Covering Cake Board In Fondant?

Decorating By CakeMommyTX Updated 4 Nov 2009 , 3:13pm by grandmom

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CakeMommyTX Posted 4 Nov 2009 , 2:13pm
post #1 of 6

For those of you who cover your cake boards in fondant I have a few questions....

1. How long in advance do you cover the board?
2. Do you decorate the cake on the fondant covered board?
3.If so how does the fondant stay clean?
4. How do you attache the fondant to the board?
5. Do I wrap the board first and then cover in fondant?
6. Does the fondant effect the cutting and serving of the cake (breaking apart while cutting)?


Ok that's all I can think of right now.
I want to try this for my next cake but I'm a little confused on how you decorate the cake without destroying the fondant on the board?
After I've decorated a cake I have to clean the cake board off, it's always covered with icing and what not.
Thanks in advance for ya'lls help!

5 replies
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PinkLisa Posted 4 Nov 2009 , 2:32pm
post #2 of 6

I make cover the board with fondant a few days in advance so it has time to dry and get hard. I haven't put anything on the board to attach the fondant and it stayed fine but you may want to brush the board with some water just to make sure. I then put my fondant covered cake on the board and stack from there (I do not ice the cake on the fondant board). I decorate the fondant cake once it is stacked. Anything that falls on the fondant board can be brushed off since it's hard. I don't understand question #5. The fondant hasn't been a problem for me in cutting and serving the cake. Good luck!

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CakeMommyTX Posted 4 Nov 2009 , 3:03pm
post #3 of 6

For number 5 I was wondering if you put the fondant directly on the board (I use foam board) or if you cover it with foil first and then fondant?

Thank you for your help, I think I'll give it a shot.

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Texas_Rose Posted 4 Nov 2009 , 3:06pm
post #4 of 6

1. It can be done way ahead of time, whatever is convenient to you, or it can be done the day before you need it.

2.No. The cake goes on a foamcore circle cut to the exact size of the cake. Once it's covered with fondant and any decorations other than a bottom ribbon or border are on, then it goes on the fondant-covered board.

3.N/A for me icon_biggrin.gif

4.I roll the fondant directly onto the foamcore. It glues itself down, no gum glue or piping gel is necessary.

5.No need to wrap the board first.

6.Because the cake is on another board sitting on top of the fondant-covered board, it doesn't affect the appearance of the fondant at all when you cut and serve it. I have had people try to wash the fondant-covered board to return it, thinking it was a decorative plate icon_biggrin.gif

And you didn't ask this, but I use Tacky glue to attach the ribbon around the edge.

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grandmom Posted 4 Nov 2009 , 3:11pm
post #5 of 6

1. Sometimes I cover a couple of days ahead, sometimes the day of decorating. I prefer the fondant to be dry if possible, so it doesn't get finger and knuckle depressions in it.

In almost all cases, before the fondant dries I will cut away a hole in the fondant just a little larger than the bottom tier, so that the tier will sit on the base instead of the fondant. I clean and dry the area exposed by cutting the hole, then place several strips of carpet tape in the hole. Carpet tape is really strong double-sided sticky tape, available at hardware stores. Once I set my decorated cake in the hole, it ain't going nowhere.

2. No, I do most of my decorating on what I call a setup board, which is a plastic Tuff Board taped to a foamboard, onto which I set my bottom tier, which is on it's own cake circle or foamboard. I continue to stack and decorate on this setup board until almost finished. (So: cake on it's usual cake circle or board, that on a Tuff Board, and that on a foamboard. Learned this from Sugarshack videos.)

Once I've done most of the decorating I remove the cake and its circle/board from the Tuff Board and transfer to the fondant covered base. I place carefully, because once the cake circle/board hits that carpet tape, it's stuck. Then, I add the bottom tier's border to cover any gap between the tier and the hole in the fondant. You wouldn't have to use a border if you've cut the hole just the perfect size.

This might get difficult for really heavy cakes or lots of tiers. In such a case, you might want to actually do some of the decorating on the fondant-covered base to avoid having to move and precisely set a heavy cake.

3. n/a in my case, but I saw Sugarshack Sharon cover the exposed fondant with paper towels, computer paper or something like that to protect it.

4. I dampen the board lightly with a little piping gel, or water, or syrup. Then I cover with and smooth the fondant just as if it were a cake. Once smooth, I use the smoothers to "buff" or wear away the excess fondant at the edge of the base. You can get a nice rounded or beveled affect with the smoothers. That leaves the base edge without fondant and ready for ribbon or whatnot. I have also rolled the fondant to the dampened underside, covering both the top and the edge of the base, when I did not want to use ribbon. See Harley cake photo. To roll the fondant under, you need feet under your base so that you can lift the base without harming the fondant-covered edge.

5. I wrap the board first in either foil or Press N Seal just to protect my wood base from the water/gel/syrup (I bake only for family/friends, so I get my stuff back) or to keep from compromising the paper layer of the foamboard if that's what I'm using.

6. No, I have had no trouble with the fondant affecting cutting and serving the cake. It has never broken loose. Actually, it takes some effort to get rid of it once the party is over!

Having said all that, some folks stack and decorate on the base, then before the bottom tier's border is added, cover their base in fondant using a wrap method. They roll out and cut a long strip, and work it around the cake, pushing it into a circular shape. In the back, they overlap the edges, make a cut through both, remove the excess and place the seams together. I have not tried this method myself. It might come in handy for the large heavy cakes.

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grandmom Posted 4 Nov 2009 , 3:13pm
post #6 of 6

Hey, Texas_Rose, I'm trying your #4 tomorrow for this weekend's cake! That will save some steps! Thanks!

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