Fondant

Fondant refers to a smooth white sugar mass produced by cooking a sugar syrup and then working it vigorously as it cools to induce a fine, controlled crystallisation. Gently rewarmed, it becomes coatable and is used to glaze eclairs, religieuses and mille-feuilles, or to fill bonbons. Its regular microcrystalline structure gives fondant its characteristic opacity and melting texture, distinct from royal icing, which relies on egg white and confectioners' sugar instead.