How to Decorate a Cake With Fondant

Fondant is used to decorate wedding cakes.

Fondant is a type of icing that is used to decorate and sculpt cakes and pastries. There are many different types of fondant, but the type used to decorate cakes is called rolled fondant or fondant icing. Basic fondant decorating can be done with a few common baking tools once you have an idea of what you are doing.

Things You'll Need

• Fondant
• Buttercream frosting
• Icing spatula
• Confectioners sugar
• Rolling pin
• Cookie cutters
• Food coloring

Instructions

1. Put a thin layer of buttercream frosting on the cake you are decorating. This layer preps the cake for the fondant.

2. Knead the fondant with your fists until it has a workable consistency. It should not be dry, sticky or cracking. Add water if it is dry, or confectioners sugar if it is sticky.

3. Spread out your rolling mat. Sprinkle the rolling pin and mat with confectioners sugar to prevent the fondant from sticking.

4. Roll the fondant out with the rolling pin until it is the size of the cake you are decorating. Lift and move the fondant as you are rolling it to size to prevent sticking. Add confectioners sugar to mat or rolling pin as needed.

5. Lift the fondant with your hand and the rolling pin. Position the fondant over the cake. Center the fondant. Wrap the fondant down around the top and sids of the cake. Use a spatula or a smoothing tool to remove wrinkles and folds, creating a seamless sheet of icing.

6. Trim excess fondant from around the bottom of the cake with a sharp knife or spatula.

7. Roll excess fondant back into a ball. Use like clay to sculpt pieces for decorating the cake. Additionally, you can roll the fondant out into a sheet and use cookie cutters to make fondant shapes for decorating cake.

Tips & Warnings

• Use food coloring to dye fondant different colors. Just add a drop or two of coloring and fold it into the fondant before you knead it for rolling. Seprate different colors into different containers so they don't mix.

References

• "Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook"; Ruth Berolzheimer; 1998
• Wilton: Covering Round Cakes with Rolled Fondant