Hello all I am new here and this is my first question, I would like to start by saying hello and I hope you are all fine an this devils night.

My daughters first birthday is on Sunday and my 4 year old has designed her cake. The problem my 4 year old is addicted to The cake boss and Ace of Cakes, she lovingly thinks her Mom is just as talented which I am definitively not.

The cake she designed requires me to use fondant something I have only done once and it weeped a little was very slimy by the time I went to cut the cake. I live in Canada and I have heard you have to be careful because of our climate. Does anyone have any tricks to making it look nice I really have no idea how to use it so anything would help.

Thank you in advance

I am from Ontario and you are amazing I never knew how to make it an spend a fortune buying it thank you.

A few questions

1. how would I color the fondant I need pink.
2. What do you use the crisco for? you have it on there but I dont see what you do with it.
3. I only have a wooden rolling pin does that matter?
4. the cake that I am making is covered in fondant then I am using cookie cutter to put fondant shapes on it how do you stick the shapes?

Wilton's cake decorating website is a great place to start if you don't know where to begin. (Try www.wilton.com/decorating/fondant/ - if they take the website out as they sometimes do on cakecentral, it is wilton dot com slash decorating slash fondant). There you'll find info on coloring fondant, recipes for marshmallow fondant, how to roll it out and apply it to a cake. We're all happy to answer questions here, but you're better off looking there first to get answers to the easy questions, THEN asking any questions you have left. Also there are some great YouTube videos on cake decorating basics, so look there as well. Sometimes seeing fondant being made and applied to a cake is much more helpful than just reading about it. Good luck!

Thanks, Jan. Good to know the rule about websites being posted in the forums.

Thanks JanH, I didn't know that either. Appreciate the info.

PaytonMoore~~I got tickled when I read that your 4 year old thinks you can easily duplicate the work of the Cake Boss and Duff. I started this 2 years ago and my great-niece, -nephews did exactly the same thing! Don't worry, whatever you manage will be PERFECT in the eyes of the 4 year old big sister. What a thrill it must be for her to be helping mommy design the cake for her new baby sister.

I second the info posted by deuceofcakes. If you go to YouTube you will find a wealth of information. The Wilton information is very basic and excellent for a beginner, but they also recommend that you use only Wilton products. There are substitutes that can be used for some things that are already in your kitchen.

Thank you all so much for your help I will take them all into consideration. The problem I find with Wilton is that they are so expensive and I can't afford to buy all the supplies for one cake. I was so happy to find that you can make fondant as even that is $15.00 but then you have to have the fancy roller and smother I just can't afford all that. I will look into the U tube videos though for sure I saw one last night that used two pieces of plastic sheet that looked easy to do.

One of the reasons I am so dedicated to do this properly is that My daughter thinks so much of me, I want to keep her stars for a bit. I love that she has so much faith in me and for most things I have done I have been able to mimic or fake it but this like sugar cookies had me stumped.

All the advice these ladies have given you so far is good sound advice - I just wanted to add that I would absolutely love to see the design you and your daughter create!

You don't need a fancy rolling pin (the one you have is probably fine) and you don't need mats or even Wilton fondant (marshmallow fondant is cheaper and tastier). You do need gel paste food coloring though. You can do the fondant smoothing just with your hands if that's all you've got (the smoothers do leave a nice finish on a cake and help adhere the fondant to the cake, but your daughter won't know the difference!). And don't worry, your daughter will continue to think you're wonderful no matter how this cake turns out -- that is, until she's about 13!

Marshmallow fondant (Macsmom's recipe on this site) is awesome. Made it a few times; relatively easy to make and everyone eats it, unlike store-bought fondants. You must knead your fondant quite a bit before you start to use it. This makes it more pliable. You can add dabs of crisco as you knead it. When you think you've got the right consistency pull it apart using your two thumbs. It should look fairly smooth. WHen it has reached that stage you're ready to roll it out. Use a light dusting of icing sugar on your board...not too much as it will dry out the fondant. Roll it to about 1/4" thick and as big a circle as you need to cover the top and sides of your cake. Carefully pick it up...you can use your rolling pin and gently place it over the cake. Start to smooth it down by carefully pressing across the top and then down the sides making sure not to create any "pleats" along the sides by gently pulling out the fondant and repositioning it. Your cake will have had a layer of buttercream or chocolate ganache first so that there is something for the fondant to adhere to. Your fondant decorations can be applied with a little water which will make them stick to your cake. HTH and good luck.

Where are you located? There are lots of good places that I can recommend for you to take some lessons if you want to take this hobby further.

I am in Guelph, Ontario I am currently taking a Wilton Beginners course but I am a long way from step 2. I LOVE to do this it has become a hobby and I really enjoy it so I will be looking into more classes.

There are a couple of good places not far from you....Klara Johnson's in Cambridge and Icing Inspirations in Kitchener. Most of my classes have been with Klara. She used to be at McCalls before opening her own shop several years ago. She does amazing sugar flowers and is an excellent instructor. I've not taken classes at Icing Inspirations, but I have been to their store and the classroom is very good; they have several "celebrity" cake decorating specialists who do classes periodically for them. Both have websites so you can check out what they have to offer.