How to ice a cake using fondant

[StarBar85]

Hi,

I'm attempting to make a birthday cake using ready to roll fondant and I'm not sure the best way to get the fondant to stick to the cake?

My family don't have much of a sweet tooth so can I use jam instead of buttercream? I'm making a madeira sponge with jam and buttercream in the middle. Then putting some fondant stars on top, can I attach these with buttercream or do I need something specific for that?

Thanks for any help! What seemed easy is getting more complicated as I go along

I use apricot glaze which they definitely sell in Sainsbury's. It's like a smooth jam that you heat up and brush on.

Watch a YouTube video on how to apply the ready roll fondant, its something that can go wrong far too easily

Fondant stars will attach if you dab a little water on the back of them.

Thank you!

I've watched a few fondant videos, will face that challenge tonight

Glad I can use a glaze, lots of videos mentioned buttercream but I think that would be overload for my lot.

Thanks also for the water tip, my talents can stretch that far

Fondant stars or indeed any other shapes are great for hiding any imperfections

you need something sticky.
I like using butter cream (200g icing sugar, 100g very soft butter, 1 tablespoon milk) as it's easier to apply if the cake is very crumbly.
good luck!

oh yes to cut outs, 'snakes' and sprinkles to hide imperfections

I would use buttercream, you can add some lemon juice to it to tone down the sweetness. Also a good tip is to put the cake in the freezer for about 15 mins before you put the buttercream on, then put it back in the freezer to set for another 15 minutes before you put your fondant onto it.
Also make sure that you really knead your fondant so that when you pull it, it's soft and stretches really far. Then you will have less ripping when you put it on. Good luck the first cake is fun

Surely jam would be sweeter than buttercream? Try Swiss meringue buttercream, it's much nicer and less sweet than normal butter icing. Decorations will stick with just a tiny bit of water, not too much or it'll bleed out around and mark the icing.

You'd need to absolutely coat the cake in jam, buttercream coat would be better. You can stick

Dont try and ice in a heatwave.

I used to work for a cake maker,
For sticking fondant to fondant use a ‘glue’ made from water and icing sugar, 5/1 parts.
A little goes a long way, you only need a really small dab.
use a small paint brush to apply it if you have one, it makes life easier.

I'll second the suggestions of apricot jam. Warm it in the microwave and then brush it onto your cake with a pastry brush, top and sides. Since your fondant is ready-rolled, ignore the advice to knead it. It can be tricky to move a cake once it is iced so put it on your cake board before you apply the fondant.

I would also forget about the buttercream for this cake. If you are asking for help with ready-rolled fondant, it sounds to me like you are at the beginning of your cake decorating life and applying buttercream is not always the simplest, depending on the texture of your cake.

Also, Swiss meringue buttercream?! OP needs a confidence boost to tackle ready-rolled fondant, I don't know how sensible it is to send her off splitting eggs and melting sugar.

Splitting eggs and melting sugar is hardly rocket science. If you can bake a cake surely you can separate an egg 🙄

I think normal buttercream underneath the fondant is the easiest way - it acts a bit like polyfilla and smooths the surface so when you lay the fondant over the top, it’s not too lumpy. You don’t have to have loads - it’s barely noticeable under the fondant if you just skim it over. And if you aren’t experienced at laying the fondant over, you might well catch it on the buttercream (or jam if that’s what you used) and it is way easier to wipe off buttercream than jam - jam always shows up and is sticky looking.
You could use jam as the filling if it’s a layer cake, and buttercream around the outside.

To stick fondant hearts etc on top of other fondant, I just use a tiny dab of water. A teeny drop on the back of the heart with your little fingertip, and then stick it on. Works great.

Thanks for all the advice! I've never decorated a cake using fondant before, god knows why I've chosen to now

Going to go with buttercream underneath the fondant, seems that will be the less risky option

And great advice about hiding imperfections with stars etc, I'm all about hiding the evidence if things go tits up