Hi,

I desperately need your help, all you fondant experts out there!

I have my bridal show this weekend, and I am making white pumpkins to cascade like a wedding cake.

I did the smallest pumpkin last night, and I had terrible results with my fondant at the bottom edges. They kept "dimpling" or "pleating", and made the bottom edge of the pumpkin look terrible. I did not want to use a border to cover it up.

I have this problem on other cakes, but usually, I can manage. I have to redo this pumpkin cake, though, because it does not look perfect for the show, and it needs to.

What can I do to prevent this "ruffling" "wrinkling" "dimpling" and "pleating" that happens at the bottom edge of the cake when applying fondant. Any tricks???

Much obliged!!
:X
Ellen

I am no where near a fondant expert but I have heard that on cakes that are more or less round like a ball, roll the fondant a little thicker than usual and stretch it around the bottom, trim it and tuck it under. I have yet to cover a ball cake with fondant but this is what I have heard from others that have. I hope that helps but I'm sure there is someone for helpful than me!
Good luck and post a pic when you get it done. I'd love to see this cake!
Heather

Any bit helps! Thanks heather

raise your cake up on something sturdy that is slightly smaller then the cake. (I use an upsidedown cake pan) then the fondant will pool at the base of the pan not at the base of the cake and you can quickly cut off the excess and get that fondant smoothed out.

Peg, will that not pull and rip at the fondant higher up on the cake?

Ellen,
Did you make your fondant a lot larger than what you actually needed so that you could drape it, then smooth it (from top to bottom) and then cut off the excess? Where were the dimples and pleats, at the very bottom? What type of pumpkin is it (smooth or scalloped sides)?

Cande,

Yes, thanks; the fondant was about 2 inches longer than the pumpkin. It still clung on and dimpled at the very bottom of the pumpkin. Teh pumpkin is a scalloped carved cake.

Ellen,

Do you have a picture?
When I covered a scalloped oblong sphere with fondant while making a Christmas ornament, I didn't run into this. The fondant just formed right into the creases and came together at the bottom. Did you try smoothing the fondant more into the creases and then letting it gently fall away at the bottom? Did you have the pumpkin elevated so the bottom could break away (without hitting the cake board)?

The only other thing I can think to suggest is to have the fondant quite a bit bigger (like the diameter 6" larger) than the pumpkin, so that you can smooth it into the ridges and so that you can smooth all of the wrinkles and bubbles out of it (they will fall and be pulled down into the excess fondant which will be laying on your cake board) then you can just cut away the excess. I know you said you did this, but the only thing I can think is that there wasn't enough excess to 'pull' all of the wrinkles out of the fondant.

I'm not sure what else to suggest. I hope someone can help you better than I have!!

Good Luck Ellen! I hope you have a tremendous success at your bridal show!!

I didn't see what Peg wrote until just now, but no Ellen, it won't pull the fondant off from the top (as long as your fondant is rolled thick enough-but I'm sure yours is, if you made it similar this time to the ones in your pictures.

It makes it a lot easier to get it smooth because the weight of it pulls it down (just slightly) and then you can cut and tuck anything that needs to be tucked.

Thanks again cande!! It's not wrinkles in the fondant so much as it is the fondant ruffles and dimples at the very bottom. I noticed this when I have too much fondant.

I am going to try the overhanging tip, and hopefully that will take me to a better place.

This is a question I'll ask wendy kromer when I take her class in two weeks for sure!!

"It makes it a lot easier..." "it" meaning raising the cake up
Just wanted to clarify just in case

Sounds like your cake tapers at the bottom, right? if so, you may need to cut sections (like in triangles) out like you would if you were going to wrap a cake board and then "paint" over your "seams" with a damp paintbrush. I would cut as you go to see what works and makes it fit. Good luck and let us know how it works out!

these are great suggestions! thank-you!!