Hi!

I'm testing out practice wedding cakes/dummies and need some fundamental advice! so bear with me!

1) if i don't want to use marzipan under the rolled fondant, can i just use one layer of the 1/4" fondant. Or should i do 2 layers of the 1/4" fondant OR a really thick layer of fondant? ( this would be for all types of cakes - white , chocolate ( issue of brown colour coming thru?) and fruit cakes.

2) I understand with fruit cakes, people mainly use apricot jam to seal and act as glue for the fondant. then what is commonly used for chocolate cake? what would go with a chocolate cake in terms of flavour? some say use "gel" instead of jams? would this taste weird on a choc cake. or would you crumb coat it with a white buttercream ( based on crisco - need to stay out 3 days) so the choc colour won't stand out under the fondant.

3) what do you use as glue for a dummy cake b4 placing the fondant on? i tried simple syrup but I didn't find the fondant sticking to the styrofoam so well.

I'd love to know what is everyone's preferred "glue" for white cake, choc cake and fruit cake under a fondant covering?

Hope the above is clear and any advice is much appreciated!
thanks!

I use a regular coating of buttercream icing that way if people don't like to eat fondant they still have icing. A spray mist bottle of water over the icing will adhere the fondant or you can use piping gel. So if you wanted you could use chocolate icing on the chocolate cake.

Well, I don't have a lot of experience, but I did cover a chocolate cake with mmf. I just did a little heavier crumb coat with bc and covered. I didn't have any trouble with the chocolate color showing through or problems with the mmf sticking. I also use the crisco based bc. Sorry couldn't be more of a help.

as far as I know, I think people cover their dummy cakes with plastic wrap(so they can reuse them) and then frost with buttercream (thick layer, to cover all traces of plastic wrap, wrinkles, etc.) and then apply the fondant!

When we do dummy cakes inour Wilton Instructor Seminars to make displays, we coat the styrofoam with water using a pastry brush and then pipe piping gel around the bottom to help the fondant adhere. Works well and you don't have to use your buttercream!

that's a great suggestion Darstus.........those wilton instructors.....they got it all figured out don't they ?? lOL

crouton: If you had some big gashes , holes or other irregulatiry that might show under the fondant, I would try to fill them in. It just depends on how bad they are. I have had some chunks out of the corner of square dummies but it didn't show once covered and a small bead border covered the rest!