Fondant Sentence Examples

If this is not recommended, should I feed soft fondant instead?

Baked chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream and iced strawberry parfait with black peppered strawberries and mint are among the desserts.

Top the cupcakes with handcrafted fondant figures, such as swans, hearts, or handmade flowers.

Marshmallow fondant is sweet without being cloying and has an easy to work with texture for even beginner cooks.

Containing two types, Japanese peppermint oil fondant creams and Creme de Menthe infused truffles.

All you need to do is get the shape you need, then decorate it using colored marzipan or fondant icing.

Madam continued with Roasted breast of duck with fondant potato and confit of red onion.

Frost them as one cake in the color of your choice (or cover in fondant for a polished look), and make the lines of an umbrella in white for a nice color contrast.

Make the handle of the umbrella out of fondant.

For a virtually limitless array of possibilities, learn to work with fondant.

Check out these fondant cake ideas before getting started with your next cake.

In addition to topping a cake with cookie letters and numbers, these cutters will also cut fondant.

Fondant is a thick, chewy kind of sugar paste that professional cake decorators often use to get that flawless flat look for a cake.

Fondant can also be used to embellish a frosted cake, and cookie cutters are one great way to do this without having to do any freehand cutting or decorating.

Cover your cake in white fondant tinted with a brown-green color.

The cake can be covered with poured fondant or iced.

Fondant and modeling chocolate make a cake look great - especially Halloween cakes as you can make a stark white fondant covering and do blood splatter on it.

This will keep the fondant from slipping.

The flowers can be live or they can be crafted out of fondant or gum pastes to look realistic.

During the rest of winter, consider fondant snowpeople or a glass snowflake as your cake topper.

Although more expensive in most cases, a rolled fondant icing has a firmer texture that lends itself to carving and intricate details.

Often done with a combination of fondant and buttercream icing, these cakes are showpieces.

Fall colors like burnt orange, rust, burgundy, and mustard yellow look stunning against a dark chocolate fondant or a buttercream in shades of ivory and champagne.

One way to do so is to make fondant icing and cut leaf shapes using cookie cutters.

Dye the fondant the color you wish (brown, yellow, orange, red); more experienced decorators could try their hand at airbrushing leaf colors for a realistic look.

Both buttercream and fondant can be made with a chocolate flavor.

However, in contrast to visions of fondant flowers and flawless swirls of frosting, men tend to err more on the side of humor and personalized cakes.

The antlers can be done out of fondant or even white pipe cleaners.

If your cake budget is reasonably high, you can request a flurry of fondant flowers in any style or color you've heard of.

However, the price is directly correlated to the amount of flowers that "bloom" on your dessert, so set a budget before getting your heart set on sweet fondant flowers.

Popular cakes simulate this with fondant cascades, sugar bows, and colorful ribbons.

Consider a dark chocolate fondant icing with red roses and black pearl candies adoring the tiers of your wedding cake.

Additionally, stacked round cakes lend themselves well to detailing and unique designs, and (for decorators) they tend to be easier to cover with fondant than cornered cakes.

Ask a decorator to make a fondant or gum paste angelfish, clownfish, or butterflyfish, and position it along with seahorses, starfish, sand dollars, sea anemones, or shells.

Your favorite sea creatures molded in fondant and arranged in a romantic pose makes a great topper, as do real seashells or pieces of colorful coral.

Some professionals specialize in beach wedding cakes adorned with fondant shells and edible sugar "sand."

Fondant is a great choice for outdoor receptions because it doesn't melt down in the heat or humidity.

If you prefer for your entire wedding cake to be edible, find a decorator who is able to make flowers from fondant or gum paste.

Using edible fondant or gum paste flowers can also be expensive, especially if you request a lot of detail.

If you want to make yours look as close to a standard wedding cake as possible, consider draping it in white fondant and decorating it with pearls, ribbons, lace, or fresh flowers.

Since most traditional wedding cakes feature a pure white buttercream or fondant coating, choosing a bright color makes a statement and draws a lot of attention to your cake.

Decorators can sprinkle turquoise sugar or edible glitter on plain white buttercream, meringue or fondant frosting.

Painting with edible turquoise color on a fondant or ganache coated cake can also look very modern and chic.

Fondant or gum paste flowers or ribbons encircling each layer of the cake also serve to create a few concentrated pops of color.

A traditional, all-white, multi-tier cake is easy to prepare with dowels and thick buttercream frosting or rolled commercial fondant, but there's also something to be said for breaking with tradition.

The typical engaged couple doesn't want a fondant dolphin leaping over the top of their cake or a jagged crab crawling along its edges.

A cake clothed in soft waves of light blue buttercream or tiers of smooth, pastel green fondant highlight their relatively bare-bones, skeletal looks and make for a magnificent presentation.

To give it special attention, ask a decorator to create a cornucopia from fondant or gum paste and fill it with figures of seasonal vegetables and fruits.

If you like the look of flowers on a cake but want something a bit different, try edible flowers or stylized fondant blossoms.

Find a decorator who's skilled with molding fondant, and ask him or her to create small edible figurines to fit a theme on your cake or use as custom toppers.

The most traditional is a three tiered cake frosted with white buttercream or fondant and adorned with minimal decorations.

If just a few big hearts aren't enough for you, choose a model that includes dozens of tinier hearts made from fondant or gum paste and strategically placed throughout the larger cake.

Most are not immediately recognizable to guests, however, so it might help to have a variety of black or brown fondant symbols to represent brands all around the cake.

The fresh berries provide an incredible pop of color on their own, but they can also pair with fresh flowers, fondant decorations, or other finishing touches to create a dessert that's just as beautiful as it is delicious.

Although the most traditional pick is a round 3 tier wedding cake with buttercream frosting or fondant, a large sheet cake can feed the same number of people at just a fraction of the cost.

Pale orange looks best with very refined decorations, like pearl accents or white fondant flowers.

Examples include fresh tiger lilies atop a white cake, garnishes of orange peel on a traditional vanilla cake, or orange fondant flowers on a dessert with any color scheme.

Intricate filigree patterns, royal icing pieces, or stenciled patterns on fondant are all ways to keep the main dessert simple but put in just a little bit of flair.

Keep in mind that some decorators also specialize in making edible flowers from buttercream, fondant, or gum paste, and the flowers can look nearly as realistic as if you had picked them fresh.

Ivory frostings, whether fondant or buttercream, usually have a fairly neutral flavor that can be reminiscent of vanilla and butter, so they'll go well with just about anything.

Pipe chocolate buttercream or chocolate ganache in decorative borders around each tier of your cake, or imprint a stenciled design onto a cake that's covered with chocolate fondant.

Ganache and chocolate fondant are a bit trickier to apply.

If you want to use chocolate fondant and have never made the frosting before, go with a store-bought version; it will have a super-smooth texture and consistency.

Lightly frost the cakes with buttercream before applying the fondant sheets so that the buttercream will act as "glue" for the fondant.

Pat the fondant evenly all around the cake, and cut off any excess at the bottom.

Tart lemons, tempered by sweet raspberries and even sweeter buttercream or fondant frosting, is a dream combination, and your guests will surely appreciate the fresh flavors and elegant presentation of the bright berries and lemon slices.

Extracts can transfer concentrated flavor to fondant or buttercream.

The most popular combination is vanilla white cake with vanilla buttercream or white fondant frosting.

Fondant frosting is a more modern choice than buttercream.

A popular modern cake design is a three-tier square cake covered with white fondant and embossed with a stencil design or an ornate, abstract pattern in black.

A group of cupcakes might be frosted with a bright pastel, such as spring green or dusty purple, topped with cheery fondant flowers, and served on a cupcake stand or cupcake tree with a small cake as the topper.

They normally feature wild colors and fun fondant patterns.

A topsy-turvy cake has uneven, sloped layers and might have colored fondant balls at the bottom of each tier.

For example, if you're getting married on Halloween, you might want a Gothic wedding cake with orange and black frosting, fake spiders, and small fondant witches.

Three main courses focusing on cake decorating with buttercream frosting are offered, along with a fondant and gum paste class and special project classes.

A line of specialty publications focuses on specific areas of cake decorating, like fondant cake decorating.

Find basics on decorating with buttercream, covering cakes in fondant and using Wilton tips and pastry bags to achieve your desired results.

Cover it with buttercream, and then add a layer of fondant to create a smooth, paper-like surface.

Cut out a bow and ribbons from rolled fondant to make the tie around the middle of the diploma.

Ice the cake, and then cover it in fondant.

Use a square cake board of appropriate size for the mortar, and cover it with fondant.

You can create a tassel using thin strips of fondant and secure it from beneath with a little buttercream.

Alternatively, you can carve a graduation cap outline from a large sheet cake and cover it as you choose in either fondant or buttercream stars.

Cut the year numbers out of rolled fondant, and lay them on top of the tassel.

Cover them in buttercream, and then cover each "book" with a different color of fondant.

Add a thin layer of white fondant around three sides of each book and score it to give the illusion of pages.

Add a graduation ornament or small rolled fondant "diploma" to the top and you're finished.

Ice the cake with chocolate buttercream, and then cover it with rolled chocolate fondant.

Smooth the fondant out well, and then add colored buttercream decorations such as eyes, a neck ribbon and a fluffy tail to mimic the look of a traditional chocolate Easter bunny.

Ice the cake with buttercream, and then cover it with rolled fondant in the color of your choice.

Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes from contrasting colors of rolled fondant to layer on your egg as the designs.

Ice it smooth with buttercream or cover the cake with an additional layer of rolled fondant.

Fondant cake decorating is an alternative to the traditional buttercream frosting decorations that adorn most cakes.

Similar in consistency to modeling clay, fondant is a sugar paste made from (in its basic form) confectioners' sugar, glucose (or corn syrup), and water.

Other fondant recipe ingredients may include gelatin, shortening, or vanilla extract.

Fondant can be shaped, rolled, and molded to form intricate decorations and whole coverings for cakes.

Many wedding cakes, theme cakes, and other elaborate cakes are decorated with fondant because of its versatility.

Fondant is easy enough for even beginning cake decorators to use.

It can be time-consuming and difficult to make, but pre-made rolled fondant is available at many large grocery stores, craft stores, and cake-decorating stores.

Sometimes colored fondant is sold as well, but pre-made packages usually come in white.

If you mess up, it's easy to start over and try again until you get it right; fondant is very forgiving in that way.

To cover an entire cake or create a flat sheet from which to cut out shapes, sift a small amount of powdered sugar or cornstarch onto a flat surface and roll out the fondant on top with a rolling pin.

Before you apply a sheet of fondant to a cake, the cake should be covered with a thin layer of buttercream frosting to keep the fondant in place.

Apply decorations on top of the finished fondant with a dab of buttercream or a tiny bit of water.

Add color to fondant with gel coloring rather than traditional drop food coloring, because the gel is easier to work with and less messy.

Use a toothpick to smear small amounts of color throughout a lump of fondant, and then knead the fondant carefully until the color is blended through completely.

To get fondant with a marbled look, stop kneading before the gel blends completely with the fondant.

One of the disadvantages to traditional fondant is that many people dislike the taste or feel it is too sweet.

An alternative type of icing that can still be molded and shaped is marshmallow fondant.

Because marshmallow fondant is made with shortening, it is greasier than traditional fondant and can be slightly harder to handle at first.

Homemade fondant can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Pre-made fondant can be stored in the same way but should not be refrigerated.

To prevent your rolling pin from sticking to the fondant, coat it lightly with cornstarch or confectioners' sugar.

Fondant can stand up to summer heat and a fair amount of humidity, whereas buttercream may melt, so it's a good frosting choice for outdoor parties.

The condensation that will form on the cake can make the fondant sticky and gummy.

Fondant flowers and other decorations can be made several days in advance and used to top a cake right before serving.

Try to work quickly with fondant when rolling it out and shaping it, as it does not take long to dry and harden.

If you'd like, you can decorate the cake with colorful autumn leaves, fondant leaves, or chilled chocolate indented in leaf patterns.

Making a fondant wedding cake requires a solid plan and the ability to apply the icing in a professional manner.

The overall tone or theme of the wedding celebration influences the design when making a fondant wedding cake.

Traditional round or square tiers work well with the fondant format.

Applying fondant to the cake boards extends the style of the cake itself to the base.

Roll out the fondant to create a piece that is slightly larger than the board.

A dense cake recipe provides a solid cake base for the fondant application.

The prepared cake is now ready for the application of the fondant and the finishing touches.

A smooth layer of fondant is essential to executing the design of the wedding cake.

Roll out the fondant in the rough shape of the cake, creating a larger piece than needed.

The finishing touches pull the design together when making a fondant wedding cake.

While the basic process is the same, each fondant wedding cake turns out as a unique piece of edible artwork.

Applying fondant icing to wedding cakes creates a smooth finish that is complimentary to many different styles.

Experiment with the fondant before using it to decorate a wedding cake to discover its properties and limitations.

Round the sharp edges on a cake to prevent the fondant from tearing when it is applied.

A thin, even layer of buttercream icing on the cake provides the glue to hold the fondant in place.

A fondant coverage chart helps determine how much of the icing you'll need.

Whether you make your own or use a premade fondant, the cake covering requires preparation.

Tint your fondant with gel food coloring to nearly any shade, from light pastels to bold primary colors.

What flour is to bread, powdered sugar is to fondant.

Use the pin to spread out the fondant as a smooth layer.

Now that the preparation is complete, it's time to transfer the fondant to the cake.

Drape the rolled fondant around the rolling pin or place a cake board under it.

Cut away the excess fondant along the bottom using a knife or pizza cutter.

Applying fondant icing to wedding cakes provides a blank canvas for the remaining decorations.

This may include additional fondant pieces, buttercream piping, flowers or a cake topper.

With a little practice, applying fondant is a technique that allows you to create many different cake styles.

Most home cooks who have decorated cakes have wondered, "How do you make fondant frosting?" at one point or another.

Most wedding cakes use fondant for their coatings because of its elegant, classy look.

Making fondant can be difficult and time-consuming, but if you're very interested in decorating cakes, it can be worthwhile to put in the effort so you're familiar with the ingredients and method of how fondant is put together.

Since commercial fondant is expensive and generally only comes in a few colors, making your own fondant is also a good way to save money.

Before you begin, you need to choose which type of fondant you'd like to make.

Some people prefer the taste of buttercream or marshmallow fondant over traditional rolled fondant, which can have an overly sweet taste and a flat texture.

Rolled fondant's additional ingredients are gelatin, corn syrup (glucose), and glycerin.

Buttercream fondant contains corn syrup and salt, and marshmallow fondant includes mini marshmallows.

The process of making all three types of fondant is similar.

Remove the fondant dough from the bowl and knead it on the surface in the way you would knead bread dough.

Continue to add powdered sugar and knead until the fondant is soft, smooth, and free of bumps.

Apply gel coloring with a toothpick, and knead the color into the fondant until it's evenly distributed.

Fondant dries out quickly at room temperature and should be chilled after kneading so that the mixture has a chance to settle before being rolled out.

Wrap your fondant tightly in plastic wrap and secure it in an airtight container.

Store the container overnight in the refrigerator, and let your fondant return to room temperature before rolling it out the next day.

Homemade fondant will keep for about a week in the refrigerator and can also be stored in the freezer.

Keep these tips and ideas in mind if you're mixing up a batch of fondant.

Fondant dough is very sticky and difficult to handle at first.

If your fondant is sticking to your hands or the countertop, consider coating your fingers and the work surface in shortening.

Make sure the fondant is at room temperature before you roll it out or begin working with it.

Allow several days for fondant figures and decorations to dry out completely if you don't want them to be moist when you serve your cake.

It's difficult to replicate shades when coloring fondant, so make sure you set aside enough fondant of one color to complete all the decorations you need.

Cookie cutters, stencils, and other tools are useful and can help save time when forming intricate decorations from fondant.

Alternately, you can create a bunny shape with fondant and place it on top of the frosted cake.

Decorate the rabbit with candies, fondant, or alternate colors of buttercream.

If you don't like the look or the taste of fondant, stick with buttercream or use candies and cookies to decorate the cake.

There are no fixed rules for fondant icing directions available, but there are plenty of tips and tricks you can use to create great looking cake decorations and coatings from fondant.

Fondant is a forgiving medium that will allow you to try a technique repeatedly until you get it right.

Making your own fondant is much cheaper than buying store-bought fondant, and it often tastes better.

Decide if you'd like to make traditional fondant, marshmallow fondant, or buttercream fondant.

When you have a rough dough, knead it thoroughly until the fondant is smooth.

Tint your fondant, if desired, by applying gel coloring with a toothpick and kneading the color into the fondant.

Flavor your homemade fondant with extracts by applying them in small amounts in the same way you would apply gel color.

Follow fondant icing directions for covering a cake.

To cover a two-layer 8- or 9-inch round cake, you'll need about one pound of fondant.

If the cake is taller or wider, you'll likely need a bit more unless you're covering it with a very thin layer of fondant.

For a wedding cake, you'll need several pounds of fondant.

Wrap the rolled fondant around the rolling pin, or pick it up gently with your hands and a spatula.

Place the fondant centered on top of the cake.

Spread your hands on the top and sides of the cake to secure the fondant, applying only very gentle pressure.

Part of the reason fondant is such a favorite with decorators is because it lends itself well to creativity and can play a part in so many fun designs.

Fondant can be used on cupcakes and cookies just as easily as it can on cakes.

Bows and ribbons made with fondant are fun, creative ways to top a cake and great opportunities to refine your fondant skills.

Try forming people, animals, and other figures out of fondant and incorporating them into your cake decorating.

Make easy decorations by cutting out fondant flowers with tools or a sharp knife.

Apply fondant decorations with a dab of buttercream frosting or royal icing to make them stay in place.

Fondant icing dries out quickly, so always store it properly and keep it covered when not in use.

Check out galleries and photos of different fondant designs so you can get your own ideas for decoration.

You can use tiny fondant frogs to adorn cupcakes, bake a cake in the shape of a frog, or prepare a sheet cake and decorate it with a frog design.

Tiny frogs for cake decorating can be made from fondant or colored marzipan, then dried and placed on a cake as a finishing touch.

You can also pipe a series of small frogs on top cupcakes that are frosted with buttercream or fondant.

To make a fondant frog, knead green gel coloring into a large piece of white fondant until it is completely incorporated.

Stick the parts together with sugar syrup or tiny dabs of buttercream, and then add finishing touches with other fondant colors and sculpting tools.

It's not a frosting that tastes as good as marshmallow fondant or buttercream, but its decorating potential is significant.

Unlike buttercream or fondant roses, which will stay together without much help, gum paste flower parts need to be "glued" together with edible egg whites or an edible gum paste glue.

Note that you can also mix equal amounts of gum paste and fondant to get a dough that is still stretchy and durable but that tastes a little better than pure gum paste.

As with fondant, you can roll out gum paste into flat sheets with cornstarch and use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes you need for decorating.

If you have fondant tools, you can use them for adding detail to gum paste flowers, too.

Form daisies easily with gum paste by using cookie cutters or fondant cutters.

Roll white and pink fondant out to one-quarter inch thickness.

Place a bunny face or bunny shaped cookie cutter on top of the fondant and press down.

Bonnet season cupcakes from Wilton are cute hats made out of rolled fondant and placed on top of cupcakes.

Top your cupcake with fondant flowers in pretty spring pastel colors.

Many convenient cake decorating supplies are available for consumers these days, but for superior quality and great taste, try a homemade rolled fondant recipe.

Homemade fondant can be made in several delicious flavors to suit any type of event or cake design and this icing is quite easy to make when you master the simple techniques.

However, it is always important to start with a great recipe to ensure beautiful results for your fondant covered masterpiece.

Fondant is definitely not difficult to make, just a little messy.

This rolled fondant recipe can cover two triple layer nine inch cakes.

Turn out onto clean surface and knead fondant until it becomes stiff.

Use a little more icing sugar if the fondant becomes too sticky to work.

Try coating hands and work surface lightly with shortening when kneading to stop fondant from sticking.

Add icing sugar by cups until all of it is incorporated and the fondant is no longer sticky.

Buttercream fondant is shinier than the other types but a light dusting of icing sugar can create a more matte surface.

If you wish to make chocolate rolled buttercream fondant add one cup of good quality cocoa to icing sugar and blend before adding sugar to wet ingredients.

This fondant is not a deep rich brown but has a nice chocolate taste and smooth texture that rolls well with a dusting of icing sugar.

Fondant is known for its smooth appearance.

Fondant covered cupcakes allow you to place other fondant or gum paste decorations on the top.

Character cupcakes require a lot of detail work and aren't quick to make, but they're a good exercise for artists or sculptors who would like to try making details from fondant or gum paste.

If you're good with fondant, you can probably craft almost any piece of food from a cupcake, and even if you're only a beginning decorator, you can follow a simple design or recipe to create a fun look.

You can make tiny fondant rabbits for Easter, spindly spider cupcakes for Halloween, cornucopia pumpkin cupcakes for Thanksgiving, or holly cupcakes for the December holiday season.

It's possible to cover and decorate 3D cakes and character cakes with fondant, whipped cream, royal icing, and many other types of frosting, but it's easiest to decorate the cakes with simple homemade or store-bought buttercream frosting.

Alternatively, use rolled fondant in a chocolate flavor or brown color to cover the cake.

Cut strips of white fondant to make the laces, securing with a little buttercream or royal icing.

Finally, apply a thicker coat of buttercream or fondant frosting.

By tinting buttercream or fondant frosting with gel food coloring, you can make eye-catching cakes that are dramatic and fun.

One of the most popular toppers for wedding cakes is flowers, especially fondant flowers.

Pour garnishes, including ganache, whipped cream, and melted fondant, by draping them over the cake evenly.

Make fondant frosting and cover a two- or three-tiered cake.

Cut palm trees out of green and brown rolled fondant and place around the cake.

Shape a monkey arm with hand out of sculpting fondant, and place at the top of the dome.

A modern twist for a monkey cake would be to use a monkey-shaped cookie cutter to cut pieces from bright yellow fondant.

Fondant cake decorating looks professional and tastes great when you use homemade fondant.

While fondant does not have a reputation for being the best tasting frosting, homemade always tastes better than pre-packaged.

Cake decorators use fondant in a number of ways.

One of the most common ways is to apply fondant to a wedding cake or tiered special occasion cake for a smooth base, ready for further decorating.

Making decorations like the ones listed above is possible with both premade and homemade fondant.

However, many decorators prefer to make fondant themselves rather than rely on purchasing it themselves.

Both have advantages and disadvantages, and depending on the situation, decorators often utilize both premade and homemade fondant in their decorating.

Homemade fondant gives decorators the option to create their own designs without having to visit a store to pick up the premade version.

Fresh fondant is often easier to handle than versions that have been sitting on store shelves.

The cost of homemade fondant is often less than purchasing ready-to-use fondant.

Making fondant is sometimes difficult, especially for new decorators.

Using packaged fondant eliminates this issue.

Packaged fondant offers decorators the ability to create cakes quickly, especially when there isn't much time for decorating.

Novice decorators might find it easier to work with premade fondant before attempting to make their own.

This allows them more time to work on techniques, rather than spending their time making the fondant itself.

Once you decide to make fondant yourself, check the recipe carefully.

Different types of fondant have different recipes, and it is important to make sure you have the right recipe for the decorating technique you want to use.

The fondant icing recipe you use depends on what you want to do with your cake.

Rolled fondant recipes are generally used for rolled and sculpting fondants, while a pour recipe is often used to quickly cover cakes and petit fours with a shiny icing.

Try several recipes, from marshmallow fondant to a rolled buttercream fondant, and tweak the recipes until you have found one that works well for you.

Consider using items like fondant hydrangea cutters to make perfect flowers or using a fondant rolling machine for even thickness.

Keep in a dry place, in an airtight container to keep the fondant from hardening.

Fondant cake designs are popular for their versatility and professional design.

Learning to make homemade fondant and incorporate it into cakes is a delicious way to personalize the decorations and create a tasty icing.

When a recipe on fondant isn't clear, or you'd like to try slightly varying the decorations on a cake, there are countless avenues of help online.

Whether you're looking for readymade, tinted fondant, or candy melts to complete a cake, you may find the perfect source through the same site that inspired you.

Amongst the offerings at Wilton, you can find perfectly sized cake pans, pre-tinted fondant, cake toppers and pastry bags of every size.

Whether you need enough fondant to cover 50 cakes, or cake toppers for 500 cupcakes, purchasing wholesale can get you the quantity you need.

A good basic fondant recipe is an important part of any cake decorator's arsenal.

While buttercream remains the most popular frosting for its good taste and ease of use, fondant is increasingly becoming the frosting of choice among professional cake decorators.

Fondant isn't just for cakes, either--you can also use it to decorate cookies, cupcakes, and a number of other desserts.

Commercially sold fondant can be expensive and doesn't always taste very good, so if you'd like to improve your fondant decorating skills, make your own frosting!

Follow this basic fondant recipe for an all-purpose batch of frosting that can be tinted or flavored as desired.

The recipe makes enough fondant to cover a tri-layer stacked cake or three to four separate cakes.

If you would like the fondant to be colored, tint it with gel food coloring prior to rolling.

Use the rolling pin to roll out the fondant to about 1/4-inch thickness, and cut away the shapes that you need.

If the fondant appears to be too greasy, knead it gently with confectioners' sugar until it reaches your desired texture.

Once you have the basic fondant recipe down, you can master the frosting by customizing each batch.

Use cookie cutters or fondant cutters to get perfect-looking shapes that you wouldn't be able to cut out with your knife.

Fondant tools can also help you shape, sculpt, and add texture to each piece of frosting that you use.

Leftover fondant frosting can be stored and used for up to a week or two after you make it.

Tint the fondant with gel food coloring rather than with liquid food color.

Wear plastic gloves when you color the fondant, and knead it gradually into the frosting until the striations disappear and the color is consistent throughout.

Keep any stray fondant on your decorating counter covered with plastic wrap so that it doesn't dry out while you're working.

When covering a cake or cupcake with fondant, coat the cake with a thin layer of buttercream first.

The sticky buttercream will help the fondant stay on the cake and add another dimension of taste and texture.

If you don't like the taste of the basic fondant recipe, try marshmallow fondant.

Another alternative is making fondant using a traditional recipe with glucose and glycerin.

Add flavor to a batch of fondant by mixing in one to two teaspoons of a flavor extract, such as almond or chocolate, when you are mixing the liquid ingredients together.

You can save time by buying prepared fondant in blue, white, and red and building your figure before you place it on the cake.

If you prefer, you can use marzipan or gum paste instead of fondant to make the figure.

Form a body, two legs, two arms, and a hat for the figure with white logs of fondant.

Make the head for the figure with a small ball of fondant colored to resemble any skin tone.

Then, hollow out small cavities for the eyes, and add small balls of fondant for a nose and ears.

Use two balls of fondant, tinted the same skin tone color, and shape them into hands.

Roll out a thin layer of blue fondant, and cut out rectangles to roll around the figure's body and arms to form a blue coat.

Paint in any finishing details, and finally secure the figure to a layer of fondant on top of the cake.

If you're an advanced decorator, you might enjoy the challenge of making a more detailed ladybug cake with a fondant coating.

Using fondant means you can add more texture, color variation, and specific embellishments to the cake, and you'll be able to create and execute your own design easily.

Add a yellow fondant ribbon around the outside of the cake.

Top a birthday cake with shaped fondant figures that represent stereotypical things older people use, need or do.

Cover the cake in fondant and sketch out the separation lines for each day of the week.

Add large over the hill lettering and car, downhill skier or fondant figure rolling down the hill.

Use beige fondant with a sand impression rather than brown sugar, because the sugar may fall off an upright cake.

Top the cake with fondant figures or a homemade, customized 40th birthday topper.

Cover the cake with green frosting, and create tiny fondant figures or gravestones to place at the top of the hill.

Make a multi-layer cake that's adorned with a fondant movie reel, a realistic horse figure, or gum paste flowers that wind all around the cake.

If you don't feel comfortable enough with fondant to make detailed figures with it, consider creating inedible toppers for decorative purposes.

Crackle the corners and sides by wrinkling the frosting with a fondant tool or a knife.

A vacation-themed cake can also be decorated with a tropical motif, featuring fresh or fondant flowers, wavy blue frosting, and graham-cracker crumbs as "sand" at the base of the cake.

Use fondant to show a bridge play on the cake.

Roll out enough fondant to completely cover your cake.

Cover the cake with the fondant, allowing for a slight amount of waves so that the red represents a theater curtain.

If you'd like, you can add extra fondant on top to enhance the effect.

Use large alphabet cutters in capital letters to cut out the words "High School Musical" in yellow fondant.

Further decorate with gold or yellow fondant stars to complete the look.

Toppers can be edible if they're made with fondant or gum paste, but inedible toppers are fine, too.

Try cutting out bits from magazines and pasting them together collage-style at the top of a toothpick or skewer or making a big number 40 with clay or fondant.

If you feel jittery about making your own fondant, considering purchasing it in pre-mixed tubs instead, available at most cake decorating and pastry supply stores.

Keep the fondant from sticking to the work surface and your fingers by using shortening or a cornstarch/powdered-sugar mixture when you work with it.

Roll out the fondant in a large sheet with a rolling pin and drape it over your whole cake, securing with a thin layer of buttercream underneath, or use fondant to make toppers.

Intricately designed cakes are most often covered with fondant, since it provides the smoothest and most stable decorating surface while preserving the moist texture of the cake inside.

Try tinting your own fondant and molding it around a cake that you cut into the shape of a figure, building, object, or other design.