How to Cover a Cake in Fondant

Covering a cake with rolled out fondant is one of those things that can seem utterly baffling to the beginner cake decorator. We’ve witnessed so many different ways people have covered a cake with fondant, from molding small sections around a baked cake to simply laying some fondant on top. If you’re feeling a little daunted at covering a cake, read on for our guide on how to cover a cake with fondant!

How to Cover a Cake in Fondant

Level: Easy

What You Need

• Chilled and crumb coated cake
• Fondant
• Large rolling pin (silicone is preferred)
• Cornstarch to dust
• Turntable
• Pizza or pastry cutter
• Water
• Food-safe paintbrush
• Two fondant smoothers

Instructions

1. Prep the Cake

Remove your chilled and crumb coated cake from the fridge and place it on a turntable. Use a paintbrush to lightly paint water around the cake’s edges.

Good to Know: If your crumb coat is a little tacky, you can skip this step — too much moisture on your cake’s edges can lead to unsightly lumps, bumps and air bubbles once you’ve added the fondant.

2. Work Your Fondant

Knead your fondant until pliable. Once it’s ready, dust your surface with a little cornstarch.

Roll out your fondant with a large silicone rolling pin to a thickness of around 4mm. Make sure to roll your fondant out to a similar shape as your cake; so for a square shaped cake try to roll your fondant into a rough square shape.

Using your rolling pin check if your fondant is roll out large enough by holding it against the cake at the top and sides then compare with your fondant.

3. Cover the Cake

Carefully pick up your fondant using your rolling pin. Gently drape your fondant over your crumb coated cake and quickly (but carefully!) work around pressing and smoothing the fondant up the sides of the cake. Try not to work downwards as this will lead to tears along the top edge of your covered cake.

4. Make Little Adjustments

Use your pizza or pastry cutter to cut away any excess fondant.

To smooth out the sides of your covered cake, take both smoothers and work around the top and sides.

After following this how-to post you should now be left with a lovely fondant covered cake! If you’re new to this technique don’t be disheartened if it does take a few tries to get a good look and covering. Covering a cake can take some time and practice to get just right so be patient and keep practicing; you’ll also discover how you prefer to work which is bound to help you for future projects!