Fondant vs Marzipan vs Buttercream

Fondant tastes disgusting. It's really only for making an awesome decoration and make cakes like the pic you have.

We went with butter cream. Fondant has this chalky flavor. However, you have a summer wedding so think of melt factor with butter cream.

Fondant looks nice but tastes bad. I've never eaten marzipan but it doesn't look like something I'd want to eat. Typically something like these little boxes you only need a tiny bit of frosting anyway. We get them for work a lot (I work at Tiffany so naturally we need little blue boxes for events) the frosting is so minimal anyway that I would probably just pick buttercream.

A cake is first covered in icing - usually butter cream before the fondant is placed on it.

No one has to eat the fondant.

It can be taken off by the staff or the guest.

Personally, I like the taste of the fondant that our baker makes. Again, it doesn't matter since it can be removed before serving.

@Valerie, my friend also mentioned something similar, she said to just make sure they put more icing then just to function as a glue for the fondant if I went that route.

That does seem to be a really good option.

Thank you!

I'm not a fondant person either and although it can removed before serving, the baker will more than likely charge you for wanting fondant. I am a strong believer in paying for what I can and want to consume. I found a cake that will look great with butter cream and I and my guests will be able to consume it all. I'm getting what I'm paying for.

Everyone here seems to hate Fondant _& generally I agree however depending on who is making your cake, Fondant can also be made from marshmellow= taste like marshmellows & is yummy!

IDK about marizpan covered cake, never heard of it.

Buttercream! But it's my favorite, so I'm partial.

I don't mind the taste of fondant. Depending on the baker it can taste good. However like pp said, it is hard to make black buttercream and it will taste nasty. Anything dyed black won't taste good fondant or buttercream. You are better off doing fondant and people can take it off. However if you do a lighter color, not black, a highly skilled cake decorator can get buttercream to look almost as smooth as fondant.

Fondant is gross. Buttercream is underneath, but it's a thin layer. If you find a good bakery, they can make that cake covered in buttercream frosting and just use fondant for the bow. A really good bakery can get sharp corners with buttercream.

Our colours are black and white, hense the black in the cake - but I definitely see your point about black buttercream. Geesh I didnt' even think about how nasty that would be, but just typing it makes me cringe.

The cake could always be white buttercream with black fondant ribbon?!

You can have a cake with fondant as the outer layer (to allow the super-smooth finish and details), but no one has to EAT the fondant as there is buttercream underneath. The venue servers should easily be able to remove the fondant before serving the cake. It can be sliced off.

I've heard fondant is really gross, but the marshmallow kind is ok. Can you see if your cake people can make that?

We did a cake with marzipan - which does really drive the cost up (we ended up at $10 a slice). But my husband is Austrian so we really wanted it.

Honestly, I don't mind fondant. It just has to be done well.

Buttercream is my absolute favorite!! It's also the cheapest! If you really want fondant I would do the marshmallow fondant.

Premade fondant is gross. Ask whoever is making your cake, what they use. My friend makes her own marshmallow fondant, and it is delicious. I've never heard of using marzipan. Another option could be covering them in ganache. As for making black buttercream, it is very difficult to do without ruining the consistency or taste. When I was in cake class, they recommended using chocolate buttercream and adding the black to it.

I will definitely ask around about marshmallow fondant, that does sound like it would be tasty. Maybe I'll call bakeries in the city to see if they use marshmallow.

Fondant is beautiful and full of LIES! I love buttercream... I agree with MoonRide about Marzipan too

You're very right Kassy, and the point made earier about nut allergies is also true.

I am definitely going to research marshmallow fondant and see if I can have a taste somewhere. Heck whatever excuse to each marshmallow, I'll use it!

Marzipan is absolutely delicious! It can do the things that fondant does (be colored, rolled out to cover a cake and be molded into decorative shapes) but, in my opinion, tastes a million times better! It is made with almonds, sugar, corn syrup, and egg whites. If you're not an almond fan, then it definitely wouldn't be for you. Buttercream is always a classic choice.