i just buy the ready to roll icing...the thought of making my own icing is so daunting! so i just buy the ready to roll icing and colour it...but it goes too sticky! and how do u make the icing stand up so when it hardens it stays there...and how long does it take to harden? (total newbie!!) the only cake ive properly made is my spongebob cake!

I always use a ready-to-roll purchased fondant, but...

-sometimes I mix in gumpaste 1/2 & 1/2 if I need it to dry harder or if I need to roll it thinner

- when you colour fondant... don't use liquid colours... you must use paste, gel or powder. I prefer powder, but I also use paste. If it gets too soft, add some icing sugar as required to stiffen it back up

- always colour ahead of time and let your paste sit (a couple of hours is great)... the colour develops and darkens, so you don't need to add as much as you might think!

-fondant softens with heat... if you've worked the fondant a lot, you may need to let it rest and cool off from te heat of your hands

-the thicker the piece, the longer it takes to dry... it usually is dry on the surface within about an hour, but will be quite soft inside. If the piece is not too thick, it'll dry overnight (assuming you're taking about loose pieces... if it's on a cake it may never dry inside)

Hope this helps!

thanks so much...helps alot....is this colour paste expensive?..i like making cakes but have no cakes to make for anybody!!! and i cant just make one because i havnt got alot of money and it just seems like im throwing it away...i really need practise!!

The Wilton colours are only $2-3 per jar (Canadian... I don't know in the US) however, everyone I've spoken to seems to agree that the Americolor brand is much better, but i haven't tried it yet.

Note ... for most colours, you only need a little bit, so a jar goes a LONG way! You usually measure it by dipping a toothpick in then sticking that toothpick into your icing to transfer the colour.

personaly I don't like the tase of the boxed rolled fondant .... have you tried MMF? I'm a total newby ... I started baking a couple of months ago .. and to be honest it was very easy to make ... I highly recomend it

I haven't tried MMF yet, I use fondant from www.creativecutters.com ... it's NOTHING like that nasty Wilton stuff!