cake box rather than under a dome.
  • Most people peel fondant off and eat the cake underneath, which is worth knowing before you spend an evening on it. If flavour matters more than a flawless surface, roll the covering thinner over a good buttercream, or switch to modelling chocolate.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use buttercream instead of fondant?

For most cakes, yes. A chilled and scraper-smoothed buttercream gives a clean finish, tastes much better and is far more forgiving of mistakes. What it cannot do is hold sharp edges in a warm room, support heavy decorations or be draped over a sculpted shape, so tiered and modelled cakes still need a paste.

Does fondant taste bad?

It tastes of very sweet icing sugar with a slightly waxy texture from the fat and glucose that keep it pliable, and most people find it unpleasant to eat in a thick layer. Homemade marshmallow fondant and modelling chocolate both taste considerably better, which is the main reason to make your own.

Can I make fondant at home?

Yes, and marshmallow fondant is the easiest version. Melt around 280 g of marshmallows with a tablespoon of water, beat in roughly 450 g of icing sugar with well-greased hands, then wrap tightly and rest it for a few hours before rolling. It keeps for a couple of weeks double-wrapped at room temperature.

Can I just leave it out and skip fondant on a birthday cake?

Absolutely. A smoothed buttercream cake with sprinkles, piped borders or fresh fruit looks deliberate and tastes better than a fondant-covered one, and nobody at a birthday party has ever complained about the absence of sugar paste. Save fondant for designs that genuinely require a sheeted surface.

How far in advance can I cover a cake with fondant?

A day or two ahead is normal, kept at cool room temperature in a closed box away from any source of moisture. Longer than that and the cake beneath starts to dry out, and in a humid kitchen the surface will begin to sweat and soften.

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