Hello everyone,

I'm new to Cake Central.... I just had a three day weekend and decided why not try to make one of them there fancy like cakes I see on television. I have a bit of a flair for being artsy fartsy, so I thought maybe I could try.

I like the fondant look, how it's very crisp and clean, smooth, and best of all edible. My problem is that I made mine from scratch and it got that elephant skin look after I applied it. It seemed crumbly and not very pliable. I think I didn't knead it enough.

THEN..

My second issue is the cake being level and looking symmetrical all around. I only bought a few tools from Michael's so I'm sure I need some more tools.... I was like cavewoman with a rock and stick here!

So...

My question is.... The crumbly fondant...what can a girl do?

And if anyone could give me a starter list of tools that i MUST HAVE to start practicing....

Oh and baking a level cake might not be a bad idea either..

Thanks a lot for everything in advance...

Welcome to cc. There are several threads on here to help with the issues that you're having. I suggest that you settle in for a few hours of reading

As far as the "elephant skin" fondant. I don't know what recipe you're using but I use Michele Foster's recipe and it is absolutely the best fondant I have ever used. It taste wonderful as well. For workability and pliability it is 'hands down' the best I've ever used.

"Baking a level cake" is not something I can do....I level all of my cakes with a large bread knife. You can also buy cake levelers but my knife works fine for me. You can use one of those little cheap plastic levels, found in the
hardware department at Wal-Mart to make sure your cake is level.

As far as "tools" buy two fondant smoothers. Watch some of the video tutorials on youtube "how to cover a cake with fondant" for help.
Good baking pans with straight sides are another must have. If the pans 'nest' (fit inside one another for storage) then they do not have straight sides.

Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of cake decorating. Cc is a great place and there are very many helpful people on here that are more than willing to help.

Fondant- keep it sealed when not in use, it dries out quickly; too much conf. sugar can cause it to become dry. When using fondant, I always make sure that I rub my hands with shortening and that helps it to not dry.
Level cakes- I use a leveler on my cakes.

I would recommend getting the hang of icing a cake before moving to fondant, just my humble opinion.

Have fun. Cupcakes are great to play with too. You can practice technique, icing consistency, recipes, etc.

If you can, take a class that your local arts and crafts store offers. It will give you some basics, and with your artsy aptitude, you will be able to take off from there. The Wilton classes give you basics in leveling, buttercream application, basic buttercream flowers, fondant application, and gumpaste flowers. It takes practice to get the fondant right. I too use Michelle Foster's fondant on this site, and it has a great taste besides easy to work with. You have to make it at least one day in advance to allow it to rest overnight. I put my nice high cake layers in the pan and use the top of the pan and my knife to get it nice and level. You will get great recipes here and will find your favorites whether they be scratch or extended cake mix (a frequent topic of discussion here!) Above all, as the OP said - Have Fun!!!

Thank you so much everyone...I am going to take some classes at Michael's...I think I could definitely get into this for a hobby...some people think it's a lot of work (and it is), but it's the kind of work I really enjoy...when I decorated my first two cakes, and my creative juices started to flow, I was so happy!

Thank you all for your information...now I'm ready to read!