So I watched the tutorial on using royal icing to stencil on a fondant cake. For those of you who have done this, doesn't the royal icing crack all over the place once you cut into the fondant/cake?
I don't have an airbrush, so that isn't an option for stenciling.
Could I use food color and stencil just as I would on a wall, with a paintbrush?
Thanks for any help.

Yes, the RI will tend to crumble when you slice through it. I've done stencils with the Wilton colors that come in spray cans and they look really good. The trouble with stenciling with a paintbrush is that it takes longer and it's hard to keep the stencil absolutely still the whole time, so I'd suggest you not do it that way. To me, even stencilling with RI is a two-person job - one to hold down the stencil and one to put the icing on.

I took an airbrush class and the question popped up of how to keep the stencil on the cake without holding it. It was mentioned to use a gentle painters tape. I wondered about it being food safe but the teacher said that it was fine.

Thanks for that tip, SweetSouthernBakery. I'll try to find some.

@sarge1, I have used powdered food colors plus lemon extract, undiluted airbrush color, luster dust, buttercream and royal icing when stencilling.

For powdered food color plus lemon extract/undiluted airbrush color (no airbrush required) be careful, as the color will sometimes sneak under your stencil, making it look a little fuzzy.

Luster dust stencilling is quite easy to do. Lots of videos on youtube for technique.

RI and SMBC are easiest to stencil with for me. Yes, the RI will crumble a bit when cutting, but I haven't had a customer who cared about this yet.

Good luck!

It does crack a bit , but only if it is done very thickly. I find if it is not too thick it doesn't crack anymore than than royalicing piping work.

To hold the stencils on to fondant , use masking tape , it is non toxic and comes off the fondant without leaving a mark. You can also use it to block out bits of the stencil you don't want as well.

A very small dab of Crisco on each corner of the stencil also works well for holding it in place.

Thanks for the tips, Chellescakes and cherrycakes! I've been dying to do more stencilling, but just didn't have the knowhow. Maybe I can now, between the painters tape, the masking tape and the Crisco.