Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A
Covering a Large Cake
I have to cover a large rectangular cake but everytime i roll out the fondant and then lift it to place it over the cake it rips… are there any easier ways to do this, i’ve tried rolling it round the rolling pin and that just left dents in it as the area i need to cover is longer than my rolling pin (even tho i have a large rolling pin) i’ve tried lifting it with my arms but again rips in the middle, i’ve done the fondant thicker than usual to see if this would help but its made no difference, (i dont have ‘The Mat’ either a few people said this would be good for this size of cake but i have no way of getting one before tomorrow.)
Anyone else any tips for covering large cakes?
Hi Chell
Large cakes are a nightmare! The way I used to do them was in sections. Roll out and cut the size you need to cover the top first, trimming it flush at the edge. Then measure the sides and cut strips to fit. When you cut one strip roll it up and place it flush to meet the icing at the top edge, unroll and smooth until one side is done. Do all four sides and smooth with your fondant smoother. Don’t worry about the edges where the sections meet, you can either pipe a border to seal the edges or cover them with some tiny flowers. Trim the bottom cleanly at the board. Hope this makes sense, if not come back.
You could cover the board separately once the cake is in situ. Just cut long strips again and place on the exposed board, you can either mitre the edges or cut off where the strips meet. I’ve tried to look at some of the tutorials but can’t find the one which I want to direct you to. LOL, yes you have been a bit adventurous, but it will be an achievement! x good luck with it, come back if you need more help.
Congratulations and well done Chell, I can hear your sigh of relief!
I enlist my husband to help with this. I lift one side of the fondant on the rolling pin and then he slides the cake underneath. I knew he would come in useful one day! 😉
Beautiful!
Hi, thanks for the reply, this is the first large cake i’ve had to do, its actually 2×12″ square cakes put together to make one long rectangle but have chopped the end of one so it totals 20″ in length by 12″ wide, i’ve got it on a 24″ rectangular board and need to cover both cake and board at the same time… prob a bit adventurous.. lol
Thats exactly what i did doodlecake, i had 4 or 5 failed attempts at doing it myself so i waited for hubby to get home from work and we covered it together first go… i didn’t want to ask him for help this time as the cake was for him but it didnt really give anything away him helping to cover it in white sugarpaste and it made my job a lot less stressful him assisting… not sure if i’m allowed to post this but heres a link to the finished cake.. https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=263399763770265&set=a.209218715855037.42952.208081062635469&type=1&theater hopefully it will work 🙂
Chell x
