Polka Dot Fondant Cake

As much fun as I've been having learning cake decorating techniques on my own, I thought it might be smart to see what options are out there for actual classes. I didn't want to sign up for any in-person classes because I wanted my schedule to remain flexible, and to be honest I like the idea of learning without an audience (other classmates). So I did a Google search for online cake decorating classes, and was able to find quite a few options on this site called Craftsy. Their classes are all within a pretty reasonable price range and they also have a lot of random sales so I love that!

One of the classes I ended up purchasing was called The Wilton Method: Decorating with Fondant. It shows you all the material you are going to need, even before you purchase the class, so you know ahead of time if there are going to be a lot of additional costs. I also have access to the videos and class materials indefinitely, which is awesome in case I ever need to refresh my memory on any of the tutorials.

I didn't have quite all the materials it called for, so I ended up ordering some. Unfortunately it was taking too long for my order to arrive, so I ended up starting the class anyway. I figured if I had at least the essentials, the tutorials and tips would still be beneficial, even if I made a slightly different cake.

So the first thing I did after my cake was baked, is ice it, so the fondant has something to adhere to. Obviously it doesn't matter how pretty the frosting looks in this case because it's going to be covered anyway. I did opt to try my new Wilton cake icing tip though. I had seen it on a video from Global Sugar Art. It basically allows you to frost a cake in bigger sections at one time because it pipes out a large flat line of icing.

Then I rolled out my fondant to the necessary size so it would cover the whole cake (which you can determine very easily by taking measurements). I must say, the whole thing was not as simple as Beth Somers (the instructor) made it seem. Transferring the fondant to the cake was a hassle because a piece of fondant that big gets pretty heavy. I like her suggestion of rolling one end back on the roller and then picking it up, so the fondant is kind of hanging over the roller. That makes it a little easier to carry, but it's still pretty heavy so you have to do it quickly yet carefully at the same time, so that the fondant doesn't stretch out in any particular place.

Once you get it on the cake I think the worst is over. However, smoothing it down is not quite as easy as it looks either. You have to be really patient, going around the cake and smoothing it out at the bottom (since that's where it bunches up) little by little, making sure there are no ruffles or air bubbles between the fondant and the cake. And you can't achieve this by just folding over the ruffles and then trying to smooth them out, so I had to resist the temptation to try this, because it's a natural instinct.

The actual assignment called for covering the cake in all black fondant, and then covering it with little daisy cut-outs. I covered mine in white fondant, because that's what I had on hand and I didn't want to take the time to dye it black (which is a very difficult color to achieve), and I decided to cover it in turquoise polka dots, with some randomly dispersed brown fondant beads in between. I really like how brown and turquoise look together.

Note: It is not a good idea to do ALL of the decorating in one sitting. Take some breaks when you can or you will get really tired, or end up with a headache like I did.

I also learned that attaching pieces of fondant to other fondant is as easy as dabbing it with a little water. I wish I had known this earlier when I was making some of my other designs, like the Minecraft and Mario cupcakes, haha.

It definitely was a long process from start to finish, but I was pretty happy with the way it turned out, especially considering it was my first time covering a cake with fondant.

Polka Dot Fondant Cake

I really wanted to do a fancier border since I had just learned a bunch of new ones, but I decided those borders are probably better suited for a non-fondant covered cake. I also didn't want the frosting to distract from the main focus which was the fondant decorations.

In the end I really enjoyed my first fondant lesson. I had a lot of fun with the first assignment, and putting my own twist on it, and I'm only slightly worse for wear ;) I'm looking forward to the next lesson with fondant, or maybe even starting the Wilton buttercream class that I bought!