New Working With Fondant... Please Help

Decorating By cakesgalore2009 Updated 31 Aug 2009 , 2:37am by xstitcher

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cakesgalore2009 Posted 24 Aug 2009 , 3:58pm
post #1 of 9

I have forever used BC. Now my mother wants me to use fondant on her wedding cake. I am having a problem getting the fondant on the sides of the cake without it bulking up. The cakes are heart shaped. Cake is for this coming Saturday. Please tell me an easy way to do this. Thank you.

8 replies
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tracey1970 Posted 24 Aug 2009 , 4:18pm
post #2 of 9

It takes a lot of "babying" to smooth fondant down the sides of the cake. There are many videos on Youtube about how to put fondant on a cake. I'm not sure a written description by me would make it clearer than actually watching someone do it. A lot of the videos on Youtube are made by professional cakers, so you can benefit from their expertise. Good luck!

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ibmoser Posted 24 Aug 2009 , 4:23pm
post #3 of 9

Well, I'll see if I can get this thread started. Center the fondant over the cake and smooth the top to push any air bubbles out, then gently smooth over the edges. You don't want to distort or rip, so gently pull the outside edges away from the cake as you smooth down toward the cake board, doing just a bit at a time. Don't go all the way to the board on the first pass - take two or three passes to finish. Work one side, then the other, then back. If you start in one place and work around, you'll create a honking big pleat when you get back to the starting point, so work back and forth starting with the two top arches and the point. You should be able to round the top arches of the heart and fit the point and then smooth down the long sides. Once the fondant is fitted to the cake, use two smoothers to firmly seat and smooth out, and "pinch" a sharper edge if you prefer.

Edited to add - sorry Tracy - looks like we were posting at the same time icon_lol.gif

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Skirt Posted 24 Aug 2009 , 4:28pm
post #4 of 9

If you do watch videos about laying fondant on cakes (my big challenge as well!) be sure to note how thick the fondant is. I first tried using a thin sheet of fondant and then realized the fondant must be much thicker for it to fall smoothly. Just my suggestion to you! icon_smile.gif Oh yeah, and make sure your icing is smooth underneath... HTH

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cakesgalore2009 Posted 25 Aug 2009 , 2:51am
post #5 of 9

Thank you all for your replies. I understand I have to mess up in order to learn but don't want to do that on a wedding cake! lol I will give this a try before hand and practice some.

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Texas_Rose Posted 25 Aug 2009 , 2:57am
post #6 of 9

One thing that will help is to put the cake on a board cut to the exact size of the cake (use a piece of foamcore). Then put the cake, board and all, on something smaller than the cake itself, like a coffee can. That way when you put the fondant on, any folds that form will form below the cake itself and be easy to cut off.

Another thing, you can put the cake in the fridge first. People always say not to and I avoided doing it until recently, but now that I've tried it, it's become an essential step for me, because it's so much easier to fondant a cold hard cake than a room-temp, wiggly one.

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xstitcher Posted 25 Aug 2009 , 8:24am
post #7 of 9

Great advice so far. I also wanted to add that you want to roll the fondant atleast an 1/8". I usually roll mine between 1/8-1/4" depending on the amount of icing underneath. It might help you to roll 1/4" to start.


Found this thread, maybe it will help too.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-78681-.html

Also wanted to add that if you get a chance order Sugarshack's fondant dvd for future cakes. All her dvd's are awesome but I definitely think the fondant one will help you out. She covers the basic round/square cakes but also shows you how to do shaped cakes as well.

Good luck!

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cakesgalore2009 Posted 31 Aug 2009 , 1:47am
post #8 of 9

Mom's wedding was yesterday and they loved the cake!! It turned out great thanks to your posts. Thank you again.[/img]

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xstitcher Posted 31 Aug 2009 , 2:37am
post #9 of 9

What's not to love! You did an awesome job with the fondant and the cake itself looks great!

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