Any Such Thing As Over Smoothing Fondant?
Decorating By melysa Updated 16 Oct 2006 , 5:37am by Briarview
I have been researching and reading like a maniac about fondant how to's...I consider myself a pretty decent cake decorator (ametuer -sp?- but good). I mean, i can draw well, keep a straight line, pay attention to detail, smooth bc, etc... lately i've been home schooling myself and practicing tons of methods. i've done cakes with lots of fondant detail, but not actually any completely covered. well, yesterday, i make a small 5" round, two layer cake. i torte the layers, fill them, then apply a crumb coat of (ok, so maybe this was a bad choice) lemon curd, then apply the fondant. my cakes were decent, no crumbs because they sat over night. i leveled them well...but as i smoothed, the ripples showed up. the cake looked horrible. the top was good, but the sides- you could see every torte cut. did i oversmooth? or did i just choice a bad crumbcoat? i know bc would have been better but i read that you could use a syrup to crumbcoat under fondant too. another time recently, i wrapped the sides of a round cake and it was not as noticable, but still kind of rippley, although i think i put way to much buttercream. SO, all you fondant experts out there, HELP!!! i need a tutorial with photos!!! i have myself commited to several paid fondant cakes in the very near future. i thought it looked easy enough...and yet-
Well, my thought is that you:
1. had too much lemon curd as a coat. When using a coat it should be barely there.
2. rolled your fondant too thin, it is much easier to cover a cake with fondant if it is rolled thicker. 1/4 inch is the rule usually, but you shouldn't have to go that thick.
If your fondant is too thin every imperfection will show through.
As far as smoothing fondant, fondant will get a nicer finish on it from the heat of your hands, but if you press on it as its starting to crust you can end up with spider cracks all over
Hi melysa,
All my cakes are done with fondant, from chocolate mud cake, all flavours as well as fruit. I do find the soft cakes are harder to cover but I always put two layers of fondant on letting the first dry completely then coming back to cover again with a thicker layer and not smoothing too hard as this is when you pick up all the indentations. Start with the top and smooth out towards edges with the smoothers so no airbubbles are trapped then use your hands to smooth into the sides and down, also cupping your hand on the corner and smoothing down with the bottom of your hand (when hand is cupped) then once you are at the bottom and all the corners are done,now use the smoothers, smoothing lightly to get an even surface. If you smooth lightly any indentations will be filled in just like filling up holes with water.
Hope this is not too confusing. pm me with any questions if you want. Cheers Briarview.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%