Pat-a-cake, Pat-a cake

I've long loved the smooth finish fondant icing gives a cake and the many cool designs you can find from bakers that use it. This art, however, comes at a pretty price.

When my daughter's second birthday rolled around, I decided I'd give fondant a go to see if I could pull off a Minnie Mouse cake - and it worked! So I've been dabbling with these cakes for various special occasions and am sharing a few of my tips for the brave that may want to give it a try. If you accept the challenge, know you can likely yield an awesome cake for around $15.00, maybe a little less!

To get you started, I have the help of my beautiful niece, Hannah (12), who was interested in learning about cake decorating. So when she came to visit for the weekend a few weeks ago, we got to baking, having fun and taking a few pictures along the way. We were exhausted when we finished our cakes, but it was worth it. She did an amazing job and I think her first one looked spectacular! (C'mon ... if she has the courage to try this and do it so well, you should too!!!)

Getting started...

Tip One: Keep it to one tier.
The more you make, the longer it takes and the more overwhelming it can become. When you're starting out, make a single tier cake like this cool little guy that I did for my son's pirate party. Choose either a 8" or 9" cake depending on the size of the pans you have at home.

Tip Two: For the cake, buy boxed!
No sense jumping completely off the deep end and making this from scratch. There will be plenty of other work to do, so simply follow the directions for one boxed mix, making two layers (either 8" or 9").

Tip Three: Let someone else inspire you.

If you don't think you're creative, simply google "fondant cakes" or cakes under a theme you're looking for. Use a picture as your guide (as I did for the pirate cake ... found him online). Start simple, and look for something that only has 2 - 4 different colors.

Tip 4: Look into the supplies you'll need ahead of time, make sure you have them on hand.
For example:
Food coloring
Cookie cutters that you might like to make fondant shapes
Cardboard for the bottom of the cake (they sell professional type ones at craft stores like Michael's)
Rolling pin
Rolling mat
Saran or other plastic wrap.

Let's Begin...
Okay, so let's say you just mixed up your boxed cake mix and put the two layers in the oven. While that's baking, make your buttercream. This one here is a simple recipe that I use all the time. It will go between the layers of your cake and surround the outside to which you'll apply your fondant. This is a sweet, sugary, buttercream ... very good!

Note: If you have a mix master, use it and keep that hand mixer for some lighter duty work.

1/2 c. shortening (e.g. crisco)

1/2 c. softened butter

1 tsp vanilla (or other flavoring)
4 c. powder sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Start by creaming together shortening and butter. Beat on low to medium speed until soft, creamy and a little fluffy. Take first cup of powder sugar and start slowly sifting it in, adding more as the sugar is absorbed into the mix. Once all the sugar has been added, mix in vanilla, salt and set buttercream aside.

Cake: When the cake is done, take the layers out of the pan and put on a cooling rack, allowing it to cool completely before frosting and decorating.

When the buttercream is done and throughout the time your cake is cooling, get started on your fondant. Or better yet ... make your fondant ahead of time. It can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored up to two weeks in advance. You'll just need to pop it in the microwave for about 10 seconds when you're ready to use it to make it soft and pliable again. When storing, keep it in a cool, dark place (fondant is very susceptible to heat and will melt!!).

Easy Peesy Marshmallow Fondant Ingredients:

Marshmallows
Powder Sugar
Dribble of water
Food coloring
That's it!

I usually try to have three 10.5 oz bags of mini marshmallows on hand and three bags of powder sugar (believe the standard size is a 2 lb bag).

You'll need to make one color at a time. The amount you need of each ingredient will depend on how much fondant you need of a particular color. To cover your cake, you'll obviously need the largest amount; I recommend using 3/4 of a 10.5 oz bag of mini marshmallows. Simply add or subtract amounts in proportion to this starting recommendation, depending on how much you need.

Base:
To begin, use some Crisco to grease a 2' x 2' section of your kitchen counter. Then add about 2/3 bag of powder sugar in a single heap, right in the middle of the greased area. Dig out a little crater where you'll add your marshmallow mixture. Leave room under and around the crater so the marshmallow mixture can't easily escape or touch your counter ... protect it with a powder sugar wall!

Next, pour 3/4 of a 10.5 oz bag of mini marshmallows into a medium size microwave safe bowl. Add ~ 2 tsps water to marshmallows and put in microwave for 30 seconds. Add 30 second intervals, watching closely, until marshmallows are puffy.

Take bowl out of microwave, drop in food coloring and stir until smooth. Here's an example of black fondant we were making.

Then pour mixture into sugar crater.

Next, grease hands with Crisco and start tossing some powder sugar over and around the marshmallows. Lift powder sugar under and around until it's cool enough to start pressing the sugar into the marshmallows. The idea is to slowly start working the sugar and mallows into a ball, being careful not to let it fall apart. Yes, this part is the trickiest! It takes some practice but you'll learn your own techniques as you go along.

When it starts getting into a ball shape, then move it away from the sugar and start kneading it on a hard surface, working it into a smooth ball. If sticky parts appear, dust a little powder sugar on and continue kneading. When the fondant is smooth and sometimes a little glossy, it's ready.

If you're making a bunch of colors in a row, simply wrap each in Saran or plastic wrap and set aside. This will prevent it from drying out while you work.

When your fondant is ready, it's time to return to your cake. First, level the cake by cutting off the rounded part so they will stack evenly. When level, spread one of the layers (crumb side up) with icing, about 1/4 inch thick. Place second layer of cake on top. Place a small thin layer of icing on your cardboard to keep the cake in place. Move cake to cardboard. Then ice top and all sides of cake with buttercream, using extra in places with exposed crumbs to make it easier to spread.

Next, grease a baking mat with Crisco and begin rolling out the fondant you plan to use to cover it. For an 8" x 3" tall cake, you probably want a ball of fondant a bit larger than your fist. Use a rolling pin to smooth it out. Note it's important to flip the fondant frequently (like a pancake) so it doesn't stick to the mat and tear.

When the fondant is in a large enough circle to cover the top and all sides - and about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick - use your hands and arms to transfer the fondant and then center it over the top of the cake. Lay it on the cake and start smoothing it out over the sides. Pulling at it and working it out to prevent if from overlapping or bunching around the sides. Then cut the extra off with a sharp knife.

Once this part is in place, use other colors of fondant to add accessories, using the same process to make and roll pieces out. Pizza cutters work really well if you want nice straight lines ... and little flowers or circles work well to hide blemishes! To adhere, I typically use store bought frosting and dab a little on with a knife, or pipe it out of a sandwich bag.

When your cake is finished, lightly cover it with plastic wrap and keep out of the sun or away from heat. Also keep it away from places where water could splash it (e.g. near a kitchen sink) as water will breakdown the icing. Your cake will keep well for two days before cutting, if needed - simply stored at room temperature.

Here's Hannah's cake. Can you believe it was her first one??? Love it.

And here's the other one we had for dessert that night.

Lots of fun ... thanks for baking with me Hannah!