I am new to covering cakes with fondant. I did a round baby shower cake yesterday and I could not get a sharp edge with the fondant. It was really rounded (mushroom-like). I used buttercream under the fondant. Id the fondant to thick?

Thank you!!

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You aren't starting with a super sharp surface, your buttercream. You have to have that super sharp and finished already before you even think about putting fondant on. The thing that works best for me is to pop it in the fridge until it's super hard, then put the fondant on. Use two fondant smoothers at once. Pushing and smoothing with one in each hand, and towards each other really helps get a sharp finish.

I use SMBC, a meringue BC, so when it gets cold, it's hard...perfect for the type of finsh you are working with.

If you can, go get the Planet Cake book....they instruct you how to do this with ganache which is really helpful as well. I use it sometimes, but generally, I am all SMBC.

Yeah, I can't get those darn corners sharp either. On my latest cake (the butterfly cake), I tried the ganache under the fondant. Didn't work so well, it tasted amazing but I think my problem was that I didn't wait long enough for it to set up and harden. I'll have to retry next time with some of Jamie's tips.

BTW, I was trying to look at your photos for ideas, Jamie, but they all seem to be gone? Not to be nosy, but are they coming back soon?

I made this mistake too the first time I did fondant. I didn't think it mattered what the buttercream underneath looked like because it was "hidden". You need to smooth the buttercream as much as you would if it was just covered in buttercream, and let it crust. Then cover in fondant and use the "two smoother" method like Jamie mentioned. BTW, I love your cake!

I still shake my head everytime I think back to the first cake I covered in fondant. It looked like 3 mushrooms stacked on top of each other. It was scarrrrryyy looking! I had iced the cake, and just went and plunked down a sheet of fondant that was probably 1/4 inch thick...oh Lord....what a mess!

I pop mine in the freezer for 10 minutes (after they've been iced perfectly and are crusted over). Then I lay the fondant on them as quickly as possible. I use regular buttercream but would love to try SMBC or ganache as I get more time to experiment. I also bought Sharon Zambito's DVD on how to cover cakes with fondant. It was a big help for me!