What keeps you coming back to Rook No. 17? Is it the recipes or the crafts, or a shared affinity for vintage whatnots, retro nerderie, and childhood nostalgia?
Several readers have gently prodded and asked why I haven't been more forthcoming with tips and tutorials relating to my occupational specialty -- cake decorating. Jolly good question, friends! The answer: I don't quite know. What I do know is that it's high time to begin...so, I give you the first installment of what I hope to be an ongoing series of cake art how-tos.
We'll start with a tutorial for HOW TO MAKE BUTTONS FROM ROLLED FONDANT. This is a great project for beginners who are just starting to work in modeling rolled fondant. This project is easy and the results are satisfying. You don't need any costly specialty equipment. Most everything you need can be found at home. The buttons can be used to decorate cupcakes, cakes, cookies, etc... An affordable and easy way to add instant charm!
HOW TO MAKE FONDANT BUTTONS
(you can find a video tutorial at the bottom of this post)
Materials
1 & 2. Look around your home for things that will make a solid round impression in the fondant. The handles of kitchen tools, wooden dowels and bottoms of small bottles work well.
3. Round cookie cutters (you can usually find these as a set at most craft and kitchen stores).
4. Pastry tips of various sizes. I like the Wilton tips 3, 5 and 12.
5. Buttons to use as models and inspiration. Also, decorative buttons with ornate patterns can be used to make impression.
6. Rolled fondant. You can make your own or purchase it from the craft store. It can be tinted to any shade using gel food coloring. When tinting your fondant, wear disposable gloves.
How-to
Step 1: Start by dusting your work surface with corn starch. Set aside a small bowl of cornstarch. You'll want to dip your tools in to the corn starch to prevent them from sticking.
Step 2: Roll your fondant to approx. 1/4".
Step 3: Using a circle cookie cutter, cut a disc of fondant.
Step 4 & 5: Select a tool with a solid circular end that is slightly smaller in circumference than your fondant disc. Press tool evenly in to disc to make a depression.
Step 6 & 7: Dip pastry tip in to corn starch, then press and twist in the center of the fondant disc to create button holes.
Step 8 -- optional: Once you're comfortable with the technique, you can start to make embellishments. To make the indentations in this button, I used the wooden end of a small paint brush.
Set finished buttons on a tray or piece of paper to dry. They will dry completely hard in a few hours. They can be stored in an airtight container for several months. When decorating with the fondant buttons, you can use a bit of tinted royal icing to mimic the look of thread:
In the video below, I demonstrate these techniques as well as the technique to make the fancy embossed buttons.
Tomorrow, I'll be sharing a tutorial for how to make real-looking brass buttons out of fondant.
What would you like to see next?