How much fondant do you need for a cake?

Name: How much fondant do you need for a cake?
Cuisine: Switzerland

The miniSchoggi fondant calculator, just for you!

How much marzipan, fondant or Massa Ticino do I need for my cake? The fondant calculator helps you work out the right amount of fondant, marzipan or Massa Ticino.

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A little further down, you’ll find lots more useful information about fondant.

How do you roll out fondant evenly?

To achieve an even layer of fondant, shape the well-kneaded fondant into a ball. Flatten it slightly and place it on a work surface dusted with baking starch. Always use plenty of cornflour, as if the fondant sticks to the surface, it will warp slightly and could tear when you lift it off the work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the fondant out from the centre in all directions. Every now and then, you can lift the fondant sheet slightly with one hand and sprinkle some baking starch underneath, or rotate it gently. However, you must not flip the fondant sheet over or pull it apart with your fingers. Rolling out the fondant requires patience. It’s better to roll it out a little in all directions repeatedly and avoid it warping or rolling it out in just one direction.

How thick should the fondant be rolled out?

You can work out the size of a cake cover very easily using a simple calculation or a piece of string. If you know the height and diameter of the cake ring, you need to multiply the height by two and then add the diameter. It’s best to roll out the cover a little larger so that you can trim the bottom edge neatly.

Height of the cake: ____ * 2 + diameter of the cake: ____ = required size

You can also measure the diameter of the fondant cover using a piece of string. Hold the string about one centimetre away from your cake and mark off twice the height and once the diameter. For square or rectangular cakes, simply measure twice the height and once the length; for a rectangle, also measure the width once. This way, you’ll know exactly how big your fondant sheet needs to be. Don’t roll the fondant out into a circle for this – roll it out into a rectangle or square instead.

How thick should the fondant icing be?

Fondant consists mainly of sugar and is therefore often carelessly left on the edge of the plate when eating a cake covered with it. The thinner the fondant layer, the more likely it is to be eaten. Nevertheless, it is better to roll out the icing a little too thick rather than too thin. With thin layers, any unevenness caused by careless spreading of the buttercream or ganache is more easily visible, and there is also a greater likelihood of it tearing when applied. To begin with, you should therefore use a layer about 0.5 cm thick; as you gain experience, you can roll it out thinner.

How do you achieve sharp edges?

To achieve perfectly sharp edges, you’ll need two fondant smoothing tools. Place one of them flush against the top edge of the cake, then use the second one to smooth over it repeatedly, working from the inside out. Move the smoother along the edge from time to time and work your way round the whole cake in this way.

Can a cake covered in fondant be put in the fridge?

Cakes covered in fondant are often cream or fruit cakes, which must be stored in the fridge. Therefore, even if the cake is covered in fondant, it must be kept in the fridge. If the ambient temperature is very high, the cake may develop a slight sheen. The fondant itself releases very little moisture. You can easily dab this moisture away with kitchen paper or simply leave it on the cake. After a while in a dry place at room temperature, it will disappear again. When storing the cake in the fridge, make sure there are no strongly scented foods next to it, otherwise the cake will absorb the smell. The cake must be stored in a cake box. To further prevent too much moisture from getting into the cake box, you can wrap it in cling film. If you make a lot of themed cakes, you should consider buying a wine fridge. Unlike a normal fridge, this contains virtually no moisture and is therefore ideal for storing fondant cakes. The temperature can be set to any value between 5 and 20 °C. For cream cakes, 8 °C is the maximum; buttercream cakes can also be stored at temperatures of up to 12 °C. As the temperature difference when removing the cake from the fridge is kept relatively small, the fondant does not sweat as much, which improves the cake’s appearance.