Hi All - I have read alot about using fondant, but I am super nervous as this will be my first time working with it. I was just wondering if any of you had any tips/tricks you could share? I am making my Godson a dinosaur cake for his 3rd birthday.
Thanks in advance!
Are you buying it or making it?
i would suggest covering a dummy once or twice before the cake if you can .. you could practice covering a cake tin or something if you don't have a dummy. Also there are good YouTube videos to warch!
i struggle with covering cakes in fondant and look forward to the day it actually looks smooth!
I haven't done many cakes but some of the things I have learned so far...
1) If you want your fondant to have a chance of being smooth then the icing below it needs to be smooth. Many people think fondant will cover any imperfections in your cake/frosting. Nope, the opposite is true. So make sure the frosting is smooth.
2) Chill your iced cake before covering with fondant. A cool, firm cake is much easier to cover then a room temp cake...at least in my limited experience.
3) Don't roll your fondant too thin. I did this when I did my first cake and I had to take off and re-roll the fondant twice because it kept tearing. So now I roll my fondant to 1/4" or just a tad under and it is so much easier to work with.
In the end, it just takes practice and figuring out the best method you are comfortable with.
Re rolling too thin: The ideal thickness is about 1/4" or the thickness of a cakeboard. To help judge that, cut strips from a cake board and lay them along side the fondant you are rolling out. You also want the fondant to be rolled evenly. I run my hand around the fondant - I can feel if any part is thicker (usually on the edges). You don't say anything about the size this cake will be but for smaller cakes roll your fondant on waxpaper or some kinds of plastic sheet (I'm thinking those disposable, thin cutting board sheets) you can just pick it up, & turn it over onto the cake - makes it easier - you won't be so worried about it tearing etc. Once it's on the cake you pull it slightly away from the cake while running your hand down the cake to get out any wrinkles. Once you have it all smooth on the cake, use a pizza wheel to cut off the excess. - & Yes! there will be excess to cut off:)
I have never chilled a cake before covering w/fondant but many suggest that so guess that's fine.
Thank you all for your tips! Boy did they come in handy! I think it was a success for my very first effort and my Godson was SO excited! The thing I struggled the most with was what to do if there were bits that I folded wrong and how to correct them without taking off the fondant and starting again. Also how to correctly merge colors so they look seamless. I suppose practice makes perfect...so I will keep working with it to get better. Thank you all so much! Here are some pics....
I actually saw the finished cake posted on the home page before I saw this forum discussion and I think you did a darn good job. Your first picture showing color transition - usually two different pieces of fondant are used abutting each other in a hard line with no attempt to blend them. Second - covering the wrinkle with a leaf, you have discovered the favorite trick of all cake decorators! If you can't fix it cover it up. I have a friend who has been decorating cakes for 50 years and she says, of you have a booboo, make a feature of it and, by golly, it works!
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