Fondant and Acid

[lebowits]

Last week I decided that I wanted to try making a fondant "creme" center using lemon as the flavoring agent. I zested and juiced 2 medium lemons. I added the juice and zest to 500 grams of fondant. To moderate the tartness of the lemons I also added 100 grams of honey (orange honey in this case).

The resulting product was very fluid and didn't retain any of the white color of the fondant, resulting in what appeared to be nearly clear liquid. I poured this into dark chocolate shells which I had previously decorated by splattering yellow cocoa butter on the surface of the mold.

The liquid never really crystallized on the exposed surface but I was able to cap the molds.

Friends that tasted the piece gave it rave reviews which encouraged me to consider how I might modify the formula to get something a bit firmer.

Today I remade the center but only used the juice of 1 lemon while keeping the zest from both. The resulting fluid was too firm so I re-warmed it over a bain marie and added 25 grams of water which thinned it sufficiently for piping.

This time, the texture is much firmer and it retains the white coloring of the fondant. My wife tells me that this center tastes "grainy" and that she prefers the original formulation with the additional lemon juice.

I'm curious if the lemon juice had a chemical effect on the fondant. Was my first trial thinned simply by the juice enough to melt out the sugar crystals in the fondant or is sugar changed by the acid in the juice?

Any chemists out there who can shed light on the subject?

[Chocolot]

Not a chemist, but I do have a few years experience making fondant centers.

1. Did you cook the fondant yourself?

2. Cream based or water based?

3. If you cooked, what temp did you cook it too?

Short answer is that acids tend to invert the sugar and make them softer.

[lebowits]

Not a chemist, but I do have a few years experience making fondant centers. 

1. Did you cook the fondant yourself?

2. Cream based or water based?

3. If you cooked, what temp did you cook it too?

Short answer is that acids tend to invert the sugar and make them softer.

←

I use a commercial pastry fondant which during preparation of the center I "warm" to 160F.

I suspected that the acid might invert the sugar. The thing with this flavor is that the lemon juice gives the center a really nice tart taste and cuts the sweetness of the fondant. The trick is to figure out how to get it to form a "skin" so that the center doesn't heave up when capping the mold. My first batch still heaved a bit after sitting overnight.

I'm going to do another batch tonight and might add a few grams of melted white chocolate to provide some stiffness. Hopefully it won't mess with the flavor too much.

[Spring]

Im only half a year late with this but how did it go? (if you still rememeber lol)

[lebowits]

Im only half a year late with this but how did it go? (if you still rememeber lol)

Truly, I never quite got back to it. I just got some new molds and am thinking of changing the formulation to focus on the lemon zest, and maybe a bit of lemon oil if the flavor isn't strong enough. I would also thin out the fondant either with something like limoncello, or maybe add a bit of invertase.

Thanks for asking. I've been thinking about what I may offer differently this year. Fruit flavors should sell well. Mint flavors too. Maybe a lemon mint would be nice.

[schneich]

usually a creamy center is done with essential oils and invertase, which softens the center without making it grainy (recristallization)...

[Spring]

Thanks for your reply. Im impressed you remembered

What about a berry or orange or mandarin? Mint fondant is always lovely.

I have a lemon grappa which could be an interesting addition. Id love to know how your experiments progress

[ejw50]

Not a chemist, but I do have a few years experience making fondant centers.

1. Did you cook the fondant yourself?

2. Cream based or water based?

3. If you cooked, what temp did you cook it too?

Short answer is that acids tend to invert the sugar and make them softer.

←

I use a commercial pastry fondant which during preparation of the center I "warm" to 160F.

I suspected that the acid might invert the sugar. The thing with this flavor is that the lemon juice gives the center a really nice tart taste and cuts the sweetness of the fondant. The trick is to figure out how to get it to form a "skin" so that the center doesn't heave up when capping the mold. My first batch still heaved a bit after sitting overnight.

I'm going to do another batch tonight and might add a few grams of melted white chocolate to provide some stiffness. Hopefully it won't mess with the flavor too much.

Do you have to?

Could you could try the technique of spraying cocoa butter on the back before backing (technique I learned on this forum!).

Could you try the technique of piping in the backings? Does this technique work, have not tried it myself.

Would be interesting in learning the uses and limitations of these two techniques.

Edited January 25, 2010 by ejw50 (log)

[lebowits]

Not a chemist, but I do have a few years experience making fondant centers. 

1. Did you cook the fondant yourself?

2. Cream based or water based?

3. If you cooked, what temp did you cook it too?

Short answer is that acids tend to invert the sugar and make them softer.

←

I use a commercial pastry fondant which during preparation of the center I "warm" to 160F.

I suspected that the acid might invert the sugar. The thing with this flavor is that the lemon juice gives the center a really nice tart taste and cuts the sweetness of the fondant. The trick is to figure out how to get it to form a "skin" so that the center doesn't heave up when capping the mold. My first batch still heaved a bit after sitting overnight.

I'm going to do another batch tonight and might add a few grams of melted white chocolate to provide some stiffness. Hopefully it won't mess with the flavor too much.

Do you have to?

Could you could try the technique of spraying cocoa butter on the back before backing (technique I learned on this forum!).

Could you try the technique of piping in the backings? Does this technique work, have not tried it myself.

Would be interesting in learning the uses and limitations of these two techniques.

I would imagine that spraying a film of cocoa butter would work well, but I have neither a spray can of the stuff or an airbrush right now. I'm going to work more on my process and not thin the fondant quite so much and use invertase to soften it for me after capping and curing.

I'll let you know how it all turns out.