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In the first email you'll watch & learn exactly how to make your icing perfectly smooth!
Rolled Fondant – Covering Your Cake with Smooth Precision
Fondant 101: Fondant is as easy to work with as play dough. Fondant, sugarpaste, or pettinice is sheet icing you roll out, shape and then drape over your cake. When you add a stiffening agent, sugarpaste will become gumpaste. You can then use it for molding flowers and shaping three-dimensional figures for your cake.
Rolled fondant provides a flawlessly smooth canvas as a background for your baking artistry. Although, professionals are more experienced with camouflaging any mistakes than are a novice, there should be no lines, seams or cracks showing. These tips will help you fool even the most discerning critic.
You need to make sure your cake is level, even and if imperfection free with no lumps or bumps to create a close to perfect fondant cake. Flaws will show beneath fondant and spoil the appearance of your cake.
After leveling your cake, you should glaze it and then permit it to dry completely. Next, you will smooth on a ?-inch layer of butter-cream icing. Cover every blemish generously, no matter how small it may be.
Only after smoothing the cake as much as possible should you allow the butter-cream icing to harden. The cake is now ready for draping it with the blanket of fondant.
You can determine the amount of fondant you need by measuring the top and the sides of the cake and then adding an extra inch, just in case. For instance, to cover a round 8-inch cake with 4-inch deep sides, you will roll out a 17-inch diameter layer of fondant.
After you determine the size, you will lightly powder the working surface using confectioner’s sugar. Knead the fondant into a smooth shape and then roll it out to the pre-determined size. As you roll, you will lift and move, until reaching a 1/8-inch thickness.
To keep the fondant from sticking to the work surface, simply add a small amount of confectioner’s sugar. If it becomes dry, you can add a drop or two of water while kneading to keep it pliable.
To smooth your fondant perfectly, you will roll out any pin marks. Your fondant will be perfect when it is not to dry or too sticky as well as being easy to handle without any splits or cracks.
You will now lift and drape the fondant very carefully over your rolling pin, or you can use both hands while taking care not to tear it. Remember not to fold or press down on the fondant.
You will now loosely drape the fondant over your cake. While carefully avoiding any creases or folds, you will use your hands to shape the fondant gently onto the surface of the cake. Take your time, while smoothing outward and then down the sides of your cake.
Keep in mind that long fingernails will leave marks on the cakes surface, which is not so easy to smooth away.
You may want to try using a smoother. For a baker it is comparable to a drywall trowel. You can use this tool to press the fondant gently onto the sides of the cake, while being very careful not to damage the finish of the fondant.
Lastly, you will use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to tuck and trim away the extra fondant. You can cover any uneven edges by piping a butter-cream decorative edge or by adding fondant pearls or roping. This is just one of the tricks that professionals use.
You should now have a close to perfection fondant cake!
You should permit the cake to stand until the icing is set, before decorating it further. However, if you are in a hurry, keep in mind that the surface is fragile and soft as well as easily marked.
We hope you have enjoyed Fondant 101! You can find more tips in Cake Decorating Made Easy!
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