Fondant Tips & Tricks
January 7th, 2010 by Susan Matusiak
The smooth, flawless finish of rolled fondant is definitely here to stay! Every book, magazine and television show on cake decorating showcases stunning wedding cakes, cute novelty cakes and yummy cookies using rolled fondant. In my many years of teaching the basics of rolled fondant, I have learned many “tricks” from my students…..we are always learning from each other. Here are a few ideas…..
Crumb coat your cake smooth by lightly icing the cake with buttercream icing. Any imperfections will show through the rolled fondant. Try to use white icing unless you are using a dark tinted fondant.
Lightly dust the surface you are rolling out your fondant on with your dusting pouch filled with powdered sugar. If you live in a very humid climate, you can use 1/2 cornstarch and 1/2 powdered sugar in your pouch. If you live in a very dry climate, you can spread a thin layer of solid vegetable shortening on your work surface before you start to roll out the fondant.
Use a silicone rolling pin when rolling out fondant, you’ll have fewer problems with the fondant sticking to the rolling pin. Never flip the fondant over after you start to roll, just turn the fondant about a 1/4 turn after you roll a few times so it doesn’t stick to the surface.
Carefully place the fondant over the cake and smooth the top with an Easy-Glide Fondant Smoother, pressing lightly on top. Cut away any excess fondant on the bottom edge, so the fondant’s weight doesn’t pull and tear at the icing.
Smooth the sides down. If the top edges on the cake are dry, smooth a bit of solid vegetable shortening in a circular motion around the edge with your smoother. The shortening will soften the dry fondant.
Cakes covered with fondant are heavy, so make sure you have a sturdy board made from foamcore, wood or several cake boards taped together and covered with Fanci-Foil Wrap. You can also use your favorite cake plate or a smooth edge separator plate. A stable base will help prevent your cake and fondant from cracking.
If the fondant has cracked, use the solid vegetable shortening and smooth the cracked area together, using a circular motion. Don’t use water because that will break down the fondant.
Place the fondant on the cake and trim the excess fondant from the bottom of cake to help eliminate seams and folds caused by the excess fondant. If you have a large amount of a fondant fold on the side of the cake, cut the excess fondant so as to have enough fondant to place them next to each other not overlapped. Then take the shortening and smooth the two pieces together.
See more fondant decorating tips and tricks on our website! For more inspiration, browse our fondant project ideas. Be sure to check our selection of fondant tools.
Do you have any tricks or tips for using fondant? Have any questions about using fondant? Have some fun decorating your beautifully covered rolled fondant cake!
Susan is the Senior Cake Decorator with over 20 years of decorating experience in the Decorating Room. She is also an instructor at the Wilton School of Cake Decorating and Confectionery Arts. Susan enjoys her job because each day is new and different — from baking cookies, decorating gingerbread houses or decorating multi-tiered wedding cakes all created for the photos in our publications. There is never a dull moment in the Decorating Room…always a lot of excitement here! Susan is a member of ICES (International Cake Exploration Societe) and the State Representative for Illinois.
