Fondant icing and in particular fondant cake decorations are the number 1 choice for wedding cakes but, unfortunately, fondant icing is not easy to work with. This article looks at 7 tips for achieving a truly professional finish for your wedding cake.
Whether you make it yourself or buy it from your local supermarket, rolled fondant icing is a very popular choice for wedding cakes and cakes for those "special occasions". Drying to a smooth matt porcelain finish, it can be used to ice cakes of any shape and makes the ideal base for the most inticate or simplest of decoration.
Fondant icing is a soft sugar-based icing that is generally rolled out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch, draped over the cake and pressed and smoothed into place before being trimmed for a perfect fit.
Despite the fact that fondant cake decorations are perfect for wedding cakes, fondant icing is not always easy to work with so here are just a few tips to help you get that perfect result.
Tip 1. Fondant icing should be stored in a plastic bag (or covered in a non-permeable plastic wrap such as Sara wrap) and placed in a tightly sealed container to prevent it from drying out. Fondant icing should also be kept at cool room temperature and should never be refrigerated. If the icing dries out and harden it can often be revived by popping it into a microwave oven for a few seconds and then kneading it back to life.
Tip 2. Fondant icing should not be refrigerated and should always be used at room temperature.
Tip 3. Fondant icing can dry out very fast and needs to be applied to the cake quickly (within as little as 5 minutes) after it has been rolled out. Once applied, the cake can be stored quite happily for several days at room temperature.
Tip 4. If the cake has a number of tiers, each tier should be iced separately prior to assembling the cake. It is also a good idea, when the final design permits, to store the tiers separately and to assemble them just before the cake is needed.
Tip 5. Make sure that you start with a clean working surface, clean rolling pin and washed hands to achieve that perfect, flawless finish. fluffy clothing, long fingernails, long hair and jewelry on your fingers or wrists could all cause problems.
Tip 6. Before covering the cake with fondant a thin layer of icing should be applied to the cake as a "crumb coat". This will create a tacky surface for the fondant to stick to.
Tip 7. To get a professional finish, and to cover any rough edges, create a decorative border to go around the cake and, in particular, to hide the join between individual tiers.
When looking for the quantity of fondant icing needed try to have too much icing rather than too little, as excess icing can be stored for use at a later date.
Generally speaking, for 3 1/2 inch high cake layers a 10 inch diameter round cake will need about 2 1/2 pounds of icing, while a 6 inch diameter square cake will need about 2 pounds of icing.
Some people feel that fondant cake decorations, in spite of their tremendous appearance, are somewhat bland and this can be addressed by adding flavoring, often accompanied with coloring. There are a wide variety of flavorings available and typically to flavor one pound of icing you can add 2 to 4 ounces of melted bittersweet, milk or white chocolate, 2 teaspoons of grated orange or lemon zest or 1/3 cup of hazelnut or peanut butter.
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