Marzipan and the Mystery of Fondant

I'm feeling a little ambitious and am thinking of making some petits fours to distribute on V-Day.

But I'm not quite so ambitious that I want to make my own fondant when apparently ready-made quality versions are available for purchase.

Anyone know where I can buy marzipan and premade fondant/royal icing?

Needs to be somewhere in the city and accessible by public trans, if possible.

If you don't find a local source for fondant, although I bet you will, the King Arthur folks sell it.

bakerscatalogue.com -- search for "fondant".

White Stokes Co 3615 S Jasper Place / Chicago, IL 60609
(800)W-STOKES(978-6537)
Fondant, Piping Gel, Caramel and Marshmallow products

http://www.whitestokes.com/Products.htm

Do you know if they sell to individuals as retail or just wholesale?

I've noticed that there's no shortage of bakery suppliers in Chicago, but they all seem to only do wholesale business. I called one place on Damen but you have to order a minimum of $100. I don't even remember ever seeing a simple retail bakery supplies store here.

Even in Richmond, VA, there are at least two stores I can recall off the top of my head.

I personally don't know the answer to your question, but for small amounts I have seen Marzipan at some groceries. Just curious, are you unwilling to make your own? See below:

"Personally - I use store bought Marzipan - found in most well-stocked grocery stores. Here is a recipe just in case you can't find it - or you want to try making it yourself!"

found at: http://frankysattic.home.comcast.net/marzipan.htm

and

"Q. Do you have a good recipe (simple) for poured fondant?"

here: http://www.ochef.com/744.htm

Finally,

For smaller orders, consider:

http://www.wilton.com/index.cfm

Apparently, Michaels sells some Wilton supplies. They have some Chicagoland locations:

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/home

Thanks for all the tips and the links.

I hadn't considered making my own marzipan since making/assembling the petits fours themselves seems to be quite a process. The recipe I found suggested just buying marzipan and fondant.

But the recipe you linked to seems easy enough, so if I can't find it in one trip to the grocery store, I may consider making it myself. Have you tried making it before?

After doing some internet searching, I'm a bit confused about the phenomenon that is fondant. It seems that there are some variations of it (rolled vs. poured), and the stuff professionals use has a lot of added stuff (glucose, etc.) that makes it difficult to make at home. I have also seen recipes w/ and w/o powdered sugar added.

I came across the Wilton site in my searches yesterday, but they only sell rolled fondant. I think I'm supposed to used poured for petits fours?

Also read suggestions on one site for covering cakes w/ buttercream before the fondant to make a smoother surface, but I think they may have been referring to wedding cakes.

Basically, I'm trying to recreate to a degree these really good petits fours my mom used to send from Williams-Sonoma for my bday. The icing on those didn't seem like just a glaze, which is what worries me about the homemade recipes. There may have been a buttercream layer, too, but I can't remember.

Needless to say, this is a much more complicated project than initially anticipated! But I think I will try to give it a go and see what happens. Will report back...

In the meantime, if anyone knows of a good bakery I could ask a few questions of, please let me know!

Not sure about the fondant, but I do a lot of work with marzipan and believe it or not, usually get it at one of the local Cost Plus World Markets. They usually have a great selection of plain/colored blocks for whatever you need, especially around the holidays.

Wilton products are also available at Edward Don's on Elston.

Making marzipan is easy if you have a food processor. The added benefit is you can incorporate colors and or flavors (a little orange flower water with orange zest, for instance) much more easily than you can if you purchase a marzipan. I find that people who "don't like marzipan" often like it if it's flavored.

Janet C,

I was in the North Avenue branch of Sur la Table this afternoon, browsing in the baking equipment area, and remembered your post.

As far as fondant goes, they have two types. One is a powdered mix to which you add sugar and water, and the other is the rolled type. You probably want to get the mix.

Royal icing is egg white/confectioner's sugar/ lemon juice or cream of tartar. This I have never seen pre made.

The red line train takes you practically to the front door. North Avenue stop.

I made fondant in my baking class a couple of years ago and it wasn't hard at all. This is purely a shot in the dark, but if you'd like to buy some freshly made from a bakery, you might call around and see if any would be willing to make some for you in the course of their regular process of making it.