Basic Fondant

3/4 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Heat water to boiling in 2- or 3-quart saucepan and remove from heat. Add sugar and cream of tartar. Stir with wooden spoon until all sugar dissolves, 6 to 8 minutes, taking care not to splash mixture on sides of pan. Place syrup mixture over medium-high heat. Heat almost to boiling. Cover pan tightly with lid and remove from heat. Let stand 3 minutes. Uncover, return to heat and boil briskly. Do not move pan or stir during this time. While syrup cooks, wash any crystals that form on sides of pan by wrapping damp cloth around tines of fork and wiping crystals out with upward motion so that no crystals fall back into syrup.

Continue cooking until syrup reaches soft-ball stage, exactly 238�F on candy thermometer, about 35 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand very few minutes, or just until bubbles disappear. At once, pour onto marble slab or large, shallow platter. Do not scrape pan. Let cool undisturbed until slab or bottom of platter feels comfortably cool to palm of hand (about 105�F), about 50 minutes. Now start turning edges of candy in toward center, using spatula or wooden spoon.

As candy turns creamy and crumbly, gather mixture up in your hands and knead as you would for bread until you get smooth, white ball of fondant. Wrap fondant in plastic and store in glass jar covered with tight lid. Let fondant mellow 24 hours to 3 days. Remove fondant ball from jar and form into small balls.

Makes about 3/4 pound.