I had learned to measure my cake and roll my fondant just slightly bigger than I need. However, I was just watching the Cake Boss and noticed that he rolled his fondant MUCH larger than necessary, but it appeared that he shaped the fondant to the cake so easily. Does more fondant help? Do you all do this? Is it worth using twice as much fondant just to make it easier?

Hi, I don't use twice the amount of fondant that I need. There is a marzipan amount guide in Lindy Smith's book. I use that as a guide, but add around 250g more. Whith the left over fondant from covering the cake, I use that to cover the board.

I measure like you're told to...the height + the top of the cake + the height of the other side......but then I usually add about 2" just to be on the safe side......especially with larger tiers.......better to err on the side of caution then to have to remove and reroll that puppy!

It depends on how you cover it. If you have your cake on a stand, or turntable or can so that the fondant hangs below the cake, you don't want it to be too big. The added weight pulling down can cause the fondant to tear along the "sharp" top edge of the cake before you get it patted into place. If you just have the cake set on the counter so the excess rests on the counter, the weight is not an issue.

I usually use the first method because I find the weight of it hanging over the sides helps everything fall into place while forming the fondant to the sides. Plus, I can spin it as I go.

I usually do use a good bit more than I need just so I'm sure to get complete coverage. But the first thing I do after placing the fondant over the cake is trim any excess hanging to about an inch or two below the bottom of the cake to eliminate excess weight pull. Then I immediately flatten the top of the cake, then go right to the upper sides, all the way around. Once I do that, I no longer have to worry about the pull on the "sharp" edge.