Difference Between Gumpaste and Fondant

Gumpaste vs Fondant

Gumpaste and fondant are collectively known as sugar paste. They are like an icing substance that are made of sugar and are used to decorate cakes, pastries, and any other edible decorative purposes. Commonly, they are in white colors but commercial gumpaste and fondant are available in various colors.

Gumpaste

Gumpaste is made from dough and sugar, hence they are sometimes called as “sugar dough”, added with gums so that it has the capabilities of shaping and forming it much like of a clay. They are typically used to make flower decorations and other intricate details of the design. Gumpaste can also be dusted, painted, tinted as long as the materials used are for decorations and edible also.

Fondant

Fondant comes from a French word “fon-dohn” which means “melting” due to their icing attributes that can easily be melted. There are two types of fondant, the poured fondant and the rolled fondant which is sometimes called fondant icing. Poured fondants are the one used in covering a whole cake or a filling in candies and pastries. Fondant icings are the one used for decorative purposes much like gumpastes.

Difference between Gumpaste and Fondant

Generally, gumpastes are commonly used for decorating cakes to form flowers, furnitures, human figures, and any other shape that you want. Fondants, on the other hand, are typically used as a cake cover or coating but can also serve as fillings for candies and pastries. There are two kinds of fondants: poured fondants (made from water and sugar and cooked until fudgy, cooled, and stirred until creamy) and rolled fondants (in its simplest recipe, it is made from melting marshmallows and adding powdered sugar in it) while gum paste is gum paste alone and no other types or kinds.

The difference between gum paste and fondant is on its general purpose. To achieve excellent results for your cakes, you can use fondants to coat the entire cake first then use gum paste to detail the chosen design.