Cake decorations with fondant

What beauty can confectioners come up with to decorate a cake! Fantasy can be limitless. And sometimes you really want to repeat this at home, but you don’t know how? We will give the answer in the article and tell you what items you need to use to work with mastic, the best recipes and modeling technology.

Tools for working with mastic

Mastic requires careful handling and does not forgive mistakes. Beginners rarely get everything right the first time. This requires practice and a lot of patience. Those who know how to sculpt well and imagine the step-by-step assembly of the composition in advance will have more luck.

Feedback from masters suggests that it is easier for beginners to learn how to sculpt from mastic made from marshmallow candies, and then start preparing from gelatin or condensed milk. But if you don’t like the taste of these candies, then immediately try other recipes.

To work with mastic you need many different tools, but only if you are going to do private baking. For hobbyists, it is not necessary to buy a huge set, since many can be found in your kitchen or borrowed from your child from a set of children's dishes.

And so, we list the necessary tools in descending order of need:

• Rolling pin. It should be made of plastic and smooth. There are shaped rolling pins, but these are for professionals and for creating masterpieces.
• Silicone mats. One large and one small. On the large one, layers are rolled out to cover the cake, on the second one the figures are molded. But if you wish, you can get by with just one. The main thing is no seams.
• Knife on a wheel. If you have a pizza cutter at home, that will work too.
• Stacks or a set of tools for creating flowers, figures with grooves - a ball, a bone, a Dresden stick, a cone, a star, a groove, a shell, a needle.
• Cuttings, i.e. something like a three-dimensional stencil. Useful for creating complex colors and compositions.
• Silicone molds. Basically these are ready-made molds of complex shapes, for example, a guitar, a crown.

When you go to a website selling tools for working with mastic, your eyes widen! But don’t rush into colorful forms, think about whether you really need all this? After all, everything is not so cheap and it’s better not to waste your money.

How to sculpt from mastic

After you have mixed the mastic, start sculpting. If the mixture sits, it will be very difficult to mold from it, as it will harden.

Beginners should start with simple shapes, such as balls or gift cubes. As you master the technique each time, you can move on to more complex objects. Stencils or stamps will come to the rescue. They simplify the task of creating the necessary composition and look perfect.

For example, you can make a bouquet of flowers:

• Choose the shape you like.
• Roll out the layer to a thickness of 2-3 mm.
• Place the mold on the mastic and press it down.
• Carefully remove the remaining mixture and transfer to the cake.
• If you need to combine flowers into a bouquet, moisten the edges of the mastic with water using a brush.

If the composition involves a large figure in height, then a toothpick will be needed to secure it. For example, connect the torso and head.

How to decorate a cake with fondant

Decorating the cake without spoiling the appearance is the main task of the hostess.

First, bake the cake that you will decorate. Once it has cooled, place the press on top and leave it in the refrigerator for an hour. This is necessary so that the mastic lies evenly and the cake is completely saturated with cream.

For the top layer, prepare cream made from condensed milk and butter. Remember the oil must be natural. Do not buy spread, otherwise the mastic may melt.

Make the cream according to the following recipe:

1. Place the butter in a plate and leave for an hour.
2. Beat with a mixer until white.
3. Add half a can of condensed milk and beat until smooth.

The cream is ready. Now you can begin the first stage of decorating the cake:

1. Apply the cream to the top layer of the culinary masterpiece and smooth it with a spatula so that there are no lumps or uneven spots. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes. Then remove and smooth the surface again with a hot knife. After obtaining a 100% flat surface, begin rolling out the base. The circle or square (depending on the shape of the cake) should be 1.5-2 times larger. Place the cake on the top layer of the cake and smooth the surface, but do not press it down, otherwise pits may appear.
2. Trim off excess mass. Remember, the edges should be smooth and without any streaks of dough.
3. Form the decorations you came up with in advance. By the way, it will be useful to watch master classes on making figures from mastic. This way you will evaluate your ability to make complex shapes. And perhaps you will find life hacks that will make cooking easier.

Remember, it is better to place the finished product on the top shelf of the refrigerator or in a cool place. Because with a sudden change in temperature, condensation may appear. It can, of course, be removed with a dry brush, but fragile figures may be damaged.