It’s a good question right? My client today asked me about this. There are some bakers out there that use one or the other or both. At RBI Cakes we choose to use fondant. Our fondant tastes delicious, like sweet vanilla or if you are a bit more daring for a color choice choose the chocolate that tastes like a Tootsie Roll. (Before the application of the fondant, the cakes are frosted with a Swiss meringue buttercream.) In order for us to achieve the kind of cakes that we do, with the intricate design work, we use fondant to give us a smooth perfect canvas. We roll ours out to 1/16thof inch.
But why do we choose to use fondant? There are a couple of good reasons:
1. Smooth finish on the cake so we can create intricate sugar décor.
2. While we work on our cakes, they go in and out of the refigerator to maintain freshness. The fondant actually works as an insulator keeping the cakes cold and fresh during this process. (Yes – it is ok to put fondant in the fridge.)
3. We deliver our cakes cold about 1.5 hours before the guests arrive to the event. Because the cake is delivered cold, it can stay out for a very long time and gradually get to room temperature. Later on in the evening when you are ready to cut into the cake, the buttercream will be the perfect consistency.
NYC Cake Girl 