Hi everyone,

I am working on a wedding cake which has the middle taller than the others (about double height).

That tier is supposed to have an embossed pattern on it, which I will apply with an impression mat.

I am worried that when I put the fondant on the cake, I will have two problems:
- The weight of the fondant on such a tall tier will cause it to stretch and distort the embossed pattern, before I can 'stick' it on all around the tier
- I will damage the embossing when I smooth the fondant onto the cake

Does anyone have experience doing this, and any tips/tricks to help avoid these two problems?

TIA so much for your help!

Is there any chance you can emboss it after you cover the cake? Or is the pattern one that has to go all over?

I asked a guy from Caljava once how to smooth fondant with an embossed pattern and he had this block of foam sitting there. He used it to pat down the fondant without squishing the fondant.

As far as getting it on there without stretching the fondant....you will just need to work quickly. Have your cake really cold, place it on the top and immediately press the top edges around the sides so they don't just hang there and start to tear. Then quickly start patting the rest down to the sides with your soft pc of foam.

I did this on a cake that was only 4 inches tall and I had no stretching....it will be harder on a taller cake. Good luck. I'm sure someone else will answer who has more experience.

Thanks so much, Karateka! The foam is a great idea, I suppose it just has to be dense enough (not a lot of holes) so that it doesn't leave its own imprint - right?

Do you happen to know what type of foam he used, or what you used?

Cover your cake with a fondant base coat first.

Measure the circumfrence and height of the cake. Cut out a template slightly longer than half the circumfrence. Freezer or wax paper works well for this.

Roll out and emboss the fondant. Use your template to cut out a piece.

Apply a very thin coat of shortening to a long strip of wax paper. Place your embossed fondant embossed side down on the wax paper so that the bottom of your strip of fondant hangs off the wax paper about a half inch.

Coat your fondant base coat with a light coating of shortening.

Lift the whole piece of wax paper and fondant, line up the bottom of the strip with the bottom of the cake and gently press the fondant onto the cake. Once it's attached pretty well, peel off the wax paper and finish lightly pressing on the fondant with a piece of foam sponge.

Repeat to cover the other half of the cake.

The two pieces of fondant should overlap slightly at both seams. Adhere the overlapped fondant with a smear of shortening.

With an Xacto knife, cut straight down through the overlapped fondant. Gently peel away the excess from the top layer and the bottom layer. (The use of shortening makes it easy to pull the fondant apart without tearing it.) Gently press the seam with your foam sponge. The seam may not completely disappear, but it will be neat enough to leave on. You may want to let your fondant set up for a few minutes before cutting. That will make the cut much neater than if the fondant is still soft and stretchy.

Roll out a third piece of fondant and emboss it. Cut out a piece to fit on the top of the cake and put it on. Brush a tiny bit of water at the seam between the top piece and the side pieces. Gently press together with a piece of foam sponge.

I buy large pieces of foam, labeled as chair cushions in the fabric store, and cut them into a variety of shapes and sizes for various uses.

Wow, what an interesting technique, Diane! Never would have thought of that....thank you!

Yes, DianeLM, great advice!! I love CC!! I have learned almost every thing I know about decorating cakes from the people who have gone before me and done it all!! Thank-you!!