Unlike regular cakes, a fondant cake looks more spectacular and can add a professional touch to your baking work. And creating fondant cake decoration is not as hard as you might think. You just have to learn how to work with fondant to cover your cake with it. Once you learn the basics, you just have to practice a few times to get it perfect. But, even though working with a fondant is not that challenging as it may seem at first, you still have to be patient with it. 

For this article, we’ll assume that you have already baked a cake before and only need to learn how to create fondant and work with fondant molds, as well as the process of utilizing it for decorations. Let’s get started.

Preliminary Fondant Cake Steps

It’s important to prepare the cake for fondant placement to make sure the fondant would stick to it perfectly. However, you would have a limited amount of time to cover the cake with fondant once it’s ready since the fondant will start to dry. Thus, it’s crucial to prepare your fondant cake beforehand. Here are the steps you have to follow:

  • Set your cake over a silicone mat or parchment paper and make sure the top of the cake is leveled.
  • Frost the cake on all sides and on the top with an all-butter buttercream frosting of your choice. This would allow the fondant to stick to the cake and also hide any imperfections in the cake you baked.
  • Refrigerate the frosted cake for about 15 to 20 minutes; more if you live in a warmer climate. This would cause the buttercream surface to harden up a little and make it easier to nail how to work with fondant.

Unrecognisable Woman Decorating a Delicious Layered Sponge Cake With Icing Cream.

How to Make Fondant?

To make fondant, you need the following items and ingredients:

  • Ready-made fondant icing or marshmallow, based on the cake size. Approximately, 12 ounces of fondant for a 6-inch cake.
  • Rolling mat
  • Needle or sharp knife
  • Rolling pin
  • Food coloring (liquid or gel-based)

How to Work with Fondant?

Follow the steps listed below to create the fondant:

  • Place the fondant icing or marshmallow on a silicone pastry mat before you start kneading it to make sure it doesn’t stick to the surface. Alternatively, you may apply a thin layer of vegetable shortening or cornstarch over a clean surface and start kneading the fondant icing over it.
  • If you want to make a colorful fondant, apply the food coloring of your choice to it. Gel-based food coloring is recommended since it’s more concentrated and doesn’t change the consistency of the fondant, unlike liquid coloring. For lighter color, use only a few drops and vice-versa.
  • Once it becomes pliable as a dough, press the fondant into a thick disc shape and use a heavy rolling pin to roll it out in all directions. The rolled size should be more than what you need to put on your cake. For instance, you need 1 ½ pound of fondant for an 8-inch cake but need to roll out 2 ½ pounds. Also, ensure that the thickness of the fondant is not less than ⅛ of an inch since otherwise it can tear or crack.
  • If you notice any air bubbles, you would need to pop them out carefully with a needle or a sharp knife. Be sure to smooth out the area around the air bubbles with your fingertips to give it a nice texture.

How to Cover a Cake with Fondant?

Before you start this process make sure you won’t be disturbed for about 5 to 10 minutes. This would allow you to concentrate better and make sure you can work quickly to avoid the risk of fondant drying out. To cover a cake with fondant properly, follow these steps:

  • Take out the frosted cake from the refrigerator and spray some water over the surface. This would allow the fondant to stick to the cake batter and keep it nicely moist as well.
  • Place your rolling pin or any other long cylinder a few inches above the center of the fondant and use your other hand to carefully drape the fondant over it. Alternatively, you may gently lift on edge of the fondant and place a clean hand and forearm under the fondant to transfer it. However, this needs more delicate handling; otherwise, the fondant may tear.
  • Gently drape the fondant over the cake by unrolling it from the rolling pin. Or, gently put it down using your hands and let gravity do the work of covering the cake instead of pulling or stretching.
  • Use a fondant smoother to smooth out any irregularities, wrinkles, and remove any air bubbles that may get trapped during the process. Pop the small air bubbles with a pin that cannot be removed by smoothening. Make sure to apply gentle pressure all around the cake to help stick the fondant better. Avoid using your hands to smoothen since this may make dents in the fondant. It’s much easier to do this step on a lazy Susan.
  • Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to trim the excess fondant along the base of the cake. You could also knead the excess fondant into another ball to use for other fondant cakes.

Molding Icing Around a Fresh Cake

How to Make Fondant Cake Decoration?

Fondant cakes decorating is the most fun part of the whole process for some people. To manage fondant cakes decorating like a pro, keep in mind the following:

  • You can easily create fondant decorations of your choice by using lace stencils or cookie cutters. These can serve as your custom fondant molds, or you can buy fondant molds specifically meant for this purpose. Alternatively, you may cut your fondant into small rectangular strips or circular balls to create fondant bows and roses respectively.
  • Apply the icing color of your choice on the fondant cake decoration using a toothpick. Be sure to evenly distribute the color and add more color to make it look brighter.
  • It’s best to prepare decorations for fondant cakes beforehand and let them dry out in a refrigerator. This ensures that they don’t droop due to moisture when you need to use them for fondant cakes decorating.
  • Carefully attach the decorations to fondant cakes by applying some water over them or insert them directly into the cake.

Anyone who’s looking to bring something new, fancy, and unique to the cake market can only benefit from experimenting with fondant. This can make any cake recipe come to life and let you separate your own business from the rest. Of course, nothing can beat top-notch materials one would use for their cakes. That said, we at Medina Baking & Powder Supply professionally manage all of your baking needs and requirements. We’re happy to provide our support to the growing as well as already established food businesses with affordable, fast, and reliable service across Central and South America, South Florida, and the Caribbean.