I am doing my first fondant covered cake this week. I'm going to be sort of pressed for time so I'm wondering how far in advance I can cover the cake in fondant. Is it something that must be (or should be) covered the day of? If I cover it early, do I refrigerate it (the cake and filling itself don't require refrigeration.

TIA for all your help.

You don't need to refrigerate fondant, in fact, if your cake and filling don't need it, I would recommend not refrigerating it at all, as the condensation could mess up the fondant.

I'm pretty new to this and have only done a few fondant cakes myself. But, from what I understand they can be covered in fondant up to 3 days in advance. I personally have only done them one day in advance. You wont want to refrigerate though because it will cause the fondant to sweat and get sticky. The fondant acts as a barrier to keep the cake fresh once its been covered. Its a good idea to put it into a box to keep dust off.
Hopefully some pros can pipe in and make sure the info I'm giving you is 100% correct!

Thanks so much!

It depends on the kind of fondant you are using.Most fondants do not do well in the fridge,you can however put marshmallow fondant in the fridge,it did ok for me.As far as how far in advance to make your cake,a few days will be fine.

i'm wondering what everybody does with the bottom of their fondant- do you try to tuck some under the cake to make it nice and smooth or just cut it off? I have done both but when there will be no trim around the bottom like on a very simple wedding cake what works best for you??