Easy soft fondant recipe

[bbadger07]

I've just bought some soft fondant from bee feed site which was quite expensive. Has anyone got a simple recipe which is simple to make for soft fondant, kind regards to all

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Find a friendly local baker and ask if you can buy a 12.5 Kilo box of fondant from him/her

Bako sell fondant for less than eight quid for a 12.5 Kilo block but you have to be an account holder and buy at least £55.00 worth

 

[dpearce4]

i do this one

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showpost.php?p=578&postcount=1

but change the liquid glucose for 2tbs of wilko brewing sugar which is pure glucose powder.

 

[dpearce4]

this works well to. again use 2tbs brewers sugar (99p kg) from wilko instead of liquid glucose.

 

[bbadger07]

Thanks

 

[dpearce4]

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/video.php?do=viewdetails&videoid=96

this may help you to. shows the process.

 

[Poly Hive]

Bako will not supply the East Mids unless they have changed their ways in the last year or so. Saying they supply Devon or Yorkshire is immaterial as each region is seemingly autonomous.

PH

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Bako will not supply the East Mids unless they have changed their ways in the last year or so. Saying they supply Devon or Yorkshire is immaterial as each region is seemingly autonomous.

PH

regardless - still better to contact your local baker and see what he can do for you rather than fannyarseing around with rolling your own

 

[Millet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KyJOM0pejw

 

[dpearce4]

That's the same video as I posted in post 6 millet didn't you look?

 

[Millet]

Sorry i missed it.

 

[Dadnlad]

regardless - still better to contact your local baker and see what he can do for you rather than fannyarseing around with rolling your own

This

Echoing JBM ..... 12.5kg for a tenner from local bakers (who actually bake things rather than buy it in)
Yet my association selling bako fondant for £15 ?

 

[Goran]

Fondant, nothing invented by myself just using what my mentor use:
2 liters of water and 5 kg of sugar on the stove, we try not to warm too hot ( while you still can hold your finger in it), add 5grams of citric or acetic acid, stir all the time. When dissolved sugar, leave for a day.

Instead of this would be easier to use already inverted syrup.

Next day in bakery mixer we first put these ( warmed previously) and some honey and about 30kg of powder sugar. Have to watch for consistency to add warm water or honey ( some advocate not to use honey - so, up to you) or powder sugar.

Better than many I used to buy before. Some mix also their own pollen with it, I don't or defat soya flour or.. or..

 

[user 1914]

Rather than heat up a mixture to make a classic fondant, you could more simply mix icing sugar with just enough warmed honey to make a stiff paste. No cooking involved. Is there anything wrong with that?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Rather than heat up a mixture to make a classic fondant, you could more simply mix icing sugar with just enough warmed honey to make a stiff paste. No cooking involved. Is there anything wrong with that?

all the anti-caking additives they put into icing sugar for a start

 

[dpearce4]

Rather than heat up a mixture to make a classic fondant, you could more simply mix icing sugar with just enough warmed honey to make a stiff paste. No cooking involved. Is there anything wrong with that?

passing EFB or AFB if you use supermarket honey. and the possibilities of passing them even if you use yours you don't know u got it till to late and then you could have passed it to all ur colonies then ur screwed.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Rather than heat up a mixture to make a classic fondant, you could more simply mix icing sugar with just enough warmed honey to make a stiff paste. No cooking involved.

Some of the more senior beekeepers in my association still use a bag of granulated sugar.

They cut an X shape in the wrapper and fold it back, pour 'some' water in, turn the bag of sugar upside down over the feeder board then close the hive up and walk away.

 

[bbadger07]

Thanks everyone the YouTube link was very interesting, so I'm going with that, the bag of sugar sounded a good idea but lazy I must admit. Bakers fondant also sounded good but aren't sure about how safe it is so would love some more feedback on this, as I have a local baker at the back of my streey

 

[Zante]

passing EFB or AFB if you use supermarket honey. and the possibilities of passing them even if you use yours you don't know u got it till to late and then you could have passed it to all ur colonies then ur screwed.

Ok, just playing devil's advocate here: what if you keep some honey from each hive and set it aside to be used for this? So if you have 4 hives you'd keep 4 jars of honey, one for each hive to feed back to the hive in case it's needed.
Wouldn't advocate this for commercial keepers as it would be a nightmare to manage, but for a hobbyist?
Once you're over the winter, if you have honey left over in these jars, you just use it for yourself and refill the jars with fresh honey for the next winter at harvest time.

I suppose it's be a hassle to extract, to keep honey for these jars separate from each hive, as I said, just playing devil's advocate...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Bakers fondant also sounded good but aren't sure about how safe it is so would love some more feedback on this

Baker's fondant (the stuff you get in 12.5 Kg slabs from baker's suppliers - not fondant icing and the like you get in supermarkets) is perfectly safe, it's just powdered sugar and glucose mixed in a great big mixer - so not even the dangers of HMF you could get with the home made stuff if you overheat.
It's identical to the branded stuff you can buy off Ambrosia and Belgosuc (the only difference is there's probably a pretty picture of a bee on the box of the latter) although they charge a greatly inflated price so that the hobbyist feels happy and safe that they have bough 'the best'.
A lot of commercal beekeepers use it.
I've always used it as a 'top up' if needed towards the end of winter,never harmed my bees it's also what most use in mating nucs etc.
It also lasts forever - I just leave mine in the shed so the damp conditions ensure it doesn't go hard - the box may get to look a bit mouldy and dirty but the fondant inside is fine - just opened a box yesterday which has been sat there for about three years