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Now it’s time to start. Your cake should be baked, and
completely cooled. If you have a shaped cake, you can trim
it now and then place the cake on a prepared cake board. In
other words, you are assembling the cake puzzle on the
board. You can also place the cake on the board first and
then trim
(you must be extra careful not to damage the covered board). I
personally find that shaping first is the easiest and then
transferring the cake.
Give the top and sides of the cake a nice thick 1/4-inch coating
of
Buttercream Icing
(click on the underlined for buttercream icing recipe).
NOTE: At first I was wondering why I needed to bother with
this step. Well, there are a couple of reasons: The buttercream
icing helps the fondant icing to “stick” to the cake and
this cushion of undercoating icing helps to give you the
beautiful smooth nearly perfect finish that you are looking
for.
When you are ready to use the rested fondant icing, the first
thing you need to do is decide what size you will need to
roll your icing to.
Next, you need to sprinkle a bit of cornstarch on your counter to help prevent sticking (rub it
in). Give the fondant icing a little kneading to incorporate the
Crisco coating. It will be pretty stiff when you try to
knead it again, but it can be microwaved for 10 to 20
seconds, if necessary. Start off with 10 seconds
(please be careful as items that have high
sugar contents can get hot in the microwave very quickly). The fondant
icing will soften right up and be perfect for rolling
out and playing with. You want the temperature to be close
to your body temperature.
Now is the best time to add your food coloring. I
prefer to store my fondant icing in it’s natural color of
white. Some colors can change the consistency of the
icing. If you do need to store colored fondant
icing, wrap each color very well in plastic wrap or Saran Wrap. Colors like red and
burgundy are notorious for “bleeding” into other colors
and ruining them. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Bag everything in Ziploc bags. Remember
that food coloring can also stain your hands and
nails. I have food-grade plastic gloves that I keep
around. Add
your food coloring, a little at a time, and knead it
in. You can always go darker but it is difficult to go
lighter. Red has a tendency to get darker as it sits and
“ages”.
Pre-shape
your icing into approximately the shape of your cake. For
a round cake, make a disk shape. For a rectangular make
a log shape.
OK, here is a point of controversy about the next step. Some
instructors tell you to only sprinkle cornstarch on your
counter before you put the fondant icing down, sprinkle with
more corn starch, and then roll fondant icing out to desired
shape. Some teachers advise that you grease the counter, put
the fondant icing down, and lightly grease the top of the
fondant icing as need to prevent sticking.
I prefer the cornstarch myself, but during very dry
atmospheric conditions, I have been known to use the
shortening method. The grease will help to hold in the
moisture and keeps the fondant icing pliable. If necessary, add
drops of water and knead it in thoroughly before proceeding. You
will need to try out both ways in the future and decide what
you like the most. A third alternative is a large-sized Roulpat Mat (31 x 23 inches). It really does work
well and it can also help you with moving a large piece of
rolled out fondant. I’ve never done it, but I was told that
you just gently bend the mat edges downward with the icing
still on it. Place the edge of mat and the icing next to the
edge of the butter-creamed cake and flip the fondant icing over the
cake. What was the top of the fondant icing that you rolled out,
is now touching the buttercream and what was the bottom side
is now the topside that you see.
Most folks do not have a nonstick rolling pin, but if you do,
now is the time to use it. If not, lightly rub cornstarch
on the surface of the rolling pin and roll out to the
desired size. I like to roll my icing at least 1/8-inch thick. It’s thick
enough for ease of handling and strength integrity. I
wouldn’t go any thinner than 1/8-inch for the cake covering.
When I’m making decorations with the fondant icing, I will
sometimes roll it thinner. The MM Fondant icing is very forgiving
and rarely tears but everything has it limits.
The technique that I use is to gently roll the icing on the
nonstick rolling pin
like a piece of fabric. DO NOT FOLD! An
edge will be hanging down.
Quickly place the fondant icing at one
bottom edge of the cake and unroll the rolling pin, holding
it about 2 inches over the cake. Your fondant icing will then
“fall” into place. You should also have a bit of overhang
over the edges. You might need a little cornstarch at this stage, but only
use it very sparingly if you have a dark colored icing. I
very lightly sprinkle the cornstarch over the surface and use a
buffing motion with my hand to move it around and to level
the surface. This motion seals the fondant icing to the buttercream, works out the bumps in the icing below the
surface, and removes flaws from the joined areas in the cakes surface
below. Please use a VERY gentle pressure to rub the surface
of the icing. I often have a little pile of the cornstarch on
the counter and dip my hands in it as needed.
Here is an
important tip: Watch out for your fingernails as long nails
can mark up your surface quickly and it is very difficult to
smooth them back out.
If you notice a bubble in the surface, take a thin sharp
needle and poke a tiny hole, at an angle, in the bubble. If
you poke straight down, you can almost always see the hole
even after the most careful smoothing. The angled hole lets
the air out of the bubble, and with a tiny bit of rubbing you
can reseal the hole.
I keep a clean, soft
pastry brush close by, to move the cornstarch around.
Do this lightly or you can leave brush marks on the surface that are almost
impossible to remove. A number of companies make fondant smoothers for around $10. I have one, but I’ve used it
only once and I’ve used my hands ever since. For me, it is easier
and quicker. If you don’t handle the smoother correctly, you
can damage the fondant’s finish.
Gently, with the side of your hand, push the fondant into
the sides of the cake against the cake board.
To trim the excess fondant icing, you can use a sharp knife.
I
find that the easiest and neatest way is to use a
Pizza Cutter. Hold it at a 45 degree angle from the cake board
and the side of the cake. Go slow and follow the shape of
the cake. If you hold the cutter at the correct angle, you
will have an almost perfect bottom edge. Gently, with your
finger tips, push any little leftovers in against the cake
for the neatest appearance. If the edge isn’t as nice
as you want, you can always add a fondant rope or pearls. Buttercream shells, stars, or flowers look wonderful also.
If your cake needs a bit of shaping, do it now.
I used the outside edge of my hand to make the indents to define
certain areas of the cake.
Well, you have finished the covering of your cake.
Many professional decorators feel that a fondant covered
cake will hold the moisture in the cake for 3 to
5 days, depending on your atmosphere. I personally don’t
want to go beyond 3 days. I like the cake to have a fresh
taste.
Do not refrigerate your covered cake! When you take the cake
out of the refrigerator, moisture will condense and destroy
your beautiful surface. Your best option is to store the
cake in a sealed bakery box. The cardboard sides of a box
will keep the dust in the air off the cake, but allows the
Fondant to breath.
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If you have any additional questions
or comments that have not been answers in the categories listed below,
Peggy will try to answer them for you.
