Rolling Fondant For Large Cake - Help!
Decorating By tc4cake Updated 1 Sep 2007 , 7:10pm by alanahodgson
I am rolling fondant for a 14" square that is approx. 5" high.....Once I get something big and smooth enough to roll the fondant on, is there an easy way to roll a big piece that ends up pretty uniform - And without your wrists hurting? ha,ha....I have a large 19" fondant rolling pin, I've weighed the fondant so I know I'm using enough....To be safe I want to roll 24" from what I was told......
Any tips on getting something large enough, smooth surface???
Thanks!
I prefere to use a large sheet of thick, flexible plastic Tablecovering - available in the fabric section of Wal-Mart & other places - for rolling out fondant. What worked best for me was to lightly grease the plastic w/Crisco then lightly wipe it off w/paper towel. This worked best for me over the powdered sugar puffing suggested by Wilton.
For such large pieces roll, pick up, roll, pick up untill the fondant gets about 1/2" thick. After that it is very hard to lift the fondant w/o messing it up so you take your chances just rolling more until it is the size/thickness you want. But.....before putting it on the cake if you have another piece of plastic turn it over onto the new piece to make sure it hasn't stuck to the plastic.
First of all, you need to roll it a little larger than 24" - I'd say 26 - 28" so that you have 1-2" on each side to play with. (5" tall + 14" across + 5" down the other side = 24"). I have a small kitchen island that I like to use to roll out fondant, but when I do larger pieces I take a couple pieces of 20" x 30" foamboard and tape them together down the middle so that I have a 40" x 30" surface to roll on. Cover them with some sort of plastic and grease liberally with Crisco. This worked great for me when I did a 16" round. And just FYI, Michael's has their 20" x 30" X 3/16" foamboard on sale for $1.67 right now, until tomorrow, anyways. Hope that helps!
Heather
It's a big job for sure! I've covered a 16" square and a 14", so I remember the issues! If you're asking for how to keep it smooth, You just have to roll it like a regular size and use your hands or a fondant smoother to get it and keep it smooth. I agree about trying to lift it a turn it while you can, but not when it gets too big, just keep rolling it in different directions. You will need extra for the corners -- and you might want someone on the other side of the cake telling you where to place it so that you know where you are with it - it can be tricky.
I found picking up the fondant to be the trickiest thing. I was using the homemake version of Wilton fondant, so it was super stretchy and every time I tried with the smaller diameter rolling pin, it just drooped and fell apart. I don't think this would happen with mmf or with a prepared fondant. But, anyway, I ended up using a piece of pvc pipe -- 4" around. It worked great! I had no stress picking up the huge piece of fondant.
Good luck!
S.
I used the flexible plastic table cloth for a large round cake I was making and I got very small air bubbles on the fondant that is on the plastic. I have tried this twice both with the same results.What am I doing wrong? I put a little crisco on the plastic and rolled it and again I got the same bubbles. I have a 16 and 14 inch round cake that I have to make soon and I am a little scared on how I am going to get the fondant on the cake. Any one have any advice?
I use the ateco fondant work mat and I have never had anything stick to it. I have now changed my methods though for rolling and picking it up. I started using satin ice fondant and I found it a bit softer than mmf. So I started using corn starch (not a lot) on the mat and it just slides right around on it. I now use my large rolling pin ( the wilton one) and roll the fondant up on it a little to transfer it onto the cake. Previously I was just picking it up. The rolling pin works much better. I guess I dont really worry too much about if the fondant is exactly the same thickness, I just eyeball it.
In the kitchen here we roll out fondant on a vinyl table cloth, used soley for this purpose, and powder sugar, not shortneing. For larger cakes, we have masonite boards, like you would use as a base for your wedding cakes. When using the board you pick the size that is the size of your cake + the sides + 4". So for a 14" round + 4" sides each (which is 8") +4" = a 26" round diameter board. If you are rolling for a square of the same dimensions add an additional 4". The reason being, the more excess fondat around the cake the less wrinkles you have to work out next to the cake. Okay, with the board sprinkle powder sugar on it with a sifter. Start rolling out the fondant from the center. Once thinned out, but not yet to your size, grab another board of the same size and sandwich them together with your fondant in the center. Flip them over, remove what was originally your bottom board, sprinkle with sugar, roll somemore, flip, sprinkle, roll, until your fondant comes to the edges all the way around your board and is the thickness you want. Then use a pvc pipe and back roll your fondant onto it and place on your cake. This board helps make sure you have the right size to fit your cake and lets you check for sticking. We only use this method for the large cakes, in which we have a variety of large size boards. Hope this helps.
In the kitchen here we roll out fondant on a vinyl table cloth, used soley for this purpose, and powder sugar, not shortneing. For larger cakes, we have masonite boards, like you would use as a base for your wedding cakes. When using the board you pick the size that is the size of your cake + the sides + 4". So for a 14" round + 4" sides each (which is 8") +4" = a 26" round diameter board. If you are rolling for a square of the same dimensions add an additional 4". The reason being, the more excess fondat around the cake the less wrinkles you have to work out next to the cake. Okay, with the board sprinkle powder sugar on it with a sifter. Start rolling out the fondant from the center. Once thinned out, but not yet to your size, grab another board of the same size and sandwich them together with your fondant in the center. Flip them over, remove what was originally your bottom board, sprinkle with sugar, roll somemore, flip, sprinkle, roll, until your fondant comes to the edges all the way around your board and is the thickness you want. Then use a pvc pipe and back roll your fondant onto it and place on your cake. This board helps make sure you have the right size to fit your cake and lets you check for sticking. We only use this method for the large cakes, in which we have a variety of large size boards. Hope this helps.
i really like this method...will keep this info for future use! thanks for sharing!
I used the flexible plastic table cloth for a large round cake I was making and I got very small air bubbles on the fondant that is on the plastic. I have tried this twice both with the same results.What am I doing wrong? I put a little crisco on the plastic and rolled it and again I got the same bubbles. I have a 16 and 14 inch round cake that I have to make soon and I am a little scared on how I am going to get the fondant on the cake. Any one have any advice?
the shortening does not allow the fondant to slide on the vinyl. I find I get the bubbles as well when using this method. If you switch to powdered sugar or cornstarch (or start wtih crisco but flip to another vinyl sheet and finish with powdered sugar) you will not get the bubbles.
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