I am a very novice cake maker, and in the few cakes i've made, they never look really clean and crisp. I have this terrible habit of getting icing color or icing or anything else on my nice pretty fondant, and i was wondering if anyone had any advice on getting that kind of stuff off cleanly?[/img]

when I've gotten color on my fondant I use a little alchohol (usually vodka, or vanilla extract) and a paper towel to clean it off.

I've used vodka and a paintbrush successfully to remove stains.

To avoid putting them there in the first place, you just need to be a bit careful about wiping down countertops, tools and fingers that get messy between steps. I'm not that great at it myself.