Carrot & Pineapple Cake with vegan Fondant Icing

For my Wilton course 3 class 2 , I had to take a cake and fondant icing.But Fondant icing that we get in store is not a vegetarian, so was in a big dilemma as to do what?Just buy the fondant icing and cover it on Styrofoam or bake a cake and try vegan fondant. I found a recipe for vegan fondant and bought all the ingredients too. Since i didn't know the consistency of the fondant I took that to the class. My instructor was happy with it and said a little more powder sugar should do the trick.Hurray!I was happy. But working with fondant is not as easy as it looks. My hands were sour the day i made fondant at home because it demands lot of kneading.

I felt my fondant was not that stretchy as it has to be, may be because I used Agar flakes instead of powder.Will try powder and see it next time. That's why it was breaking apart. But I could eat the cake with no guilt, I was happy for that. Fondant icing looks very neat and natural compared to other icings that's what I felt.

Carrot and Pineapple Cake was something I wanted to try for sometime now.So I made it for the class and I turned out very tasty with a little pineapple chunks in each bite.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown sugar
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups finely-shredded carrots
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup applesauce (i used crushed Pineapple with juice)
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 egg substitute (Ener-G) (I skipped this as I was using lot of Pineapple and juice)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnut)

Method:
Stir together dry ingredients.Mix in the carrots, oil, crushed Pineapple with juice(if u think the juice is too much then pour a little bit at a time) and vanilla.Beat about 2-3 minutes , until well mixed.Stir in the nuts, if used.Bake at 325 F for about 40-50 minutes , or until a toothpick comes out clean.Cool on a wire rack.

It was very moist and yummy!

Vegan Fondant Icing(I found the recipe here)
For fondant icing, the ingredients are:

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (I used agar agar flakes)
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup Glucose (There is a glucose mixture that Wilton sells, but you can use light corn syrup, you'll just get a softer fondant)
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon Glycerin
8 cups sifted confectioner's sugar (about 2 lbs.) -- 8 cups is a lot, plan on using more like 6. The 8 really makes it stiff and dry/cracked.
Icing color and flavoring, as desired.


Method:

Combine agar flakes and cold water; let stand until thick. Place mixture on stove and boil 5 minutes, or until dissolved. Remove from stove add glucose and shortening, and mix until shortening dissolves. Add glycerin, flavoring and color. Cool until lukewarm (should happen pretty quickly). Next, place 4 cups confectioner's sugar in a bowl and make a well. Pour the lukewarm agar mixture into the well and stir with a wooden spoon, mixing in sugar and adding more, a little at a time, until stickiness disappears. Knead in remaining sugar. Knead until the fondant is smooth, pliable and does not stick to your hands. If fondant is too soft, add more sugar; if too stiff, add water (a drop at a time). Use fondant immediately or store in airtight container in a cool, dry place. Do not refrigerate or freeze. When ready to use, knead again until soft.

This recipe makes approx. 36 oz., enough to cover a 10 x 4 in. high cake.

Note:Try using Powder instead of flakes or soak it in hot water for couple of minutes and wait till the water cools down, flakes didn't dissolve really well and i could see some flakes on my fondant.
Once the fondant is done try to store them in a close container and use a little bit at a time as they dry up very soon. Roll them and cut in desired shape and decorate it.