Fondant
- Fondant
- Knife or Cutting wheel
- Needle to pop air pockets
- Cake smoothers
- Acetate smoothers
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Work with fondant at night when the room is cooler, or work in an air-conditioned room.
- Remove fondant from fridge and let it reach room temperature. If necessary, microwave 10 seconds, in 5 second bursts.
- Use food color gels to add color to fondant. Gels are more concentrated and won't effect the consistency of the fondant as much as liquid food coloring does.
- Knead in food color gel a day ahead of using. Let sit a day. Color will deepen.
- The work surface must be clean with no crumbs or wet spots. Rub the surface with a tiny ball of fondant to remove any crumbs.
- Dust the surface with a mixture of corn starch and powdered sugar before you knead the fondant and add more if needed before rolling out.
- Knead well. Kneading ensures the fondant rolls evenly and has a smooth finish. Insufficient kneading results in tearing and cracking when fondant is rolled. After kneading, fondant should no longer be sticky, but be soft and flexible.
- If the fondant is dry: knead in vegetable shortening.
- If the fondant is sticky: add corn starch.
- If the fondant needs to be stiffer: add powdered sugar.
- If you'e made any additions, knead again before rolling.
- Roll out on a surface dusted with the mixture of corn starch and powdered sugar.
- Don't roll the fondant much larger than you need it to be. For an 8" layer cake roll a 20" round of fondant.
- Put the cake on a very sturdy cake board that doesn't flex or bend. An iced cake with fondant on it is heavy.
- Ice the cake with a smooth layer of buttercream or ganache before fondant is layered over it.
- Use a rolling pin to lift the entire piece of fondant to distribute the weight evenly and so it will not tear.
- The side of the fondant that touched the rolling surface would be laid on the cake so that no cornstarch/icing mixture is visible. Good side up!
- Use the palms of your hands or a fondant smoother to smooth the rolled fondant over the cake.
- Cut around the cake with a pizza wheel or very shar exacto-knife to trim the fondant.
