My neighbors Cynthia and Trent asked me to make a cake for their mom’s birthday party. Of course I wanted to do it, but as they described the style of cake she wanted I got downright giddy about it. “Something bright, colorful and wildly whimsical” were the words they used to describe her taste. Immediately I thought fondant! It isn’t my favorite thing in the world to eat, but it allows so much creativity with color, shapes and dimensions that you can’t always get with buttercream or other icings. Not to mention they were driving this cake about an hour away and in the heat of summer fondant is a great traveler.
There are a few things to know about fondant, but it really isn’t difficult to work with. I’m going to show you step by step how I put this cake together. You may want to start with something slightly less over-the-top, but maybe not!
What you will need:
Wilton Pure White Rolled Fondant, 24oz (Wilton is easy to work with, but you DO NOT want to eat it. I only use this if the person I’m making the cake for intends to peel off the fondant. Yes, you just peel the entire layer of fondant off and reveal some delicious icing underneath. I’m suggesting you start with Wilton’s product just because it is so easy to use.)
Food Color Soft Gel Paste (Use the gels, not the water based kind you get at the grocery store.)
Food Service Grade Disposable Latex Glove (This will protect your hands from the food coloring.)
Heavy Gauge Clear Vinyl (This is the clear sheet that I roll out the fondant on. Nothing sticks to it and you can lift it up easily and move it around. you can also use a Roll’Pat Pastry Mat, but it is much more expensive.)
Rolling Pin
Pastry Wheel (For trimming the fondant around the base of the cake.)
Wooden Dowel Rods 12 Pk (Support the cake if it is more than one layer high.)
Spatula
Corn Starch
This is the drawing I did as a guide for the cake. It is helpful to have a plan, even if you don’t end up sticking to it through to the end.
Claudia wanted a chocolate extravaganza, so I made my Devil’s Food with layers of chocolate ganache. I also trimmed the cake so that it was tapered at the bottom, just for a bit more whimsy.
I coated the outside in a thick layer of the ganache. This is what the guests will eat after the fondant is pulled away so you want to make sure there is a nice layer of it.
Smooth the icing out as much as possible before covering with the fondant. Then I cut the cardboard rounds to exactly match the size fo the bottom of the cake. You don’t want cardboard showing.
Mix the fondant with the food coloring to achieve the right color. knead the fondant to distribute the color evenly.
Stretching and turning the dough also helps to mix in the color. I first saw this done on the Jersey shore where they were making taffy, it seems to work equally well for fondant.
Once it is the color you want then dust your vinyl sheet with corn starch. Keep the fondant well covered if not using right away.
Roll the fondant out to about 1/8-inch thick and round.
Pick up the fondant carefully and drape it over the cake.
Carefully stretch the fondant, by gently rubbing and pulling it until it is flat up against the cake. You will now have a large skirt of excess fondant around the base.
Using the pastry cutter, trim off the excess fondant until it is flush with the bottom of the cake.
Smooth the cake with the palms of your hands or a paddle.
If you are stacking the cake you will need to cut wooden dowels that will stand up in the bottom layer and support the top layer. Cut the dowels so they are flush with the fondant, as I did in this picture.
Stack the two layers together and now you are ready to decorate. Next I will show you how to make the flowers.
Daytona, perhaps you found it a little tough to locate page 2. It is here: http://zoebakescom.bigscoots-staging.com/?p=614
Hope you see this in time!
— From a visitor/home baker who is enjoying Zoe’s site very much.
Hi Daytona,
How cool of you, what a great sister! There are only the two posts on the cake, but if you have any questions please let me know and I’ll try to help you through the process!
Have fun! Zoë
my name is Daytona Barclay and im 11 years old.im hoping to do thid cake for my sisters 7th b-day.is there any more steps than 1 and 2.
Thanks for your help Zoe. I appreciate you getting back to me.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
They will be just fine being stored for 8 days. If you want them to be soft, then store them in a plastic container, with layers of wax paper. If you want them stiff then leaving them out to dry is perfect.
I can’t wait to hear all about the final cake!
Thanks, Zoë
Beautiful cake! I love the green color with the vibrant accent colors of the flowers. Very fun. I know you mentioned above that you can and should make your fondant decorations ahead of time… How far in advance is OK. I made some ghosts using fondant and put a jumbo gum drop underneath for form. It will be appox. 8 days by the time I serve the cake will the ghosts still be edible? I’ve just been storing them in my oven on a cookie sheet. Should I put them away in a closed plastic container? Thanks for your help.
that is a awesome cake love it!!!!
thanks so much for the step by step pictures, they really helped a beginner like me! this cake is very cute by the way.
Hi Vicki,
Vinyl is flexible which means you can use it to help you transfer the fondant onto the cake. Plexiglass is too stiff to be of use for this purpose.
Thanks, Zoë
I love your beautiful cake. I was wondering if the vinyl that you are using to roll out your shapes on is the same as plexiglass? Thanks for all your grea tips. Vicki
i am astonished by your generosity . i’ve spent the last few hours admiring your work – the attention to detail is amazing as is the photography. thanks!!
What can you do to box mixes to give them more body to hold up under the weight of the fondant? Thanks so much for the cute cake and step by step instruction.
I love the cake. I am learning to use fondant and wanted to ask you, how do you get the color back to vibrant after it has been rolled out and has the powdered sugar all over it? I tried spraying with water and that worked but it also left some parts pretty sticky until I blotted with a paper towel. Got any good suggestions?
Thanks,
Camilla
Hi Robin,
By all means you should make some of them ahead or you will have too much to do the day of the party! The fondant decorations may dry out so make sure they are the shape you want, you can’t bend of mold them once they are hard.
Enjoy and have fun!
Zoë
Thanks for the great info and ideas! I am anxious to try fondant. Can you make fondant decorations ahead of time or do you have to make them the day you are assembling the cake?
Thanks again for all of the wonderful tips!
Thanks for the answer! We did the dragon cake on Friday, it took two of us 12 hours (plus a little help from my boyfriend who got there in the 7th hour and made a store run and cut the dowels and gave us encouragement). He came out looking more like a cross between a kitty cat, a turtle, and a lizard but he was adorable. I learned a lot from this. Next time I would use rice krispie treats for the head, legs, tail, any parts that should have been thinner and more shaped – we used ALL cake. Anyway, sending pix to your email account soon. Thanks for the help and advice! Barbara
Hi Marne,
If you go to my portfolio page and look at the polka dot cake, it is nearly half Styrofoam.
To cover it with fondant you need to rub the edge of the styrofoam so that it isn’t sharp. You can just use the back of a spoon. Just a little so that it won’t cut through the fondant as you lay it down. I’ve never covered the Styrofoam with anything first, but if you do it should be royal icing, which will dry hard.
You can set up the Styrofoam cakes days or even weeks in advance. The layers with real cake you need to do only a day or so in advance.
Have fun and send me pictures!
Thanks, Zoë
Hi Barbara,
I just noticed that I never got back to you about the ganache! I just did a post using it here: http://zoebakescom.bigscoots-staging.com/?p=1360
Sorry for the delay! Enjoy and you can send the pictures to [email protected]
Can’t wait! Zoë
Thanks so much for your instructions! I am making a wedding cake and have saved your website to “my favorites”!
I think that some of the wedding cake will be real and some styrofoam. When I am using styrofoam, will the fondant stick to it or do I need to frost the styrofoam with something first?
Also, how long will it last? Do I need to make it they day of the wedding or can I make it a few days in advanced?
Thanks!!
Would you share your chocolate ganache recipe? It looks soo great. Thanks!
Thank you! I will send pictures. How do I send pictures to you? Sorry, new to this site. BB
Hi Barbara,
Your cake sounds incredible. I really hope you will send pictures of it!
If your dragon is going to be thicker than one layer of cake then you will need to bury dowels in the bottom layer and put the other layer (with cardboard under it) on top of the dowels.
You don’t have to put cardboard under the base of the cake if it is laying flat on the sheet tray. Having said this it isn’t a bad idea if you think it needs just a little more structure to support the cake. If the tray you use has any flex in it at all it can make your cake shift and not as stable.
Be aware that you want the cake under the fondant to be very stable and rather basic in shape, otherwise you may have a difficult getting the fondant on without destroying the cake. You can put the details on the dragon with more fondant or pipe them on with royal icing!
Have a great time!
Zoë
I am planning to make a dragon shaped cake covered in fondant with fondant scales. I am planning to put this on a 1/2 sheet as the base. Do I put the dowels in the base where the dragon will go (it will be fairly large)? And do I put cardboard under the dragon cake portion as well? Your step by step instructions are awesome, I just wasn’t clear on if the top layer also has cardboard under it. I am guessing yes or how else would it sit on the dowels? 🙂 Thanks!
Hi LBB,
Thank you so much for visiting the site and leaving the lovely note.
In most cases you won’t have to cut the cardboard because you will make a cake that fits it perfectly. This cake was an odd shape and tapered so it required trimming.
If you do find yourself cutting a cake into a custom shape and therefore needing to cut the cardboard, here is what you do…
1. balance the cake in one hand (like you would a tray of food you are passing to guests) and trim it with the other using kitchen scissors.
or
2. Use an x-acto knife and trim the cardboard right on the cake turntable. This way you don’t have to try to balance the cake, which is tough if you are dealing with anything larger than an 8-inch cake.
Thanks! Zoë
Zoe, your site is AWESOME – thanks for all the incredible info — it helps sooooo much! You may have already answered this question, but after you have frosted the cake and you “cut the cardboard the size of the bottom of the cake so the cardboard doesn’t show,” how exactly do you cut it without the cake tipping over, etc.? NOW at least I know how to keep the cake on the cardboard before I move it to the cake plate, but cutting it ??? Thanks so much for a great site !
Linda B