ASo this weekend im going to make a 4 inch pound cake in order to carve into a strawberry shortcake house. It will sit on a 6 inch cake. This is my first time for carving and covering in fondant. The cake isn't due until may so I want to get a few practices in before then.

My question is once I get it carved I was thinking of using Grenache. Are there any secrets to getting it smooth for the fondant to look nice?

I'm not sure if this is the "proper" way to do it, but how I get smooth ganache is by doing the first crumb coat layer with gananche that is about the consistency of Nutella, smoothing it as best I can with a bench-scraper, and then refridgerating that until it sets hard.  I then microwave the ganache for a very short time until it is a fair bit runnier, and use that to do the next coating.  As it is more runny, it fills in the gaps and uneven spots left by the first coat.  After I've done one or two coats that way (refridgerating in between), I run my hands over the surface to melt down the few remaining bumps.  It is a long process from start to finish, but not particularly labour intensive.