How to Cover a Cake with Fondant

How to Cover a Cake with Fondant

You'll need:

• Crisco
• Fondant
• Rolling Pin
• Fondant Mat
• Frosted cake

Prepare your cake with a light layer of icing.

Prepare your fondant mat by rubbing a small amount of Crisco to your mat.  Remember, a little goes a long way.  It should be a very thin layer.  This will help your fondant from sticking to the mat and will make the fondant in contact with the mat shinier.  I also prep the rolling pin with a little crisco and dust some cornstarch over it in order to avoid a "sticky situation".

After cutting your fondant piece you have to knead the fondant to make it more pliable (like you would with dough) and be able to roll it. The fondant will be ready once it becomes more pliable and the fondant looses its shine (i.e., becomes opaque).  Do not overknead as the fondant can start to melt (hands expell body heat) and become sticky, therefore, work as fast as you can.  If this occurs, add a little cornstarch to your fondant.  Most decorators use a corn starch "puff".  Here is a link to "Working with Fondant" for quick tips. 

After kneading the fondant, roll it into a ball and place in the middle of your fondant mat.  I recommend using a fondant mat to achieve a smooth surface. 

 

TIP: It is difficult for me to roll the fondant flat out of a ball.  I recomment that you pat the fondant ball until it flattens on the mat as shown on the picture below.  Then you are ready to roll the fondant.

In this picture I was covering a round 8 inches in diameter cake that was 4 inches high, therefore I had to sum each side and the top --> [4 inches (side) + 8 inches (diameter) + 4 inches (other side) = 16 inches].  Since the total was 16 inches, I had to roll my fondant until it was 16 inches in diameter in order to be able to cover my round 8 inches in diameter cake. 

Roll the fondant from center to the edge to keep the circular shape of the fondant (do not roll from edge to edge). Feel free to rotate the fondant.

Once you are done rolling the fondant, we have to transfer the fondant onto the top of the cake (make sure your already frosted cake is near your rolled fondant for easier transfer). ***Butter Cream Recipe***

Roll the rolled fondant on your rolling pin so you can gently lift it and place one edge of the fondant over one edge of the cake. Slowly unroll the fondant over the cake (make sure it is centered).

The fondant should drape the cake as shown in this picture.

Shape the fondant to the side of the cake by gently smoothing it with your hands starting on the top center of the cake and outwards and then the sides.  Hands can leave impressions on the cake so make sure you do this gently or use a Fondant Smoother. 

Press the bottom of the cake to mark the edge and make it easy to trim.

Trim the excess of the cake with a knife.  I use a small pizza cutter for easy cutting... just roll and cut :). You can also buy a Fondant Cutter

Your cake is now ready to decorate.... like a blank canvas. Enjoy!!