In the culinary arts, the word fondant can refer to one of two types of sugar-based pastes used in preparing and decorating cakes, pastries and confections.

Poured fondant is a sweet, creamy paste that can be used as a filling or icing for pastries such as éclairs and Napoleons. Poured fondant can be made from nothing but sugar, corn syrup and water. Once cooked, cooled and stirred, fondant can be used for making candies, or it can be thinned out and poured over cookies and other baked items.

Rolled fondant is almost like a very sweet dough. Like poured fondant, rolled fondant is made from sugar, corn syrup and water, to which is also added glycerin and some sort of gelatin. The fondant is rolled out flat into sheets which can then be colored and used to decorate cakes.

Rolled fondant is not cooked, and in general is less palatable than poured fondant, although it does produce visually appealing results.

Also Known As: Australian icing