I have a 4 tier cake next weekend all covered in fondant. My question is: If I cover the cake Friday night, will it still be soft enough to cut for a Saturday night wedding?
Should I cover the cake with seran wrap or will it be ok sitting out? The cake will be iced with b/c underneath.

Thanks

I'm no fondant expert, but I made my 50th birthday cake on Thursday and served it Saturday. Be sure to use a non-serated knife (as I found out the hard way).

Thank indydebi. Funny that it's you responding. I will be using your b/c recipe for this cake...LOVE IT. it is so light and tasty..

I don't do a lot with fondant either, but this is for my niece's wedding and of course I want it to be perfect for her.

I'm not sure you really can keep it from becoming hard. If you try the seran wrap thing please let us know if it works to keep it soft.

Good luck with the cake and have fun at the wedding.

I have never had a rock hard, or even some what hard fondant covered cake that had to wait a couple of days before. They all cut soft, I assume it has to do with the buttercream underneath that you need to attach the fondant that keeps it soft. The only thing that gets hard are fondant pieces that I make & let get hard for a few days.

I assumed fondant was supposed to be hard, i find normally only the very outerside of the fondant that goes stiff. . im talking like the very top centimeter is that, i find the rest underneath stays quite soft. If you want it soft, i would at least cover it with clingfilm till you need to deliver.

If you're covering Friday for Saturday it should be perfectly fine to cut.

Fondant does not become rock hard in a matter of 1-2 days. Also as LaBellaFlor pointed out, the buttercream underneath lends some moisture to keep it soft. Even fondant figures I make that are fondant only, take at least 5 days to become completely hard to the touch (meaning there is no give when pressed).

But to be on the safe side like indydebi says, the type of knife makes a big difference especially if the cake itself is a soft cake. I like to use a non-serrated knife that has a point on the end and use the pointed part to pierce the fondant first before completing the slice.

HTH.

A pastry chef I worked for always had us use a large trash bag to cover the cakes with to keep them soft. We made the cakes, cover in trash bags on day 1, day 2 stacked the cakes and finished the designs and decorations and covered with the large trash bags. Don't let the trash bag or cling touch the cake as this will leave a mark. The fondant will form a slight skin but not be as hard. HTH

Thanks to all of you, I now feel more at ease. I have done an all fondant cake before, like 2yrs ago and it was fine. I guess I'm just getting a bit nervous and don't want to second quess myself. I like planning ahead and having all my questions answered way ahead of time.

jlynnw : This may be a silly question, but how do you cover the cakes with the trash bags without the bag touching the cake?
Thanks!

It depends on the cake. Some times with the decorations, you can add the bag with no problem. Place the cake in a box and then set the box in the bottom of the bag and pull up the sides of the bag tie at top and your done. You can also place a larger cake board on the top tier to match the base board and then cover. The whole idea is to prevent the dry air circulating past the cake. It worked better than nothing and I still use it to this day. The fondant does form a light skin but it does not get as hard as not bagging. I also think the kind of fondant and the thickness makes a difference. I have seen fondant done 1/2 inch thick and it gets very hard and is gross. The thinner the fondant, it seems, the better.

Got it ~ makes sense ~ thanks!!!
I'll have to give this method a try! It seems easy enough and atleast your cake is covered and not just sitting out.

Thanks again!

If there is any chance that an inspector might call on you unexpectedly, don't use trash bags. In my health region, every food establishment's inspections are posted on-line, including violations. I have seen several that were written up for using non-food specific containers and wraps (including garbage bags). Just sayin'.

For the OP, if you leave the cake un-covered, the fondant will only harden right at the surface - underneath it will be soft still.

I guess our were called "bun rack covers". Thin bags to made to cover speed racks in a commercial kitchen. I suppose if you place the cake in the box and wrapped with cling film, that should work. I still have bun rack covers I purchased from our wholesale company and used them.

Yes, I think I will place in boxes and wrap to keep the air out. My time is short and I need to get as much done Friday night as possible.

Thanks to all of you.