Fondant Basics For Cake Decorating Beginners

Fondant is a highly versatile cake decorating supply and cake sculpting material. Also known as fondant icing or sugar paste, using fondant cake decorations and fondant cake designs are some of the funnest ways to elevate your customized cake. As lovers of cake decorating, The Frosted Chick team would love to share some fondant tips and tricks for fondant decorating beginners and a refresher for fondant cake experts!

Types Of Fondant

There are four general categories for fondant – rolled fondant, poured fondant, sculpting fondant, and gumpaste fondant. Fondant is primarily made by mixing sugar with water and boiled till a soft ball is formed. 

• Rolled fondant: At the soft ball stage, roll the fondant out to make rolled fondant sheets. Rolled fondant usually has a matte finish and resembles a smooth dough texture, and is usually wrapped around a cake or cut into shapes. 
• Poured fondant: Poured fondant, or liquid fondant, is made by mixing syrup with the soft ball to achieve a creamy liquid fondant. Poured fondant is usually used as a coating and has a shinier finish when hardened. 
• Sculpting fondant: Sculpting fondant is a firmer version of rolled fondant. Sculpting fondant is used to form figures such as fondant cake toppers.
• Gumpaste fondant: Gum paste is also a pliable sugar dough, but becomes completely hard when dried. Being more durable than fondant, gum paste fondant is great for creating thinner structures such as fondant flowers.

And yes, fondant can be eaten!

How To Colour Fondant

If you want to mix your own fondant colour instead of getting a store bought pre-colored fondant, food colouring is a great option for coloring fondant. We suggest using gel-based food coloring instead of liquid-based ones as gel colors are more concentrated. The less concentrated liquid colors will require more quantity which may soften your fondant and make it sticky due to excess liquid.

Tip For Fondant Colouring: Wear food-safe gloves when coloring the fondant to prevent staining your hands!

As a general guide, smear a small amount of food coloring on the fondant (we recommend using one drop or dipping the tip of a toothpick into the food coloring bottle). Fold the fondant to cover the food coloring and knead the fondant till you achieve a uniform colour. Add more food colouring until you’ve gotten your desired color. 

How To Store Fondant

Fondant is especially sensitive to temperature and humidity, and dries very quickly. If you’re not using it immediately, always remember to tightly wrap it in cling wrap, resealable plastic bag, or the packaging it came in. Ensure that there’s no excess air trapped in the wrap before storing it in an airtight container or cake box at room temperature. Remember not to place it in direct sunlight or in the fridge or freezer. This prevents the fondant from drying out and cracking. For those using coloured fondant, this also prevents your fondant from discoloring or fading. And we all know how difficult it can be to replicate your desired fondant color… 

Fondant Icing Tip: Avoid storing fondant near strong smells such as spices and ensure that it’s fully sealed to prevent it from absorbing nearby odors!

How To Roll Out Fondant

Ensure the rolling surface is clean and dry before lightly dusting the surface with confectioners’ sugar to prevent the fondant from sticking to the surface. Use a fondant roller or rolling pin to roll the fondant out to your desired thickness. Ensure that the fondant is even and not too thick as thicker fondant sheets are more prone to cracking.

How To Cover A Cake With Fondant

Ensure the cake has cooled completely before covering with fondant. We recommend refrigerating the cake for a few hours before covering with fondant as the coldness and firmness helps the fondant stick to the cake easier. Avoid refrigerating for too long as you’ll have a much tougher time trying to cover a dry and hard cake with fondant. Add a crumb coat to your cake by frosting your cake with a thin layer of cream to prevent stray crumbs from falling. Use a rolling pin to help drape the rolled fondant over your cake and quickly smooth out the fondant using fondant smoother and your hands. Trim the excess fondant at the base of your cake for a clean fondant cake. Don’t throw the fondant scraps just yet!

Easy Fondant Decoration For Beginners: Why not start out with decorating sugar cookies for an introduction to fondant decorations? Use whichever cookie cutter you used for your cookie to cut out your rolled fondant. Similarly, ensure the cookie has cooled completely before applying the fondant. With a bit of corn syrup, place the cut out fondant on the cookie and you have a delightful treat! 

How To Fix Fondant Cracks And Tears

If your fondant is cracking or tearing, don’t freak out, it’s just a fondant thing! Here’s where the fondant scraps come in handy. Coat your fingers or an icing knife in vegetable shortening and place an adequate amount of fondant scraps across the crack, ensuring that it’s fully covered. With your oiled fingers or icing knife, gently massage the fondant scrap in until the edges blend in with the fondant cake. 

Alternatively, you can pipe your fondant into cracks. To do so, put all your fondant scraps into a bowl and add a few drops each of water and vegetable oil. The moisture helps with mixing the fondant until it resembles a paste. Add the paste to a piping bag and gently pipe over the crack. Using a vegetable shortening-coated icing knife or fingers, gently blend the paste into your fondant cake.

If there’s no fondant scraps around, gently rubbing some vegetable shortening over the crack in a circular motion can smooth the cracked area together as well.

While we do not encourage using water to fix fondant cracks, a small amount of water will also do the trick if you’re really in a pinch. This generally works for small cracks or small fondant pieces which have detached from the fondant figure. If possible, avoid using water as it can dissolve the fondant.

How To Fix Sweaty Fondant Cakes

Sweating or crying fondant covered cakes are a common fondant problem but no sweat, here’s the solution to sweating fondant! Fondant icing is primarily made up of sugar which does not do well with water. If you live somewhere with higher humidity, the higher concentration of water vapor in the air is why your fondant is sweating or crying and becomes sticky and shiny. To stop or prevent fondant from sweating, ensure that the fondant cake is in a cool, aircon temperature. Alternatively, place a fan nearby to dry the fondant out and keep the air moving. You can also apply a bit of icing sugar on the sticky parts to absorb the moisture. 

Credit: Reddit.com

Wait, but why is my fondant cake sweating when taking it out from the fridge?

Storing fondant cakes in the fridge is perfectly fine if your cake is fully sealed appropriately, like in a cake box and wrapping the cake box in a plastic bag. This protects the fondant cake from the humidity in the fridge. You may also consider getting a humidity controlled fridge if you plan on doing a lot of baking. When taking your fondant cake out from the fridge, leave the cake out for about an hour for it to adjust to the new temperature (ideally, a cool, air-con temperature). Congrats, you’ve resisted digging into your fondant cake immediately and now have a beautifully tasty fondant cake. Enjoy!

With the above fondant tips and tricks, get started with your fondant decorating journey! Browse our fondant cake designs here or WhatsApp us here if you’ve a fun fondant cake design you want customised.