Working with Fondant: Practical Tips for a Flawless Finish
Fondant, or plastic icing, is what gives a cake that clean, sculptural, bakery-window finish. It is also the step where a perfectly good cake can go wrong in about four minutes. The good news is that almost every fondant problem comes down to a handful of controllable factors: temperature, moisture, thickness and patience.
Start with fondant at the right temperature
Cold fondant cracks, tears and fights you. Take it out well ahead of time and let it come to room temperature before you even think about kneading it. In winter, warming your hands and working in a warmer room makes a genuine difference.
Knead properly before you roll
Kneading is not optional. It warms the fondant, makes it pliable and works out the small cracks and dry patches that will otherwise show up on the finished cake.
Knead until it is smooth and elastic. If it feels dry or is cracking at the edges, work in a very small amount of vegetable shortening – a little at a time, because too much makes it greasy and difficult to handle.
Rolling: thickness and surface
Aim for roughly 3–4mm. Too thin and it tears and shows every flaw beneath it; too thick and it looks heavy and tastes overwhelmingly sweet.
- Dust your surface lightly with cornflour or icing sugar, or use a non-stick mat
- Use cornflour sparingly – too much dries the fondant and causes cracking
- Turn and lift the fondant as you roll so it does not stick down
- Roll a circle noticeably wider than the cake: the diameter plus twice the height, plus a few centimetres for handling
Covering a cake without tears
A smooth fondant finish depends almost entirely on what is underneath it. Fondant hides nothing – it exaggerates.
- Level and crumb-coat the cake first, then chill briefly so the surface is firm
- In hot weather, ganache under fondant is far more stable than buttercream
- Drape the fondant from the centre outwards, then smooth the top before the sides
- Ease the sides down gently with your hand, working around the cake rather than pulling downwards – pulling causes tearing and elephant skin at the base
- Use two smoothers together for the cleanest edges
Trim the excess only once everything is smoothed and settled
Fondant does not hide a bumpy cake. It advertises it. Time spent on the crumb coat is never wasted.
Colouring fondant
Use gel or paste colouring rather than liquid. Liquid colour adds water, and water makes fondant sticky and unworkable.
- Add colour with a toothpick, a little at a time – you can always add more
- Knead thoroughly until there are no streaks left
- Colours deepen as they rest, so mix slightly lighter than your target and leave it an hour or two
- For deep reds and blacks, start from a coloured base or buy pre-coloured fondant – chasing a true black with gel alone usually ends in bitter-tasting icing
- Wear gloves for dark shades unless you enjoy explaining your hands to people
Humidity and heat: the South African reality
Fondant is sugar, and sugar attracts moisture. On a humid summer afternoon it will feel sticky and refuse to hold a clean edge, no matter how well you rolled it.
- Work in the coolest, driest part of the day where you can
- Use a dehumidifier or air conditioning if humidity is high
- Avoid refrigerating a finished fondant cake – condensation forms as it comes back to room temperature and the surface sweats
- If a cake must be chilled, take it out and leave it completely undisturbed until it has fully come back to room temperature. Touching a sweating cake marks it permanently
- Transport in a box, in a cool car, on a flat surface – never on a seat
Storing leftovers
Wrap leftover fondant tightly in cling film, pressing out all the air, then seal it in an airtight container or bag. Store at room temperature in a cool, dry cupboard – not in the fridge or freezer, where moisture will ruin the texture.
Quick fixes for common problems
- Cracking or dry: knead in a small amount of shortening and warm it in your hands
- Sticky: dust lightly with cornflour and reduce the humidity in the room
- Air bubbles: pierce at an angle with a clean pin and smooth outwards from the hole
- Elephant skin at the base: you are pulling instead of easing – lift and re-smooth from the top
- Tearing on the corners: roll slightly thicker and make sure your fondant is warm enough
- Dull finish: a light polish with a smoother, or a very small amount of shortening on your hands
Everything you need in one place
Linda’s stocks a full range of fondant and plastic icing, gel colours, sprinkles and decorating supplies – along with staff who have solved most of these problems more than once. Browse the range online or visit us in Westdene, Johannesburg.