Introduction: How to Cover a Cake With Fondant

Covering a cake in fondant is not difficult. My best advice is to take your time and stay focused. Like anything, the more you work with fondant the easier it volition go to achieve a shine cease. Don't worry if you have a few folds and creases. Especially if this is your very showtime try. You lot will eventually find a rhythm and technique that works for you.

This instructable is assuming you take a baked cake at a stage ready to cover with fondant. If you don't accept this complete yet, please refer to my Cake Decorating 101 collection for all the previous steps you need! In the collection y'all volition detect many useful tips and tricks for cake decorating!

Stride 1: Rolling Fondant

In society to cover a half dozen-inch cake (that is 4-inches tall) yous will need:

  • approximately 12 ounces of fondant (I am using white fondant for this cake but experience free to choose your own unique color palette!)
  • rolling mat
  • rolling pin
  • needle or precipitous knife

HOW TO ROLL FONDANT

1. Knead your fondant into a pliable brawl and place your fondant (colored or not) on a silicone pastry mat. If yous do not have a silicone mat you lot will need to spread a thin layer of vegetable shortening on a make clean piece of work surface and whorl your fondant on that. There are a lot of bakers that utilize cornstarch or powdered carbohydrate to roll out their fondant. I observe that it dries out the fondant and makes it more prone to bully. If you are a beginner I recommend shortening!

two. Printing the fondant into a thick disc shape.

3. Using a rolling pin, roll the fondant making sure to go on the shape somewhat round.

4. Unless you completely luck out you lot will start to notice bubbles in the surface. These will need to be popped. I utilise a very thin acupuncture needle to pop bubbling, however, a precipitous knife tip or a clean straight pivot will do nicely. Smooth the bubble with your fingertip. Keep rolling and popping until the fondant is about 1/eight of an inch
thick. If you roll any thinner the fondant volition have a trend to tear or crack every bit you lot piece of work with information technology.

five. Place a cake board in the center of the rolled fondant. If yous have at least four inches all around the cake board you accept rolled the fondant large plenty. If you lot don't, keep rolling until you do!

Pace ii: Roofing a Cake in Fondant

I highly recommend having between five and ten minutes of uninterrupted time to complete this step. The last thing you want is for the fondant to dry out before you can apply it properly.

One time you have the correct size and thickness move your ganached cake close to the fondant. You want the least amount of travel altitude equally possible.

HOW TO APPLY FONDANT

1. Gently elevator 1 edge of the fondant and place one clean mitt and forearm under the fondant. Elevator it loftier enough to get your other arm underneath.

2. Elevator and middle the fondant over the cake and gently lower it down. Do not pull or stretch the fondant. If yous encounter a identify where the fondant is not long plenty and isn't completely covering a side information technology'southward okay! Gravity (and working with the fondant) volition ultimately stretch it downwards anyhow!

3. Gently slide a fondant smoother all over the top of the cake to remove any air bubbling that might be under it. Y'all can also use your mitt for this step, yet, you are more probable to make dents in the fondant.

4. At present that the top is smooth start working the peak half of the cake. Smooth the fondant all around with your hands by lightly pulling on the bottom edge of the fondant while pressing in a downward motion with your other manus. Continue this procedure until the fondant is smooth all effectually the cake and no wrinkles or folds are present.

5. Smooth all sides with the fondant smoother. Y'all can press relatively difficult for this footstep. If you notice any air bubbling in the sides yous will need to pop them in the same manner as we did when rolling the fondant.

half dozen. Using a precipitous knife and holding information technology flat against the cake trim away the excess fondant. Knead the fondant back into a cohesive ball. Wrap the fondant and salvage for another cake!

7. Your cake should look something similar this!

For more tips on decorating cakes with fonant, bank check out my Busy Party Cake instructable!

Footstep three: Troubleshooting Fondant Issues

In that location are a number of things that tin potentially become incorrect while working with fondant. I will accost a few of the most mutual problems and offer suggestions as to how to solve them.

Dry Fondant

Fondant can dry out or expect dry for 2 reasons: one. Fondant has been left out in the open air for a number of hours. 2. A lot of food coloring has been mixed into the fondant. This is easily solved past calculation vegetable shortening to the fondant and mixing thoroughly. Start with a small corporeality and keep adding until y'all take a soft pliable piece of fondant again.

Cracks in Fondant

Cracking typically occurs when the fondant has been rolled too thin. When yous endeavor to work with it on the cake the sparse role will offset to pull apart and tear. If the crack is small like in the photo the easiest thing to do is either cover that part of the cake with a fondant ornament or turn the cracked side to the back! If the scissure is big, you can mix a small amount (pea sized) of the same color fondant with a few drops of clear excerpt until y'all have a thinned mixture. You tin can so utilise the mixture to the crevice similar spackle! You lot volition be able to see where information technology has been patched but information technology volition keep your fondant from falling off the cake if the crack is sizable.

Air Bubbles

Air bubbles too oftentimes occur when you are smoothing fondant on a cake. These tin can be popped in the same mode every bit when rolling the fondant by poking the bubble with a sparse needle and releasing the air past gently pressing on the bubble with your fingers. I recommend going over the cake several times to make certain all air bubbles are eliminated. If you have a modest air bubble that you don't run into it can abound larger and blow out an unabridged side of a cake! I accept had this happen and it's not fun. Particularly after all the hard work you have put into making a block. I like to poke a pigsty in the top of the cake that goes clear downwardly to the cake base somewhere that volition eventually be covered with a decoration. This will allow air to escape the block through the path of to the lowest degree resistance.

Cake Board Showing

As you practice and go better at working with fondant this volition happen less and less. This is a outcome of cutting the fondant likewise close to the lath and is easily solved. Curlicue out a colour of fondant that coordinates with the design of the cake and cut a strip about 1/4 to 1/two inch wide. Adhere it to the cake with extract effectually the base of operations covering the showing block board. Cutting the excess fondant at the back of the block and line up the seam.

Lumpy Fondant

There are three main reasons fondant can wait lumpy: 1. If buttercream is used to cover a cake instead of ganache it is much harder to smooth and often has a lumpy texture. ii. If your layer of ganache is too thin and as gravity settles your block the buttercream filling tin starting time to bulge the ganache between the cake layers. Definitely don't skimp on the ganache!! 3. Smoothing fondant with your easily make it more than likely to get lumps.

Dry Cake

Dry cake doesn't exactly have anything to do with working with fondant, however, I thought I would just mention this every bit it's a common problem in blistering. Cake tin dry out from over baking and/or from being left out to the open up air for too long. To remedy the dryness, you tin can brand a uncomplicated syrup to drizzle on the leveled cake layers before y'all fill up and stack them. This volition moisten the cakes dorsum to deliciousness! I would advise two to three tablespoons of simple syrup per layer if your block is super dry out. But brand sure not to get the cakes too wet or filling and stacking will become difficult. I would recommend this Simple Syrup Recipe - information technology's quick and easy!

Other Problems

Decorations Falling Off — If you find that your fondant decorations are falling or sliding off the side of the cake
this is ordinarily a result of either using too much excerpt or not plenty. If you get a ton of extract on a piece and endeavour to stick it on the block information technology can easily slide off. Try using as little every bit possible for the piece to stick. This tin can too be a upshot of the cake getting very hot and collecting condensation.

Condensation — Fondant does non love to be stored in the fridge. If you identify a block in the fridge and later remove the block it tends to become shiny and slimy. This situation gets worse when the weather is hot and/or humid. If you lot touch on the block in this state you volition fingerprint it like crazy! This is why I don't recommend using a perishable filling that needs refrigeration if yous are also decorating the block.

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