Covering a Cake with Fondant – Cake Decorating Series

In this part of the cake decorating series, we are going to level our cake, apply the butter cream, roll out the fondant and apply the fondant to our cake. It is important to be patient at this part of the cake decorating process. We have all had our fondant disasters, but don’t get discouraged. Practice makes perfect!

If you are new to the cake decorating series, take a look at some of the past recipes and tutorials:

• Red Velvet Cake Recipe
• Delicious Butter Cream Frosting
• Make Your Own Rolled Fondant

Directions:

Yield: One 8″ cake

1. For the best results, watch the instructional video below.
2. Level your cake layers. There are a number of ways to level your cake, either using a cake saw, a large knife, or even dental floss. Use the method you are most comfortable with.
3. Once you have leveled the first cake layer, place the cut side down on your cake plate. Be sure to keep the area clean of any crumbs.
4. Place a good amount of butter cream frosting on top of your first layer. Spread the frosting evenly over the top of this layer.
5. Take your second cake layer and place the cut side down on top of the butter cream. The butter cream will hold the second layer in place.
6. Now cover the remainder of the cake with butter cream frosting. Be sure to fill in the gap on the sides between the two layers. If the butter cream starts to stick, dip your spreading utensil in milk to prevent it from sticking.
7. This next step is very important! Be sure to measure the height and diameter of your cake. For our cake, the height was 3″ and the diameter was 8″. This means we need to roll out a circle that is at least 14″. When you are rolling out your fondant, you want to make sure that the fondant will be big enough to cover your entire cake. There is nothing worse than rolling out your fondant and placing it on your cake, getting it stuck in the butter cream, only to find that you didn’t roll out a large enough circle.
8. Dust your counter with icing sugar. This will prevent your fondant from sticking to the counter when you are rolling. Also, lightly dust the top of your fondant with icing sugar. This will prevent your rolling pin from sticking to the fondant. If your rolling pin starts to stick, lightly dust the fondant as needed.
9. Using light pressure on your rolling pin, roll out the fondant to create a circle that is the size you need.
10. To place the fondant on the cake, fold the fondant in half. Lift the fondant and place in the fold in center of the cake. Unfold the fondant to cover the rest of the cake (be sure to watch the video below).
11. Lightly push the fondant into the sides of the cake. This will stick the fondant to the butter cream and hold it in place. Be careful while pushing the fondant to avoid getting any folds. This will ruin your presentation.
12. Once you have the fondant pushed in on the sides, cut off any excess fondant using a sharp knife.
13. Now that you have removed the excess fondant, make sure that your fondant is securely stuck to the butter cream. Then, using a fondant smoother, gently smooth the top and sides of your cake.

That’s it! Now you have a beautiful cake covered with a layer of our delicious butter cream frosting and rolled fondant. Coming up in the next couple of weeks, I will show you how to create gorgeous decorations for your cake. Enjoy!