How to Smooth Fondant on a Cake

Co-authored by Jessica Banh

Last Updated: December 7, 2022

Making a cake elegant helps by smoothing out the sweet fondant so it can look soft like a blanket. However smoothing fondant can be a challenge sometimes, especially since it can close easily and sometimes rip since it's very delicate. This article will tell you how to smooth fondant onto a cake without a disaster.

Ingredients

Fully baked and cooled cake
Fondant
Butter cream frosting

Steps

1
Knead the fondant. Fondant can be homemade or bought. Remove the fondant from any plastic, paper, and so forth. Lay it on a clean cooking space and knead well to help the fondant stay together and not crumble.
2
Roll out the fondant. Dust your surface with powdered sugar or cornstarch and gently push the fondant down, making it the shape of a pancake. Use a rolling pan to make the fondant stretch until thin. Avoid rolling too much, however, because the fondant will tear when being added on the cake.
- Flour dries the fondant out, so avoid dusting the surface with it.
- Alternatively, you can roll out the fondant between two sheets of parchment paper.
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3
Add the frosting. Using a butter knife, spread a thin layer of butter cream frosting on the cake. Butter is greasy and can stick really well which helps the fondant stay on the cake.
4
Place the fondant on the cake. Gently and carefully lay the fondant on the cake like you are laying a blanket. Close the bottom edges and try your best to make everything even to avoid wrinkles or clumps.
5
Smooth. With a smoothing tool, smooth the sides and top of the cake to make it straighten. Don't use your hands, they leave fingerprints and other shapes on the cake. Smoothing helps the fondant not bubble.
6
Trim off the excess. Use a pizza cutter to cut of the excess edges, going around slowly. You can store the extra fondant for later use.
- If you want to make the fondant shiny, you can rub it with Crisco or other vegetable shortening.
7
Finished.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I make a design?

Community Answer

If you want to make designs on the fondant, you'll need some fondant cutters or stencils. There are also some rolling pins that come with designs on them; when you roll it over the fondant, the design stays imprinted onto the fondant.