How to Cover a Round Cake with Fondant | Wilton

hey guys it's Tracy from the decorating studio here at Wilton have you ever wondered how to give your cake that elegant wedding look for any occasion it may seem advanced or intimidating but it's actually a lot easier than you think today I'm going to show you the ins and outs of how to cover a round cake in fondant to give it that crisp clean look which I personally love for starters make sure your cake is leveled and filled evenly if you have any questions on how to do that check out our Wilton youtube videos how to level and torte a cake and how to assemble and fill a cake and be sure to subscribe to the channel for more tutorials like these the type of cake you cover with fondant will be important white texture cakes such as angel food will have a bit of a problem holding up to the weight of fondant now you don't necessarily need a pound cake but any typical box cake mix and most of our cake recipes on wilton.com will work in which ever cake you choose you should assemble it on the cake board that's the same size as your cake first I'm going to lightly ice the cake with buttercream only lightly because I don't want the icing to use out make sure it's smooth and even because any excessive spatula marks will show through the fondant today I'm using Wilton ready to use fondant we do have a recipe on Wilton calm to make a homemade marshmallow fondant if you prefer you'll want to knead the fondant until it's pliable use a little vegetable shortening if the fondant is sticking to your hands if you're colouring your fondant now is the best time to add color be sure to use fresh fondant if the funnin is old it will affect the texture if it's slightly dry then it can crack some decorators will refer to that as elephant skin which can be fixed by rubbing shortening along the dry area so how do we know how big of an area to roll out the fun for the cake will have to do some measuring the formula for the area of the fondant is the diameter of the cake which is eight inches plus the height of the cake on both sides which is four inches plus four inches for a total of 16 inches check out the chart on wilton.com for the amount of fondant needed for this eight by four cake I'm using 24 ounces to prevent sticking when rolling the fondant dust the surface with cornstarch or powdered sugar cornstarch works best in high humidity climates and powdered sugar works best and drier climates if the fondant is having a hard time rolling as a thin coat of shortening to the surface now it's really important to make sure your surface is flat and clean because fondant can pick up surface texture as well as lint and dirt and this is not the time to wear your angora sweaters or any shirts with textured fibers that could interfere with the fondant rolling to an even thickness is the key to a great-looking cake I'm starting with the rounded shape to make it easier to stay in a circle if you're covering a square cake I would start with the fondant in more of a square shape and keep it that shape as you roll I'm using the 16 inch diameter guide on the Wilton measuring mat this mat is a great surface for rolling fondant because of its handy measurements guide and non-stick surface if you don't have a mat use a ruler or cut a ribbon to length I'm rolling to about an eighth of an inch thickness you can use guide rings if you're a beginner but our chart will give you the right thickness if using the correct amount of fondant roll from the center outwards never fully over the edge doing that would make the edges thinner than the middle I'm rolling in every direction to keep that circle you should pick up the fondant from time to time and move it this helps the fondant from sticking notice I keep using my hands to feel if there are any uneven spots that will need extra rolling while always keeping the shape of my cake if at any time it gets misshapen try to round the edges back to the circle if you get any air bubbles pop them with a pin from the side rather than from on the top and then smooth with your finger it's better to address air bubbles now rather than when the cake is already covered even though you only need a 16 inch you might be tempted to roll the fondant to 18 inches to ensure you have enough fondant to cover your cake but I definitely wouldn't do that because your fondant will stretch as you drape it and the excess amount will add weight and might cause your fondant to tear you'll need to place the fondant over the cake immediately while it's still fresh and pliable once fun it starts to dry out it will be harder to smooth check on your cake before applying the fondant if your cakes icing is dry from sitting out lightly miss the cake with water you'll need a tacky surface for the fondant to stick place the roller in the middle of the circle fold one side of the fondant over and pick it up from both ends make sure to have the cake close to you and ready to go I like to start away from me Center the bottom edge of the fondant to the cake touch the edge of the cake board and make sure you have it centered gently roll the fondant roller out to guide the fondant as it drapes over the rest of the cake you might find that the fundin is not fully covering the bottom edges of the cake but don't panic as you smooth the fun it will stretch out a bit and cover the edges fully if you realized it's not centered before you adhere the fondant you should be able to gently remove it and recenter if you're not able to safely remove it without damage to the cake just reice the cake and refrigerate until it's firm if you have excess butter cream on your fondant don't worry you can knead the buttercream into the fondant and reroll it to smooth the fondant you use a combination of your hands and a fondant smoother first you use the fun and smoother on top of the cake to adhere the fondant then go over the sides with your hands pull and very gently stretch the fondant away from the cake while using the edge of your hand to get rid of any creases if you find the sides of your fondant are not sticking to the cake dip your fingers in a small amount of water and as you lift the fondant sides rub your fingers over the inside of the fondant and gently press the cake with a dry hand once you get to the last section loosen on either side pull a bit more and push the draping on to the bottom you want to move the creases to the lower edges of the cake I like to cut off the excess as I work use the smoother on the top and the sides once more making sure the fun it is sticking to the cake then I press the fondant towards the cake board to give me a perfect edge once you've covered your cake and fun and you can then place the cake on a smaller cake pan so that the cake is elevated that will make it easier to cut off the excess fondant off the bottom edges use a fondant trimmer or a pizza cutter you can even use a sharp paring knife here are some tips for you if you need to hide a seam or two pieces of fondant we're attached together gently press and rub the two areas to seal cracks and tears you can always try fun spackle create a thin pipe herbal paste by adding water to fondant placing a cut disposable bag and fill in the crack take a spatula and lightly smooth the shine will disappear when the water evaporates one of the common questions on our YouTube channel is what's the proper temperature to keep your cake after it's covered in fondant you can leave it in a room temperature for at least two maybe three days before the event I prefer to refrigerate my cakes once I've got the fondant on just so the butter cream underneath stays firm or in case you've got a filling that should be kept cold now fondant can sweat depending on humidity and temperature my experience with a sweating fondant cake is don't touch it the condensation will absorb back into the fondant once it's been at room temperature for a while and it will be fine I hope this video inspires you to cover your next cake with fondant there's no reason to be intimidated the more you do it the easier it becomes now that you have all my tips and tricks you can make an elegant fun and covered cake like this one if you enjoyed watching this video please subscribe to our channel for more tutorials like this if you have more questions about covering your cake with fondant I'll do my best to answer them in the comments and finally if you do cover a cake with fondant we would love to see it be sure to use the hashtag Wilton cakes when posting your images online I'm Tracy from the Wilton decorating studio thanks for watching

Channel: Wilton

Views: 1,105,301

Rating: 4.9162822 out of 5

Keywords: Wilton, Cake Decorating, Cake Decorating with fondant, how to decorate a cake with fondant, fondant cake, what is fondant, fondant decorating, fondant for beginners, fondant cake decorating, fondant icing, fondant basic, fondant tutorial, fondant, easy fondant cake decorating, wilton fondant, fondant 101, fondant cake decorating for beginners, how to put fondant on a cake, how to fondant a cake, how to use fondant on a cake, wilton cake decorating, covering a cake with fondant

Id: 1ZPd0yiUSZs

Length: 7min 58sec (478 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 08 2019