I am covering a SMBC cake with fondant for the first time. I have always done ABC in the past and I didn't use anything but the icing to adhere the fondant to the cake. I was thinking since SMBC will be very hard right out of the fridge it would probably need something to help the fondant stick to the cake. I was going to brush piping gel on the cake, I even made a trip to Michaels to pick some up, but they were out. They are always out of whatever the one thing is I happen to need. Is there something else I can use?

Get a spray bottle and lightly mist/spray it with water then cover with fondant. It works great without the hassle of painting it with anything.

No, you do not need to do anything, and for surely don't gob a bunch of piping gel on it. The time it takes to cover and smooth with your hands warms that icing up just enough to make it stick.

Thanks for the advice, I won't add anything.

ditto to AZcouture. SMBC will be hard but not crusted