i AM IN NEED OF HELP.....A family member has asked me to make her wedding cake. She then showed me a picture from Carlos" Bakery...Real ly? I have done many cakes, but I am self-taught, and not great at fondant. AnywAy, this cake has lots of fondant, and a fondant pleated skirt. I need a tutorial....video...something, so I can decide on wether to take on this challenge. ALSO, how do you get the fondant to be shiny? THANKS SO MUCH

She has pleating on this cake. She says she just overlapped strips of fondant. Is this what you are looking for or more flowy?

http://staceyssweetshop.blogspot.com/2011/01/valentine-themed-romantic-wedding-cake.html

you cut even strips of fondant , an then fold over one edge place it on the cake , cover the unfolded edge with the next folded one. keep going until the cake is covered.

I use a pasta machine to roll out the icing so it is all the same thickness and it is a lot quicker .

brett9008, I've done this cake before. Check it out in my photos.
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1743112
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1885093

Ok, so here is what you do....roll out you fondant and cut it in to wide strips. Put plently of corn starch or powder sugar on the fondant, both sides so it doesn't stick. Then fold it evenly like an accordion. Then place it on your cake. When you place the next one on your cake you can work with the pleats to hide where each piece meets together so it looks like one piece. Once it all done, rub a small about of shortening on it to get rid of the corn starch. Also, to make it shiney, CK has a dust called "satin" you can mix that with vodka and paint or airbursh it on your cake. Or you could use a pearl airbursh color (I tested it and didn't like the pearl look myself. The satin looks much better) I was running out of time and choose to just leave it plain and I thought it turned out fine.

One more secret....I used a dummy cake on that layer. That much fondant...yuck. Plus, it takes awhile to do so you can do it ahead of time.

I hope this helps.

The only thing I will add to what ChelleCakes said was to use a little gum glue to attach the strips to the cake. Make sure you measure the circumference and divide it up evenly by width of the finished folded strip, plus about a quarter inch for overlap. Also, go easy on the gum glue with the first strip, because you'll eventually need to tuck the last one under it. At first I was free handing the folds, but then realized folding the end over a skewer gave me straighter results. Only cut a few strips at a time or the fondant will dry out.

You can see a picture of my cake in my gallery.

http://cakecentral.com//gallery/1989249

Also, If you decide to do it, don't undercharge yourself. It will take a lot of time and fondant.

thanks april it is getting late here , and my explaining is not the best.
I don't use gum glue , I have found that water works just fine .

I cut all my strips and keep them under plastic , I use big sheets of vinyl , to stop them from drying out.

you're absolutely right, you can use water.

To make it shiny you can dust, paint or airbrush it with super pearl dust.

You can also steam it, but that only makes it shiny for a short amount of time.

I think I've seen on one of the cake shows that you can airbrush it with vodka to remove the cornstarch and shine it a bit.

You all are terrific....I was on the verge of turning down this cake because i was "scared".....I think I have learned alot. I had images of one big piece of fondant...not strips.....THANK YOU GREATLY.

I know what you mean about it looking scary to do, brett9008, but it's a fairly simple technique that gives amazing results! Best of luck on your cake!

brett9008, Post pictures when you are done. I'd love to see how it turns out

Lots of great advice here!! I can't wait to try these techniques!!