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Rock any party

Module 49

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49. Module 49: Fondants

Table of Contents

49. Module 49: Fondants .............................................................................................................................................. 1

49.1 Decorating with Fondant ..................................................................................................................... 2

49.2 The Basics .......................................................................................................................................... 3

49.2.1 Preparing Your Work Surface ........................................................................................................ 3

49.2.2 Gathering Your Tools ..................................................................................................................... 4

49.2.3 Rolling it out ................................................................................................................................... 5

49.3 Simple Designs ................................................................................................................................... 6

49.3.1 Rolled Fondant ................................................................................................................................ 6

49.3.2 Mini Roses ...................................................................................................................................... 7

49.3.3 Sponge Painting .............................................................................................................................. 8

49.4 Complex Patterns ............................................................................................................................... 8

49.4.1 Draping ........................................................................................................................................... 8

49.4.2 Ribbons and Bows .......................................................................................................................... 9

49.4.3 Texturing ....................................................................................................................................... 10

49.5 The Hand Painted Technique ........................................................................................................... 11

49.5.1 What You Need............................................................................................................................. 11

49.5.2 Test Your Colors ........................................................................................................................... 12

49.5.3 Keep in Mind ................................................................................................................................ 12

49.6 Embellishments ................................................................................................................................ 13

49.5.1 Cutouts .......................................................................................................................................... 13

49.5.2 Cake Toppers ................................................................................................................................ 14

49.5.3 Edible Glue ................................................................................................................................... 15

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49.1 Decorating with Fondant

Hopefully you’re feeling confident in your fondant making skills by now, but let’s be honest—the fun of cake

decorating isn’t in making the fondant. It’s in using that fondant to create your perfect artistic vision! And

now that you have your fondant prepared—you’re ready to start decorating!

But of course, nothing worth learning ever comes simple. And decorating with fondant is no exception to that

rule. You’re about to find out just how much more complex this endeavor will be compared to working with

buttercream; and what a different skill set it really does take.

In this module, we’ll be addressing those new challenges head on, teaching you not only what new artistic

doors fondant opens up for you, but also how you can begin to master those skills and embark upon the endless

opportunities for creation that fondant provides.

What You’ll Learn in This Module:

The Basics

Simple Designs

Complex Patterns

The Hand Painted Technique

Embellishments

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49.2 The Basics

Unlike buttercream, which you pretty much just have to make and then begin decorating with, fondant takes

a bit of prep-work even after you have your recipe perfected and created. But the end result is worth the little

bit of extra work you have to put in up front to get there!

49.2.1 Preparing Your Work Surface

Keep in mind, fondant is still pretty sticky stuff—even after you’ve gotten it to the perfect texture. So before

you begin working with it, you need to ensure you have a workspace that will prevent your fondant from

sticking as you are rolling, cutting, and shaping.

So first things first, you need a clean, stick-proof space to begin. In a perfect world, you’d be working on a

stainless steel surface. But in reality, any hard workspace will do—so long as you either cover it in wax paper

or a special mat. There are several options of those that will work, from fondant mats to self-healing mats.

Even with the right surface, though, you still need to prep it some more. Start by taking a small ball of fondant

and rolling it around your workspace to pick up any lingering dust or crumbs. Throw that small ball away (you

don’t want to work it into your cake now) and then powder the space down with cornstarch or powdered sugar

for that extra level of stick-proof protection

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49.2.2 Gathering Your Tools

When decorating with fondant, you absolutely need fondant rollers—large and small—obviously for rolling

your fondant out. But beyond that, your decorating endeavor might benefit from:

A turntable or lazy Susan

Fondant smoothers

Small paintbrushes

Small, sharp knife

Fondant cutters

Realistically, all you need are those rollers and knives. But the more additional tools you have, the more

advanced your creation can become.

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49.2.3 Rolling it out

You can’t begin decorating with fondant until you have first adequately rolled it out. In order to accomplish

that:

Grease your hands in shortening and knead your fondant a bit, separating out just as much as you

will need for your initial decorating attempts.

Roll the fondant into a ball and ensure it hasn’t begun to dry out by checking for cracks and

smoothness.

Place the ball on your workspace and begin rolling it out, placing pressure on your rolling pin as

you work it across your fondant.

With each roll, pick your fondant up and adjust it a quarter inch—this will prevent your fondant

from sticking to your workspace.

The ideal fondant thickness, once rolled out, should be between 1/4” and 1/8”. Try to go as thin as possible

without tearing your fondant, though. Obviously too thick a layer will be harder to work with, and less

appetizing as your guests cut into your cake.

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49.3 Simple Designs

The beauty of working with fondant is that you really can achieve flawless results with fairly simple designs.

Obviously, there is a lot of intricate detail you can go into as well—but it’s not necessary for a professional

result. And sometimes, beauty is in the simplicity.

49.3.1 Rolled Fondant

You really can’t talk about decorating with fondant without starting at step one: adhering rolled fondant to

your cake. The steps for this are simple:

1. Frost your cooled cake in a light layer of buttercream frosting. This will help your fondant to stick

to the cake.

2. Roll your fondant out so that it can completely cover your cake.

3. Place your rolled fondant over the top of your cake, allowing the excess to hang over the sides.

4. Use a fondant smoother to press that hanging excess against the fondant. Work in slow, flowing

motions, starting from the middle of the top of the cake and gliding the smoother out and down

the cake’s surface.

5. Pay special attention to working out air bubbles, and smoothing one section before moving on to

the next.

6. Work around the entire cake, using the straight edge of the smoother to mark where the fondant

meets the base of the cake—you’ll be trimming from those markings once you have smoothed all

the fondant out.

This is obviously the first step of any fondant-decorating attempt—you need this base layer to work from, no

matter what. But plenty of people have discovered the beauty in simply allowing that base layer to remain as

is. There is certainly no better way to achieve the smooth, pristine results fondant can create—and some people

prefer the look of a cake with just this simple base.

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49.3.2 Mini Roses

Perhaps you want to add a few simple additions to that base layer, though. Maybe some small roses to decorate

the surface? Creating these small additions is pretty easy, and is done entirely with your hands—no tools

needed here! To create your own mini roses, simply:

1. Start with a small piece of fondant you shape with your fingertips into a cone. This will be your

base.

2. Taking a similar sized piece of fondant, create another cone but then flatten this one out, molding

it around your thumb.

3. Wrap this flattened “petal” around your base.

4. Create three more, similar, petals, and wrap them in the same way.

5. Softly pinch and push the edges of your petals slightly out, so that they resemble a blooming bud.

6. Set your mini rose aside to harden while you create as many more as you would like.

These small roses take about a day to dry out before they are ready to be placed on the cake—so keep that in

mind as you plan out your cake design timeline. Ideally, you would place all toppers on your cake right before

your event—this will prevent them from bleeding into your base layer, and will ensure they are able to remain

adhered through the duration of your event.

When you are ready to place them, simply wet one of your paintbrushes in water and paint the bottom of your

rose. You will then be able to place it to your base layer.

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49.3.3 Sponge Painting

A really simple way to dress up your base layer is to sponge paint it. To accomplish this look, you’ll first need

to get some gel icing—the type typically used to write on cakes with. Purchase that in whatever color you

would like, then:

1. Squeeze the color out onto a glass or plastic surface you won’t mind potentially getting dyed.

2. Crumple a paper towel and dip it into the color.

3. Try testing the effect on a paper plate first, just to ensure you like the look.

4. Dab the paper towel with colored icing on it against your base layer fondant surface until the

desired sponge-painted look has been achieved.

49.4 Complex Patterns

Of course, there are plenty of cakes and occasions that call for a little more in-depth design. And we want you

to learn those techniques as well! Which is why it’s time to go over some more complex patterns you may

want to attempt in your sophisticated cake design endeavors.

49.4.1 Draping

Draping with fondant can be a great way to provide a classic border to your cake. To achieve this look, you

will need to:

1. Start with rolled fondant.

2. Work from one end to another, cutting strips about 1/2 inch wide and 4 to 5 inches long (depending

on how big your cake is, and how long you would like your drapes to be.)

3. Gather three of these cut strips together at once—using strips that are already in the same row.

4. Lift up in order to create a draping effect (with the middle hanging down) and pinch your ends

together, also working to ensure the length of the pieces are touching.

5. Set aside to dry and create as many additional drapes as you will need to surround the cake.

6. Adhere these drapes to your cake by painting the back with water and placing against your

baseline.

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You can experiment with this technique by trying more or less strips, alternating lengths, and even creating

embellishments to attach where the drapes join.

49.4.2 Ribbons and Bows

There are a variety of ribbon and bow tutorials that can be found online, all creating a different type of

embellishment for your cake. So feel free to spend some time perusing options and following the directions

for the ribbons or bows that most appeal to your design goals. But the basic directions for creating this fondant

design will have you:

1. Start with rolled fondant.

2. Cut strips in line with your desired bow or ribbon design.

3. Fold strips to form loops, pinching ends and brushing with water to adhere centerpieces.

4. Allow to dry.

5. Adhere to cake by brushing with water.

Think of this design element a lot like you would creating a standard bow with ribbon you might buy at a craft

store. The same basics apply in terms of how you would craft that bow or ribbon, with the only difference

being in the material you are working with. Obviously you can’t tie fondant in the same way you would ribbon,

but you can fold it over and create loops in a very similar fashion.

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49.4.3 Texturing

Perhaps you simply want a textured look to your fondant. To accomplish this, you will need either texture

mats (great for texturing fondant that will be used as embellishment pieces), texture stencils or modeling tools

(both of which can be used to texture fondant once it is already smoothed on the cake.)

To texture using a texture mat, simply:

1. Roll your fondant, aiming for a slightly thicker layer than you would otherwise hope to achieve

(since the texture mats will flatten it out a bit).

2. Put the texture mat on top of rolled fondant, and then use the roller once more to roll over the mat.

3. Cut whatever shapes you would like out of the now-textured fondant.

To texture using stencils:

1. Smooth your fondant onto the cake as discussed in 4.2.1.

2. Roll stencils over the cake’s surface, watching pressure to ensure you achieve the balance of

creating your desired texture without damaging your cake.

To texture using modeling tools:

1. Smooth your fondant onto the cake as discussed in 4.2.1.

2. Determine what design you would like to achieve with your modeling tools, then slowly work to

ensure you maintain consistency in implementing that design.

Modeling tools are typically small tools that can be used to make indents in your fondant. These can create

impressive designs, but also require a steady hand and a fair amount of time to produce over an entire cake.

So keep that in mind if you do decide you want to attempt working with modeling tools for an all-over look.

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49.5 The Hand Painted Technique

This one is for the true artists—those visionaries who don’t want to be hindered by cutouts and pre-crafted

designs, and who instead want to be able to put their own mark on their cakes. What better way to accomplish

that than by hand-painting your delicacies with a design only you could imagine and create? This is the latest

and greatest in sophisticated cake design, and you’re about to learn how to do it!

49.5.1 What You Need

Yes, you really are going to begin painting your cake—using that base layer of fondant as your canvas. To

accomplish this, you’ll need:

Edible gel food coloring

Brushes designed and approved for food painting

You’ll also need to decide whether you hope to free-hand your painted work, or work within stencils. Stencils

can be a great option for painting on letters and numbers. You may find you want to write a message on your

fondant cake, and painting that message with stencils can absolutely be a great way to accomplish that work.

You can also purchase stencils in designs that you would feel more comfortable having some guidance in.

Of course, you may also simply enjoy painting and have a design in mind you would like to commit to the

canvas that is your cake. In that case, all that stands between you and your implementation is your own

imagination!

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49.5.2 Test Your Colors

Before you begin, you’ll want to make sure you have the right colors to complete your desired design. It may

be that you are able to buy all the exact colors you need, but if mixing is required, follow basic primary color

rules in creating the hues you are aiming for. Red and blue creates purple, white and red makes pink, yellow

and blue makes green; you know the deal.

Don’t just trust any of your colors to be exactly what you want them to be, though. Instead, dry out a small

piece of fondant ahead of time to use as your test canvas. Then, paint a bit of each of the colors you intend to

use on that canvas. Allow your colors to dry so that you can gain a full appreciation for what the finished

product will look like. And be willing to go back and adjust your color mixes until you’ve achieved the right

color combination.

Once you begin painting your cake, there will be no going back. So testing your colors in this way ahead of

time can be one way to ensure you are happy with the end result.

49.5.3 Keep in Mind

Gel food dyes do have a tendency to bleed. And they will stain your fondant once they are applied. To achieve

the best results:

Allow your base layer fondant to dry before you begin painting it.

Mark your desired design out with a toothpick against your cake before you begin using the

“paint.”

Paint with only one color at a time, allowing it to dry before you move on to the next color.

Have a separate brush for each color you are working with.

Use only dry brushes, as wet brushes will increase the chances of your colors bleeding.

The more intricate your design, the longer applying the hand-painted technique will obviously take. But the

end results can be breathtaking, and unlike anything else your guests have ever seen before!

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49.6 Embellishments

So far, everything we’ve discussed that you might add to your original fondant base layer has been pretty flat

or small in nature, and pretty simple to adhere to your cake. But what about those design elements that almost

pop out at you? You know, the ones that are practically 3D in nature; embellishments that you could quite

literally pick up and eat separate from the cake?

Don’t worry… we’ve got you covered there as well!

49.5.1 Cutouts

Cutouts can be small and simple—flat pieces that you adhere in a few places around your cake. An example

might be the small heart designs you use a fondant cutter to create, and are then able to paint with water and

attach.

These are simple, easy design elements that can absolutely provide additional character and beauty to your

cake, and without a whole lot of additional effort on your part.

Then there are cutouts that are more detailed and involved! These might include the designs that have you

layering cutouts on top of each other, so that your heart design suddenly pops out with the use of 6 different

heart cutouts—all in increasingly smaller sizes—to create a 3D tiled look.

Or it might be the geometrical cutouts you’ve layered across your entire cake, giving it both texture and an

organized chaos feel.

There really are no limitations to how in-depth you go with your cutouts. It all comes down to your original

design concept and how you choose to implement it across your cake. But just know that the use of cutouts

doesn’t have to be restricted to small and simple. You absolutely can texture, layer, and build upon those

cutouts in a way that lends to the 3D look you’re hoping to achieve.

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49.5.2 Cake Toppers

Even more exciting? You can create your own edible cake toppers with your fondant!

Fondant is clay-like in texture and pliability. You already know this, as you’ve been working with it quite a

lot up to now. So it should come as no surprise to you that you can treat that fondant like clay—and build with

it in a very similar fashion.

This is obviously an acquired skill; the more you work with fondant, the more comfortable you will become

with creating actual figurines and cake toppers from it. But if you think of your fondant like clay, and work

with it as such—you might find that you can build some pretty intricate and exciting scenes. Everything from

a simple tree (using both brown and green fondant) to a detailed clown figurine (using every color imaginable)

is at your disposal!

Build like you would have when you were a child, first working with Play-Doh. But keep in mind that just as

with Play-Doh, mixing fondant colors may not produce the prettiest results—so create separate pieces that

you can then mold together, rather than trying to combine and work with multi-colored pieces together as you

go.

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49.5.3 Edible Glue

You’ve probably already deduced that the water painting and adhering technique you’ve used up to now won’t

work to attach your larger embellishments. But have no fear, there is a solution! You can make an edible glue

that will allow you to have more confidence in the durability of your embellishments remaining on your cake.

To accomplish this, you’ll first need to purchase some Tylose powder. You can find this in any baking or

crafts store. From there:

1. Start with a small container with a lid—the kind you might typically in a child’s paint kit.

2. Fill halfway with water.

3. Add a very small amount of Tylose to the water—just a pinch is all you need.

4. Place the lid on the container and shake it up until you can no longer see the powder.

5. Stir with a clean paintbrush if all the Tylose doesn’t dissolve with shaking.

6. You should be left with a liquid that is syrup like in consistency; add more water or Tylose as

necessary to achieve that.

You now have a glue that can be stored in the refrigerator and painted onto your embellishments for a stronger

and longer lasting hold!