How Much Frosting Under Fondant????????
Decorating By laurawendte Updated 19 Apr 2007 , 4:49pm by smbegg
I was wondering how thick frosting should be applied under a layer of fondant. I have tried to keep it fairly thin so that there is not so much icing on the cake that it becomes overwhelming, but sometimes i feel like maybe if i put more frosting on it would be easier to get my fondant to look perfectly smooth. Also on a side not lately my mmf has been crumbly am i adding too much shortening?? Thanks a million
It sounds like you're using too much sugar. Remember when you make it that it feels softer/stickier because it is warm. Try leaving the last 1-2 cups of sugar out and kneeding it in when you're ready to use it. I ALWAYS have about a cup left over. Had I added it all right from the start, it would have been too much and the fondant would be too dry.
As for the buttercream layer... I put a good layer on, almost as much as if I weren't using fondant. Many people peel fondant off, and it would be a shame if they had no icing to eat with their cake because of it. I let it crust well and smooth before applying my fondant.
For the optimal smooth fondant look, most professional decorators recommend your fondant be rolled to a depth of 4mm (about 3/16th of an inch I think!) to cover your cake. I went to the hardware store and bought a long length of wooden strip (where they keep the long lengths of dowelling), that were 4mm in depth and cut them into 20in lengths. I use those as spacers to roll my fondant between, and it works like a charm. Then again, I'm European and so are most of my clients, so we have no aversion to a great tasting fondant lol!
As for buttercream underneath - I use anything between a crumb coat and maybe 1/4in thick - if it's chocolate cake, I tend to use thicker just to cover the colour of the cake. I also freeze my cake until firm after covering with buttercream (maybe an hour or so), so it doesn't move around when I'm smoothing the fondant - you can get a really polished look that way. Good luck!
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