Drying Fondant Pieces Before Assembling
Decorating By SusieHazCakes Updated 14 Sep 2007 , 12:21am by SusieHazCakes
This is likely a dumb question, but I'm new at this, so please forgive me. I'm making a cake with a couple of stacking legal books (with detailed covers and spines) sitting atop a yellow legal pad. It'll also have a pen and a little "Gone Fishing" sign. I'd like to make all the fondant pieces -- back and front covers, spine, three sides of pages and all the other parts -- in advance. So, instead of using fresh, soft fondant and applying to the buttercreamed cake, can't I just add the dried, rigid, already-detailed fondant parts to the freshly buttercreamed cake? That'll allow me to work on the detailed title and stuff for the books on the cover by itself, instead of having to work with it on the cake. I'd like to make the fondant parts one weekend, store them carefully and finish up the cake the following weekend.
So, all you wonderful cake wizards out there, whose experience and wisdom I've been reading for about a month, please let me know if my thinking is correct for this.
Thanks,
Susie
Not a dumb question at all.
I've never tried that before. My concern would be how precisely you would need to carve the cake so that it would exactly fit the pre-made pieces after it's frosted in buttercream. I'm sometimes even frustrated when I pre-make flowers or bows from gumpaste/fondant- the proportions sometimes aren't quite what I had planned for once I place them on the cake. But I probably just don't plan well enough.
And how well your details will stay in place once you move the fondant pieces onto the cake would be a concern as well.
I wouldn't do it for a couple of reasons. One, you run the risk of things cracking and not fitting properly and secondly, my cakes would be covered with a hard, dry fondant that would be really difficult to cut. Since I don't like removing the fondant before serving, that would be a real problem.
Mainly though, I just don't see how you could be assured the pieces you pre-made would fit the carved cakes. If the fondant is really dry, pressing on it to try and get things to fit would send cracks everywhere.
Justme:
Thanks for your reply. You said ". . . my cakes would be covered with a hard, dry fondant that would be really difficult to cut." Does that mean that, if you cover a cake with soft rolled fondant and served it say three days later, that the fondant would not have dried hard? If it goes on the cake when it's still soft, it doesn't dry as hard as if you left it to dry by itself?
I'm not too concerned about having the pieces fit. I'm the graph-paper-planning kind and would carve the cake to fit the dried pieces. I figured I could close the seams with either very thinly rolled fondant strips or royal icing glue. And I could use the buttercream to build up any places where the cake wasn't carved just exactly right.
Again, please let me know what you think about this. I'm not arguing -- just trying to get my plan clear before I start. Thanks!!! 
I don't think you're arguing...we're discussing! There's a difference. 
But yes, the fondant will still be fairly soft, especially if you cover the cake. I've got some cupcakes I did several days ago under a glass cover and the fondant is just as soft as it was when I first made them.
If you leave it out in the air, I'd guess it would dry some, but it's still not going to be rock hard. The buttercream or whatever icing you use helps keep it soft as well.
Not that there's anything wrong with a dried surface, it's just not something I personally care for.
I'm impressed though that you could get your pieces to fit. That takes some talent I don't have!
Justme50, thank you again for that info about the fondant staying soft. It makes a lot of sense to me. I'm thinking that, for this particular cake, it might be nice to take the book parts off when I get ready to serve it and set them aside (displayed with the front cover(s) showing the most) so that people who come by the office for a piece of cake after the initial cutting will still be able to see sort of what the cake looked like. I read on another thread about someone making a doghouse (gingerbread house style) out of fondant that she'd cut and let dry. A poster to that thread suggested she add (next time) some gumpaste to the fondant to make it stronger. I think I'll do that for the spine and front cover pieces. Well, thanks again for all the help you -- and everyone at CC -- have given me. I'll know by Sunday night whether or not I can actually do with my hands what I've thought long and hard about. I think I can. 
I have made fondant pieces well in advance as you have mentioned with no problems. However, the pieces will be harder than the fondant on the cake (obviousy). You should still be able to cut through them easily, but as far as chewing...not sure how that would go over. I would cut them out and wrap them air tight if possible. This will help keep them somewhat softer. I usually take off the pieces I do in advance, but I am not sure if you will be able to do this...good luck.
Ericaann79, thanks for your post. Yes, I do plan to take the fondant pieces off the cake before I serve it. I'm feeling much better about my plan to make the parts for the book separately and in advance. I'm going to try 50/50 fondant and gumpaste and hope that works out. Thanks again!
Susie
Well, today was the birthday for the books cake and it was a smash at the office. It was a bit of a bear since I'd never worked with fondant, but the cakes disassembled just the way I'd planned. The 50/50 mix of fondant and gum paste gave me rigid, but still delicate pieces. I built the pieces -- back and front covers, spines and fresh fondant "pages" -- around a buttercreamed chocolate cake. My cakes were about a half-inch shorter than the book spine, so I packed some extra buttercream under each book cover. Then, when it was time to serve the cake, I removed all the parts (covers were glued with meringue powder glue to spine) and spread the extra buttercream over the cake to repair where the book parts had been. My boss (his birthday, his cake) took home the top cover and the spines to show his family and to keep for emergency good supply in case of a natural disaster.
The next time I do one of these books, I'm going to use all gum paste for the book parts so they won't be so delicate to handle and also so they can be kept as mementos.
Here are a few photos. -- Well, I tried to add photos, but apparently it didn't work. -- This is only my second cake -- my first was Monday, so I'm pooped!! 
What do y'all think about this?
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