Most wedding cakes are covered and embellished with rolled fondant as it adds a finished look.
Fondant is a sugar-based edible "modeling clay" that is usually used to cover cakes in a dry smooth finish and to mold figures, flowers, ribbons and other cake decorating embellishments. Fondant carries with it an aura of difficulty; the majority of professional wedding cake artists use the technique and thus it is regarded as a masters-only method. But with practice and a little patience, any willing cake baker can both make and ice a cake with fondant. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Cover your cake with a crumb coat. Fondant will not stick to cake without a "glue" to adhere it, therefore you must ice your cake before covering it. Use any flavor or type of coating that works best for your cake, such as a buttercream or cream cheese frosting. Apply only a very thin, even layer as you do not want it to show through or make the fondant squishy.
2. Let gelatin bloom in ¼ cup of cold water for about five minutes. Place the bloomed gelatin, ½ cup corn syrup and ¾ oz. glycerin into the top pan of a double boiler. Fill the bottom pan with water and heat until all ingredients have melted together, stirring constantly.
3. Measure out 5 cups of confectioner's sugar into a large bowl that you can knead inside of, such as a large bread bowl. Pour the heated mixture into the bowl and knead about five minutes until it is one continuous soft dough.
4. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface lightly dusted with confectioner's sugar. Flatten the dough and incorporate as much of the remaining confectioner's sugar as possible. Coat your hands with vegetable shortening and knead the sugar into the dough until it is the consistency of clay.
5. Grease the counter with vegetable shortening and roll the fondant into a circle the size of both the width plus the height doubled. If your cake is a 9-inch round with a height of 4 inches, the fondant will need to be rolled to a width of at least 17 inches to cover it fully. Roll it to a width of ¼ inch, flipping it over frequently to prevent sticking and add more shortening if needed.
6. Drape the rolled fondant over the rolling pin and transfer to the cake. Place the center of the fondant over the center of the cake and gently smooth it onto the top of the cake. Smooth bubbles and wrinkles with your hands or cake trowel from the center out, working your way down the sides and to the bottom.
7. Cut any excess fondant that hangs over the bottom edge using scissors or a sharp knife. Using your fingers, tuck the rough cut edges under the bottom edge of the cake. Make a final smoothing over of the entire cake.
8. Decorate by adding fondant embellishments, icing flowers or by painting or piping designs. Store the cake at room temperature to avoid the formation of condensation which causes the fondant to lose its matte appearance and become sticky.
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