Do you think it is better to ice the cake with a crusting b/c or regular soft b/c. When i used my regular one, smoothing the fondant was hard, and it kept oozing out everywhere. Has anyone ever have that happen, I don't know if you put a thin crumbcoat, or ice it like normal and apply fondant?

There's a thread somewhere on cc that says you can use noncrusting bc under fondant but you should refrig or freeze it just enough to firm up so you don't have the 'oozing' problem. I haven't tried it, but it makes sense to me!

I tend to use not such a soft b/c under fondant so it doesn't slip around too much. And I also use a fairly thin layer under the fondant although enough to smooth out any indentations in the cake itself.

I have always used a crusting BC & I have even used Wilton's box mix whipped icing. With the BC, go ahead & let it crust over, then apply pipng gel to the bottom of the cake (about an inch up so it doesn't ooze out) If you are using the whipped icing make sure to give it a good thick layer since it is so soft & could easily loose it's shape, then just cover with your MMF, no piping gel needed.

HTH

thanks for the advice everyone!

I see that DH has canned buttercream frosting. Can this be used under fondant?

I use jkalman's b/c recipe under fondant. If I add something other than essence for taste I coat the cake then freeze for 5mins to allow the b/c to firm up a bit but it usually works well for me.

I use a firmer recipe that has a lot of fat (hi-ratio/butter combo), so it doesn't crust. I prefer to use a thicker BC and not too much of it...and def freeze it for a few minutes to harden it up! If it does crust I mist lightly with water bottle before covering with fondant.

I like using an all butter/sugar syrup based icing because it gets very firm under the fondant for super sharp edges. Plus, its less sweet so its a nice compliment to super sweet fondant.