Howard's Fondant Fancies

Join Howard Middleton (GBBO, series 4) live from Sheffield who will teach you the skills to bake his delicious Lemon and Bluberry Fondant Fancies. Impress your guests with Howard's take on a classic cake - fondant fancies. Light lemon sponges are filled with homemade tangy blueberry jam and lemon buttercream, then covered in a thin layer of marzipan and gorgeously glossy fondant. Teatime never looked so fancy!

We’ll start off the class with an introductory welcome and some background from Howard's time on TV, before we ask you to put on our aprons & bake along as you watch Howard demonstrate all the skills required to make this lovely treat. Our class will take around 2 hours as we bake our masterpieces, before you can tuck into the fruits of your labour all whilst hearing fantastic memories and stories from Howard. 

Tickets are priced at £35 for individuals and £50 for groups of two or more that will join from the same household.Places are non-refundable and cannot be cancelled after purchase unless in exceptional circumstances.

All guests will be emailed a link to the class following their booking. Howard will ensure he gives you feedback as we go whilst everyone will be encouraged to ask questions.

Equipment

2x 8in Square Cake Tins (or Rectangle) 

Mixing Bowls

Large Metal Spoon 

Baking Parchment

Wire Cooling Rack 

Foil or Shallow Baking Tray (catching fondant drips)

Fork* 

Saucepan

Small Plate or Saucer 

Cling Film/Plastic Wrap/other freezer safe wrapping

Sharp Serrated Knife or Cake Leveller 

Rolling Pin

Sharp Knife or Kitchen Scissors 

Pastry Brush

Stand Mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer or wooden spoon

*To make the cakes easier to coat in fondant, you can use a truffle fork if you have one, or get an old fork and bend the prongs upwards

Ingredients

For the Lemon Cake:

200g Unsalted Butter, softened 

200g Caster Sugar

Zest of 2 Lemons 

3 Large Eggs*

2tbsp Sour Cream 

200g Plain Flour

2tsp Baking Powder 

Pinch of Salt

For the Blueberry Jam:

120g Fresh Blueberries

60g Jam Sugar (or granulated sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice)

For the Lemon Buttercream:

100g Unsalted Butter, softened 

150g Icing Sugar

Zest of ½ Lemon (or few drops of Limoncello or pure lemon extract)

For the Marzipan**:

250g Icing Sugar, plus extra for rolling 

1 Large Egg, beaten

250g Ground Almonds (blanched in almond flour or meal)

A few drops of Almond extract (optional)

For the Fondant***:

800g Icing Sugar 

150ml Hot (not boiling) Water

60ml Liquid Glucose 

2tsp Glycerine

Yellow and Purple Gel Food Colouring (or other colours of choice)

To Decorate and Assemble:

A little sugar syrup or melted jam to stick the marzipan to the cakes

Coloured water icing or melted chocolate (optional)

Sugar flowers, dragees or other decoration of choice (optional)

*Large Egg in UK = Extra Large Egg in US

** This recipe uses raw egg – if you are concerned about using this, you can use a 500g block of store-bought marzipan instead

*** If you want to cover your fancies in two colours of fondant, you may find it best to mix up only half the quantity, add colour and cover half the batch, then mix up the other half quantity of fondant.

If you have any questions regarding this class please email us at info@bakewithalegend.com.