I love the look of mini cakes for weddings ( yes I know I am nuts) decorating is easy but how can you be time efficient covering the cakes with fondant?  It took me almost 40 minutes  to cut out and cover each mini.  To those who have done them before do you cut out stacks of the fondant and put paper between them, cover and then do each cake?  This was my first time doing this and I can't see how you would ever make a profit on them.. too much time for such small items.  I know with more practice I will get faster but any tips on how to do the covering better.  I was happier cutting thicker pieces of fondant and working each cake. 

Would appreciate some suggestions  that or I will just stick with petit fours.  Thanks

To make a profit on those you have to charge out the wazoo, which will prevent most people from buying them. The only fast way to do them would probably be to freeze them all, cut the fondant out ahead of time, and just whip them through an assembly line situation. It will still take time to do all the rolling and cutting of the fondant but the decorating will go faster if you don't have to stop and roll out fondant while covering them. There's no way around it, it isn't a time efficient process.

Thanks costumeczar... that's sort of what I thought...some sort of assembly line when doing the fondant part.  I did wait to decorate after I had them all covered.  It was cutting out the fondant 1 piece at a time that was stupid.  I am thinking of trying to cut out 10 pieces at a time.  cover and wrap fondant and try to get  10 cakes covered  at a time.  I don't think I will ever do this at the bakery but my ladies group loves to do teas... thought it would be extra special to have... 

If you have a sheeter or a pasta machine it wouldn't be as bad

Good idea...

If making to sell,

no order, so no hassle....

Too much work for too little cake. Last I heard, $20 each sounded good. But oh sooooo cute!

In 2010 there was a wonderful lady teaching at the Int'l Cake Exploration Societe (ICES).  I apologize, but I don't remember her name.  She taught a mini-class on how to do quicker, more profitable, mini-wedding cakes.

First, make sheet cakes that are 1-1/2 to 2" high.

Use a 3-4" round biscuit cutter to cut out round layers.

Stack two layers with filling in between.

Make a measuring template out of paper that is exactly the length needed to go around the mini-cake and is the correct height.

Roll out thin fondant, and use the template to cut out strips.    Make some frosting that is the same color as your fondant that will go around the cakes.

Crumb coat the mini-layer cake as fast as possible, don't worry about the mess on the sides--this is only for the fondant to have something to stick to. 

Once on all the sides are done, frost the tops of the mini-cakes nicely, and use a cake comb to make a "nice" decorative finish.

Once about 5 cakes are frosted, wrap them with the fondant strips while the frosting is still tacky.  (If the frosting has dried, apply a VERY light spritz of water from a sprayer, then apply fondant.)

Do five more cakes, repeat as needed.

Once all of the cakes are wrapped with fondant, put some frosting (the same color as the fondant) on your finger and swipe it up the seam where the fondant meets.  [Just like spackling around a sink or tub.]  The seam area is not the back of  your mini-cake.

Apply your top decorations to each mini cake.  If needed, put a small bump of fresh, tacky, frosting for the decorations to stick to when applied.  If you just use a bow and some frosting area shows, it is nicely decorated with the cake comb design. 

Ideas for toppers that can be made ahead: 

Mini bows

Roses

Fondant circles cut out with a wavy round cutter that is slightly larger than the top of the cake.   Put any deco's on this circle.

The lady who taught the class had a fabulous baroque design mold that she used for the fondant strips around each mini cake.  You can make your own design using any of the fondant embossing mats.

Should read "Seam area is NOW the back of your mini-cake". 

Thanks for that info... I did the sheet cake, stacked and crumb coat thing.. but she only cuts strips and puts them around side  not on top??? That would be so much faster.  I cut full circles that included side, top measurement. one by one...smoothing it out on each cake took me a long time.... Love this idea of strips on side....will try it.  Really appreciate the advice.  I took a mini cake class last fall at the cake show in Florida and was so disappointed she didn't teach us how to cover them --- to me that is the hardest and most time consuming part.

Went thru my old notes and found her name!  Carol Webb.  Her now defunct web site was elegantlacemolds

In re-reading my original notes from the course--she did NOT crumb coat the cake, she put a layer of buttercream on the fondant strip, then wrapped it around the cake.  (Even faster!)

The reason she did the strip around the sides is:  SPEED   This is WAY faster than cutting a round piece of fondant and 'fitting' it to the top and sides of a mini-cake.  That is also why she semi-decorated the top with a cake comb through the buttercream--speed.  It will still look ok with a top decoration.   This woman made and sold fondant molds that, of course, facilitated her mini-cakes, but you can obviously use any kind of texture mat for your fondant strips that go round the mini-cakes. 

Wow, great information.  Thanks Apti.

Happy to pass it along!  I was only a novice decorator of about 5 months when I was able to attend the 2010 ICES convention (in my home town).  My eyes bugged out and I was breathless at all the fabulous cakes and tools and teachers and tips and..... Everybody was super nice to a newbie with a zillion questions.

Here's a link to a mold that is 9-1/4" long by 3".  This is the type of thing that can be used to wrap around mini cakes.  You'd have to make sure the mini cakes were the correct size, of course.

http://www.sugardelites.com/Floral-Lace-2-Border-Wide-_p_877.html

[postimage id="4136" thumb="900"]How is this for time saving mini cakes? LOL

@ladyhawke917 ‍ -- I saw a pic of these quite a while ago.  The cakes in the photo are adorable, but I image they'd be a real booger to get this "perfect".  I've read where you can spray the sides with Pam or other stuff to keep from going stale, but, man, you'd have to prepare and serve these puppies ASAP. 

I just taught 2 new-to-decorating ladies how to prepare an 8x4" round "wedding cake" with 1M frosting swirls and decorative pearls.  My mantra throughout the class was "Frosting Can Fix Anything!".   These don't have much frosting....

Apti thanks as always for sharing a "little" something new!

T

awwww... @theresaf, I wasn't sharing something new, I was just being a "mini"-me for Carol Webb.

yes, apti, you're the best