How to Do Pleats & Ruffles in a Fondant Wedding Cake

Create ruffle decorations for a cake by creasing fondant strips.

Fondant is an invaluable cake decorating medium because you can shape it to resemble any texture or object. You can even fashion fondant to resemble pleated or ruffled fabric. This application looks especially fitting on the side of a cake, trimming the edge with a delicate finish. Ruffles and pleats require the same straightforward, repetitive process. Once you find the exact technique to create your desired ruffle or pleat shape, you simply replicate that shape across a strip of fondant.

Things You'll Need

• Cornstarch
• Small rolling pin
• Fondant
• Fondant cutting tool or butter knife
• Fondant adhesive
• Cake decorating paintbrush

Instructions

1. Measure your cake to determine its circumference and height.

2. Triple the length measurement to determine how long each unshaped piece of fondant must be to create your trim. Leave the height measurement the same. For example, if you are trimming a cake that has a 30-inch circumference and is 4 inches tall, you need 90 inches of 4-inch-wide fondant.

3. Dust your work surface and a small rolling pin lightly with cornstarch.

4. Shape a portion of fondant into an oblong shape. Place the fondant on the dusted surface. Roll the fondant into a long disc that is 1/8-inch-thick.

5. Measure the length of your rolled disc. Determine how many strips of fondant you should cut from the disc. For example, if your disc is 24 inches long and 16 inches wide, and you need 90 inches of 4-inch-wide fondant, you can cut four pieces of fondant that are 22 1/2 inches long and 4 inches wide.

6. Cut strips of fondant to the necessary specifications with a fondant cutting tool or butter knife.

7. Remove all of the fondant from your work surface except for the strips you are shaping into the cake trim. Lay the strips of fondant horizontally.

8. Lift the left corner of a fondant strip. Fold a one-inch-wide section of fondant gently at the top edge of the strip. Make a small vertical crease in the middle of the one-inch section to create the fold.

9. Lay the fold to one side. Press the top edge of the fondant strip where it is layered from the fold. Press gently to seal the fold. The bottom half of the crease should look loose and rounded like a ruffle.

10. Leave the fondant unsealed at the bottom edge of the strip if you are making a ruffled trim. Alternatively, place your finger on top of the crease to flatten the fold into a pleat. Run your finger down the crease, to press the fold gently from the top edge to the bottom edge of the fondant strip. The pleat or ruffle should appear to be about 1/2 inch wide.

11. Repeat the folds across each fondant strip to create a band of ruffles or pleats. Begin each successive fold at the edge of the previous shaped portion. Lay all of the folds in the same direction.

12. Brush the side of the cake with fondant adhesive to apply the finished strips. Tuck the end of one strip behind another to obscure the ends if you folded multiple strips to complete the trim.

Tips & Warnings

• The amount of fondant your project requires depends on how much trim you need to create. For example, 30 ounces of fondant rolls to dimensions of 11 inches by 15 inches. Keep water and cornstarch within reach on your work surface to apply to the fondant if the texture becomes difficult to manage. Dust cornstarch on the fondant or your work surface if the fondant becomes sticky. Dab a droplet of water onto cracking fondant with a cake decorating paintbrush. Smooth the moistened fondant with your finger until the texture is smooth and even.