How to cover a cake with fondant icing

How to cover a cake with fondant icing for a perfectly smooth finish with Martha Collinson. When using fondant icing it is important to place it on top of a cake covered with marzipan or buttercream, for marzipan this needs to be done 3 days before so that the marzipan is dry. If using buttercream it just needs to be firm.

Dust a work surface with icing sugar, and knead your fondant icing until soft and pliable.

To measure how much fondant you need, place a piece of string at one edge of the cake and measure all the way up the side, over the top and down the side, cut the piece of string and roll out your fondant to this size.

Roll out the icing to a 3–4mm/⅛–¼in thickness, then carefully lay the icing over your rolling pin and unroll it over your pre-covered cake. To make things easier, do this on a cake board placed on a turntable stand.

Smooth the fondant icing onto the top surface of the cake and then down the sides - you can do this by hand or with a cake smoother. Be careful not to create any pleats or folds.

Trim off the excess icing with a sharp knife and neaten the bottom edge against the cake board, tucking the edges in towards the cake if necessary. You can continue to work over the icing with the cake smoother to ensure a smooth finish with sharp edges.

If you can, leave the cake to dry uncovered for a few days at room temperature to ensure that the fondant icing can harden slightly. Decorate as you wish.

TIP: If you'd like to use coloured fondant icing, it's best to buy it in the colour you need as it's hard to tint, especially if you need deep colours. Pastel tones are much easier to achieve. If you want to give it a go, make sure to use highly pigmented (paste or gel) colours – the liquid in regular food colouring will change the texture of the icing and make it very sticky and hard to work with.