Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

this is not really a question more a request ! is it possible when you list the tools for the tutorials could you put more details of exact name and where to puchase because as much as i love your tutorials i dont want to sit though the whole lot again to find this information especially as this was such a long one, i uderstand uyou may not be able to list other supliers but if we could have just a little more info it would help to puchase sorry if this is not in the right catogary but im not very computor minded and this is the first thing ive ever sent ive never even sent an email!! loving all the tutorials and new shop (perhaps you could sell items in your shop online) many thanks sj sorry if this question seemed like an addition from war and peace!

I freeze leftover sugarpaste all the time and although I haven’t tried it yet I believe that you can make and freeze any decorations that you want to make in advance but need to be moulded to the shape of the cake!

Here’s how to do it from Lesley at The Royal Bakery:

I regularly make fondant accents in advance and freeze them. By regularly, I mean pretty much every week and by accents I mean bows, plaques, letters and clouds, etc etc.

The reason I freeze rather than air dry is so that the fondant piece, when it thaws, is still as soft and pliable as when it was freshly cut. This means you can mould your letters, plaques, clouds and bows to the shape of your cake.

I lay a piece of parchment or wax paper in the bottom of an airtight container and dust it with a little cornstarch. Lay your fondant pieces on the paper, with a little gap between if possible. For flat items you can do several layers. Pop it in the freezer.

I’ve never frozen anything for longer than about three weeks, but I reckon three months would be fine.

A little while before you’re ready to use your frozen fondant, remove it from the freezer and lift out the paper. Quickly spread out the frozen pieces so that no two bits are touching. Yes, condensation will form, but just ignore it, don’t touch it, and carry on with something else. It will dry and disappear. Depending on what you’ve frozen, the drying process can take between ten minutes and half an hour. If it’s something huge, like a big cloud, it might take longer. I can’t predict all the drying times for you. Just give yourself time.

Don’t touch the fondant as it’s thawing and drying out as you will leave finger marks on it. Once it looks dry, it probably is and will be ready to use.

I have used this technique will coloured fondant regularly, but I’ve not tried it with fondant that has been lustred or painted with food colouring. It might work – I can only suggest you experiment with a piece and see how it goes.

Hi sarah-jane

The tools and suppliers are listed in the tools and ingredients list under the tutorial video and highlighted in a different colour. Just click on the colour for more information. If there is something specific you need to know, the team are always happy to help and welcome feed back or suggestions. You can contact [email protected] or use the talk to us tab. You don’t need to apologise for anything! Hope this helps, happy baking and decorating x

am amaized cant believe this worked many thanks for such quick respnce this has given me confidense to use this q&a more

That’s what it’s here for so fire away. x

When cutting the roof out, what is the size of the cardboard–14 or 12 inch round?

The cardboard is 14 inch round made from a cake box lid.

Thank you so much! A few more questions and I will try not to pester you again. I’m making this for my twin grand babies first birthday on sept 14. I want to try to do as much as I can since I work full time. If I make the roof and middle column say this weekend, how do i prevent the fondant from cracking, or will it survive. I was also thinking of cutting all the mold pieces and freezing in an air tight container; defrosting and they would be pliable when ready to adhere. Do you think that’s a good plan? I am excited to make this wonderful cake! Thanks again

Hi Patiodash

Anything which is not cake can be made now and decorated eg the roof and any boards. All the mould pieces eg flowers, scrolls, cameos, horses etc can be made left to dry, painted or lustred and stored in a card board box in a cool room, not in an airtight container, fridge or freezer. The stripes have to be made fresh so they can sit flush against the cake as does the jagged trim to give it movement. You can definitely get ahead with quite a lot of the decorations now so you don’t have to rush around last minute. Any fondant covered items such as the roof will be fine, once iced place in a cool room until dry or decorate and store until required. I’m sure your grand children will be thrilled to receive such a beautiful gift. Good luck with the decorating and if you need more information please post again.

That’s great doodlecake, thank you so much for taking the time to post this and for sharing. It’s going to be really useful for everyone. I have refrigerated fondant but have never had much success in re using because it’s been so sticky, I’ll try again using the above method, just coming to the end of a project so will have some over to freeze. xx