Hey all,
I was hoping to find some new ways of covering a cakeboard in fondant. My last few cakes have been huge and I found it really difficult and wasteful to roll out such a large piece of fondant for just the board. I would like to know more techniques of covering the board afterwards so I don't mess up the fondant and so I can use less fondant.

My questions are:
1.Can you use the bandage method of covering cakeboards for square or rectangular boards? Can you use it for anything over than a round cake on a round board?

2. Pinkcakebox does a scrunched fondant look for the bases.
Any idea how she does this? Is the fondant put on before or after decorating? And for the irregularly shaped cakes--how do you piece the fondant together to avoid seeing seams?

(Mod edited to fix broken photo links.)











Thanks for the help!

I don't know why you couldn't do a patchwork pattern for the base if it fits with your cake. The first cake you referenced looks like it's just gathered around the cake but the second one looks like they sort of laid the sheet of fondant as it fell, draping it as it settled...that wouldn't save you any fondant but a bit of labor because you wouldn't have to worry as much about laying it smoothly. I have done the first technique...for me it was a ruffle that I used around the bottom tier to cover the cake board..and it worked just wonderfully.

Good luck!

The Planet Cake book has instructions on how to cover the cake board around the cake. It says to roll out the fondant and use a cardboard the same size and shape as the cake (or slightly smaller to compensate for stretching.) Then lift the fondant. over the cake. Once it's on the board, manipulate it to get it to fit snugly up against the cake. Then brush some water between the fondant and the board to "glue" it on. I'm really paraphrasing here, so I hope it makes sense. The book has pictures.

I decorate the cake board after placing the cake on it, using the leftover fondant from the cake.

Just roll out a snake and then use your rolling pin to roll it out flat (or your pasta roller...the KA pasta attachment works better than the tabletop model because you can feed it with one hand and catch it with the other). Put thinned piping gel down on your cake board. Cut one edge of your fondant straight and clean, and then roll up your length of fondant like a bandage. Unroll onto the cake board. The thinned piping gel will allow you to slide the fondant into place, up against the side of the cake. You will probably need to do this two or three times, depending on the size of your board. I then use a silk veining tool to give it the stretched fabric look by just rocking the tool back and forth to make an indention and going all around the cake in that manner.

Here's a pic: http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1349705

Cakepro, that's a downright gorgeous cake and I love that effect on the fondant-covered board. What the heck is a silk veining tool?

That is a beautiful cake, cakepro! Did you have issues going around the corners with fondant? I'm just trying to envision how to cover it at the corners without the fondant scrunching. Did you have to cut it and repiece it together at the corners?

Thanks! Here's the link to the tool: http://www.globalsugarart.com/product.php?id=18206&name=JEM%20Tool%2012%20-%20Petal%20Veiner/Friller/Mouth%20Tool

I just laid out four straight pieces and used the veining tool to join them together seamlessly at the corners.

Thanks for the link to the tool, Cakepro. I am definitely gonna steal your technique - LOVE it!

Awesome!

Credit goes to Denise Talbot - she's the one who showed me how to do it!

Thanks for sharing that, Cakepro - awesome technique!

For a round cake, smear about a 2 inch band around the edge of your board with shortening (or piping gel, or whatever you use to stick you fondant tot he board), roll the fondant to cover the board. Lay it on and smooth it as usual. Then center a cake circle the size of your cake on the fondant and cut around it with a sharp knife and remove the circle you just cut, leaving the band of fondant around the edge of your board, and trim the edges with the same sharp knife. I usually do this a couple days ahead so it's nice and dry by the time I'm ready to drop the cake in and it doesn't get damaged at all when moving the cake.

For square/rectangular cake, I cut strips and lay them on, mitering the corners so it looks nice.

For the "wrinkled" look, like Pink Cake Box (where, by the way, I learned the above techniques, as well), the fondant is laid on after the cake is in place, and you simply use the folds and wrinkles to camouflage any seams.

cakepro....can another tool be used...that we may already have hehe....love the look on the board, very cool

cool thanks so much

always wondered how to do that! thank you so much to all of you cake geniuses for sharing your knowledge... it definitely pays to be addicted to this website! lol

... I already bought the veining tool, cannot wait to try this out!

I miter my corners at 45 deg angles just like PinkZiab. I take a strip of fondant push it up against the cake then i cut each end at 45 deg angles and I keep doing that as I work my way around all 4 sides and join the cut angles as I go.

Sherri, love that cake.

Beautiful work Cakepro! Sorry if this is a dense questions, but will any of the tools in the Wilton Gumpaste tool set work to do this? I got one a while ago and used 1 thing out of it to make some stuff, would be wonderful if I can learn to use the restt of the kit

Wow, thanks so much for the replies, everyone! Sorry for the late response--I'm not getting emails that say there have been updates. This sounds MUCH easier than what I've been doing--making two batches of mmf just for the cakeboard and covering it in pieces because my fondant tears when I roll it that large!

PinkZiab--thanks so much for all of your help! I love the idea of just doing the strip around the outside, cutting out the center and waiting for it to dry.

One last question--Mitering edges just means cutting two strips at 45 degree angles and joining them?

CakePro, did you miter edges or you just made one long piece? How did you do the four corners? ALso the picture looks like the fondant also comes down around the edge of the cakeboard. Is that what I'm seeing? Thanks so much for the beautiful technique, it adds so much to the cake! I plan on using it on my next cake!