Fondant Foundation 101: The Basics On Covering A Cake
What is Fondant
Fondant is one of the medium used in cake decoration to cover a cake. It prevents the cake from drying out when left exposed to air without any covering. A good covering is one that has sugar, as sugar is one of the food preservation method and the action of covering cakes is to seal them by cutting off contact with oxygen, one of the 3 components of baterial growth. At the same time, fondant adds aesthetic value to cakes with skillful handling and sculpting.
The Pastry School Escoffier defines fondant as “a pliable, rollable icing made with sugar, water, corn syrup, and gelatin. The term “fondant” comes from the French word “fondre” which means “to melt”. It shares a root with the word fondue, the melted cheese sauce for dipping.”
Covering a Cake with Fondant
I will be showing techniques to cover three types of cakes with fondant.
- An 8 inch diameter x 4 inch height real cake.
- A 6 inch diameter x 4 inch height dummy cake.
- A 4 inch diameter x 6 inch height dummy cake.
The end result will look like the fully fondant 3-tier cake below.
Mise-en-Place
Before covering a cake, you need the following items:
- The cake
- Turntable
- 20″ rolling pin
- Cornflour
- Mist sprayer fill with water
- Fondant smoother
- Small styrofoam
- Pizza cutter
- Paring knife or small knife
- Pin
How to Cover a Cake with Fondant : Real Cake 8 x 4
To cover a real cake with fondant, the pre-requisites are:
- it must be a heavy cake, meaning not sponge cake
- it needs to be crumb coated with hard ganache to ensure solid wall on cake to hold up the fondant on all sides and prevent loopsided cake or buldging fondant caused by escaping air bubbles.
How to Cover a Dummy Cake with Fondant : 6 x 4
The steps for dummy and real cake are the same.
Looking from the outside, there will not be any noticable difference between real cake and dummy cake if the ganache crumb coat is done right.
3. Fondant Panelling Method : 4 x 6
Panelling method is best used for cakes which have their height taller than diameter. It solves the problem of unfolding pleats, the taller the cake, the more difficult to unfold pleats if using the normal method.
Panelling can also be done on real cakes and cakes with lower height than diameter. Some decorators use this for all types of cakes regardless.
This video also covers technique in making fondant appearing seamless between joints. By melting fondant with water, hence the word “fondre”.
Conclusion : Types of Fondant
There are a variety of fondant brands in the market. Each has its own characteristic. Buying ready made brand ensure product consistency, therefore all techniques shown are tailored to the one I use. Should you be using a different brand, just get familiar with its character and adjust your technique to best suit the product.
