Your Questions About Decorating With Fondant For Beginners

Jenny asks…
Fondant decorating ideas? Please HELP!?
I bought some white fondant from the store and I am planning to use it for cup cakes. Since it is white it can be colored. I want to make some animals or people with it but i want to sort of do a theme. I need some fun but easy and beginner type ideas to make the cupcakes look cool because this is my first time. Any tutorials would also be good. Please answer SOON i want to do the decorating tomorrow! Thank you! And DO NOT forget *BEST* answer gets 10 points! =)
What theme should I do?
answers:
There is flowers in a garden that would look really clever and cool plus it would be easy to do.

Michael asks…
Decorating a cake with fondant…?
I’m thinking about making a cake…Layering it with fondant and decorating it, probably with flowers or designs or something. I was wondering who has tips….
Preferably about the best type of fondant (I don’t have the resources for buying expensive kind. Can you make the marshmallow fondant and still get nice-looking results?
For a beginner, are there anything bits of information partial to trying this out?
And…what does it taste like? Haha. Good? As good as normal icing?
Also–how do you pronounce fondant?
Quite a random question, but thanks to those who answer.
answers:
Do NOT buy the Wilton brand fondant. Not good. At all. I make cakes for a hobby. A great site to visit is http://cakecentral.com . Check out the recipes section, best way is to search for something specific. There are also galleries of cakes decorated by the members to help get ideas. I make my own fondant (pronounced fon-dent), recipe from cakecentral.
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Toba Garrett’s fondant
Serves/Yields: Yield: 2 lbs (908 g)
Prep. Time: 20 min
Cook Time: none really
Category: Frostings
Difficulty: Easy
Work it like you would bread dough when you are kneading in the sugar. You may not need all the sugar, so be aware of that….Do not refrigerate. Keeps extremely well on the counter.
Toba Garrett’s recipe wrote:
ROLLED FONDANT
Ingredients
1 Tbsp (1 envelope) unflavoured gelatin
1/4 cup (60 ml) cold water
1 tsp lemon, almond or orange extract
1/2 c (6 oz or 168 g) light corn syrup
1 Tbsp glycerin (optional)
up to 2 lbs (908 g) 10X confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp white vegetable shortening
1. Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water in a small bowl. Let it stand for two minutes to soften. Place it over a pan of simmering water until the gelatin dissolves, or use the microwave for 30 seconds on HIGH. Do not overheat. Add the flavouring.
2. Add corn syrup and glycerin (optional) and stir until mixture is smooth and clear. Gently reheat if necessary, or microwave for an additional 15 to 20 seconds on HIGH. Stir again.
3. Sift 1 1/2 pounds (680 g) of the sugar into a large bowl. Make a well in the sugar and pour the liquid mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon. The mixture will become sticky.
4. Sift some of the remaining 1/2 pound (225 g) of sugar onto a smooth work surface and add as much of the remaining sugar as the mixture will take. Knead the fondant, adding a little more sugar, if necessary, to form a smooth, pliable mass. The fondant should be firm and soft. Rub the vegetable shortening on your palms and knead it into the fondant. This relieves the stickiness of the fondant.
5. Wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until ready to use. Rolled fondant woks best if allowed to rest for 24 hours.
Note: If covered well, this rolled fondant dough can be refrigerated for 1 month or frozen for up to 3 months. I do, however, recommend Pettinice RTR Icing (commercial rolled fondant). It doesn’t taste quite as good as homemade; however, it has more stretch. Since it’s extremely flexible, you can do more with it. This product can last for up to 6 months without refrigeration.
Storage: Double wrap the rolled fondant in plastic wrap and then store it in a zippered plastic bag. It will keep in the refrigerator for 30 days on in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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As for tips. Don’t over work your fondant because it will dry out. You want your fondant to be very pliable, if it gets too dry you will have cracks on your cake. Other than that, just have fun with it. People make it sound a lot harder than it is. Make sure you have a nice big, smooth rolling pin so you don’t get lines on your fondant as well. Fondant tastes fine. It’s basically sugar paste and if you put the right flavorings in, people will like it. I personally prefer whipped cream frosting, but fondant just looks so much prettier. If you have a local cake store, check them out. They will have anything imaginable you would need for working with fondant. I have a great local store, they are so wonderful they give me advise and tips and I’ve learned a lot from them alone.
Good luck! And if you have any more questions feel free to contact me.

Richard asks…
A few questions about fondant?
My mom and i are competeing in a cake decorating contest at church. she is choosing to just simply frost hers and use fresh fruit. I would like to go more formal and do a cool design with fondant. I have never used it before, but seen it used. Here are my questions:
1.What do you put under it, just a thin layer of canned frosting?
2.Can you put a thick layer underneath so if peeled off, it tastes good?
3.How do you color it, and with gel color?
4.How much do i need to make a 9inch double layer cake?
5.How thick do i roll it?
6.Can you make it flavored?
AND ANY MORE FONDANT TIPS YOU HAVE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. ALSO IF YOU HAVE ANY COOL , YET SIMPLE ENOUGH FOR A BEGINNER, CAKE DECORATING IDEAS THAT WOULD HELP ME WIN, ILL TAKE THOSE TOO!! thanks!!
answers:
1. If I were you I would skip the canned frosting because it is sticky and hard to work with. Buttercream would probably be your best bet especially if you end up having to peel it off to restart.
2.Putting a thick layer is only going to make things more difficult for you. You shouldn’t really need to peel it off for it to taste good.
3. Coloring it with gel color would be the best idea. Just put a little gel onto the fondant you’re going to use and knead it in until the color is even. WEAR GLOVES!!! Unless of course you really want to color your hands too. If the color doesn’t come out as dark as you want it, let it sit for a little while before adding more color because it does tend to darken. Make sure to cover it well when you let it sit out because it will dry. Depending on what color you want and what fondant you are using you might also be able to buy it already colored.
4. I’m not honestly sure how much it would take to cover your cake but if you are buying the fondant the packaging should help you out there. I would say to get a little more than that though if you want to experiment with coloring and flavoring.
5. I would say about 1/8 of an inch thick should be good. Use cornstarch (just a little bit) when you’re rolling it out if it gets sticky. Like you would you would use flour while rolling out cookie dough.
6. Depending on the type on fondant you are using you should be able to flavor it. Some will taste better than others with flavoring. Use a good quality liquid flavoring if you can. It will come out better than the strawberry extract you buy from the grocery store. If you have a cake specialty store near you they might have some good stuff or even craft stores like Michaels, Joanns or A.C. Moore.
You might get some good tips from www.wilton.com. If you have any other questions you can email me if you’d like. I have been decorating cakes for a long time and my sister does it for a living. She and I have done several competitions also. Hope this helps you and good luck!

Sharon asks…
Do you know an easy cake recipe firm enough to be covered in fondant- yet easy enough for a beginner?
Hello,
I have taken an interest in cake decorating and would like to teach my self by reading up and asking for advice. I would rather not take classes.
I am looking for a recipe for a cake that is firm enough to cope with being completely covered in rolled fondant icing that tastes reasonably nice and isnt too hard for me as a beginner.
I will start with just one cake but my ultimate goal at the minute is something like this:
http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs23/f/2009/248/0/4/Strawberry_wedding_cake_by_see_through_silence.jpg
I hope to teach myself to do this in about 6 months.
Also please suggest how you think the chocolate drips were done because i dont know how it could set that quick if it was real chocolate or look that glossy if it was icing? I asked in wedding section but it wasnt resolved.
Thank you in advance!
answers:
I have given this recipe out many times so I thought that I would put it on here for easy reference. I use this recipe all the time, it bakes up nice and firm but is still moist and fluffy. It is perfect for 2- 8″cakes and 1- 10″ cake.
Firm Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
1 Devils Food Cake Mix (I use whatever kind of choc. Cake I have on hand)
1 (4 serving size) instant choc pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1 1/2 semi-sweet choc chips (I never add the choc chips unless it is requested)
Instructions
In large bowl combine all ingredients except choc chips (if using them). Beat 4 min. Fold in chips. (I just beat by hand for 2 min. Until I feel that it is well incorporated). Bake at 350 until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
The batter is very thick but I think that, that is why it holds together so well. And, I would bake it for the recommended time on the package and then do the toothepick test to see if it is done. Then I usually add 5 min or so each time before I check it again. It usually needs more time to bake then a regular cake mix would need all by itself. Hope you enjoy it!

Sandra asks…
Ideas for a cowboy boot shaped cake…for beginners, please!?
Okay, here’s the deal. My son is having his first birthday and we are having a Wild West theme. This includes my husband wanting a cowboy boot shaped cake. I need some ideas from some professionals out there on the easiest way to do this. I am always up for a new challenge so this is my latest one I suppose. I’ve looked up ideas on fondant, edible sheets of icing and stuff but there’s so much out there it is overwhelming when trying to figure out what is easiest. This will be in late September in El Paso Texas so the weather will be in the 90′s and this will be an outdoor party. . I would like for the cake to sit outside with the guests so it has to be “weather friendly”. Anyway…if anyone can give me some ideas that range from how to get the shape of the cake to how to decorate the cake to make it look like a realistic boot (leather) I would greatly appreciate it.
answers:
I’m not a professional on cakes or anything, but here are some links.
-www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Groom-s-Boot-Cake
That one is actually a grooms cake, but I’m sure you could alter some thing’s to make it for a birthday
-www.squidoo.com/horseparty
-www.thebestbirthday.com/western-party/cowboy-western.php
Hope those helped
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