HI all,

I'm getting ready to make my first big cake project - a pregnant belly cake. I've researched it, but it's my first time working with fondant and I have a few questions:

1.) Do I need the Wilton fondant roller, or does a rolling pin work just as well? Couldn't I also use PVC pipe? Seems like essentially the same thing for much cheaper than the 22 dollar Wilton fondant roller at Michaels...

2.) Can I cover the display cake board (using 1/2 inch foam board) with something other than fancy foil? If I use something with color (maybe wrapping paper or something), do I simply cover it with clear plastic wrap? Or should I just stick with fancy foil?

3.) Are the Wilton fondant letter cut-outs a bad product? I was going to buy them to spell out CoNGRATS onto the cake, but if they're a total waste, I'll save my money and just skip the fondant lettering...

THANKS TO ANYONE WHO CAN/WILL HELP!!!

The Wilton fondant roller is nice for picking up the fondant to drape over the cake. It's definitely not necessary. I have one and I don't use it very often for the actual rolling because it's hard on the wrists.

I cover my cake boards with fondant and then glue a ribbon around the edge. It doesn't take much effort but it makes a huge difference in the appearance of the cake. I just roll the fondant directly onto the foamboard, nothing needed to glue it down, it sticks on its own.

I use PVC pipe and have pieces cut into different lengths depending on how much fondant I need to work with. I've never had any problems lifting or moving fondant with it. A regular rolling pin will work, too, but make sure it doesn't have any scratches or gouges as this will leave marks in the fondant. I can't comment on the Wilton letter cutters, I've never used them. I usually print stencils online in whatever font I happen to want.

Great tips! Thank you so much!

With printing stencils, you just print and then cut around them with the actual fondant? How does that work?

PVC pipe works great as a rolling pin. It is food safe and you can sterize it, its so much cheaper and you can cut it to any length you want! The other great thing about pvc pipe is that it is so light that you can rest it on the fondant and it does not mark it.
I also cover my cake boards most of the time with fondant or i use a pre bought cake board already covered.. HTH
I have not used the letter cutters as yet so i would be interested to know what others think too

i have the wilton letter cutters and find it very difficult to get the letters out of the cutters.
i consider them a waste of money.

LOL - I never even thought of fondant "snakes" as letters. Wow. I feel dense now that you said that! Seems so obvious!!

What size PVC have you guys found is best for fondant? I know there are different diamaters or thicknesses or whatever "term" is official for PVC pipe!

I use the Wilton roller, but you don't have to.

If you cover your cake board with anything that isn't food safe, you have a couple of options to make it foodsafe. At Michael's you can buy food grade cellophane wrap in a roll. I use that to go over wrapping paper, comic strips, anything else I decide to put on a cake board that isn't food safe. Your other choice is to cover the board as you wish and then put the cake itself on another board the exact same size as the cake, so you can't see that board. Then, you can put the cake (on the same sized board) directly onto your decorated board without worrying that the cake is coming into contact with a covering that isn't food safe.

I use tappits for all my fondant and gumpaste lettering. Love them!

Great product rec, Tracey! I'll go buy some of that immediately! Thank you!

Anyone - What size PVC have you guys found is best for fondant? I know there are different diameters or thicknesses or whatever "term" is official for PVC pipe, so what roundness is best? I know length will vary depending on size of fondant, but does it matter what size diamater is?

what ever thickness you feel comfortable with really..i use a few different sizes for different projects . I usually use between 4.5cm and 7cm roughly. I find that between those sizes works best for me HTH

You guys are AWESOME! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

I have used PVC pipe also. But stopped because of the problem I had.
I had a long piece cut out and had a hard time getting the hollow center really clean all the way through. I looked down the middle of it and saw what looked like condensation or mold or something growing inside the hollow center after it sat for a while after using it. I washed it out but when it gets too long its hard to get it cleaned really well all the way through , for me that was an issue anyway.