Keeping fondant and cake fresh????

Question

I'm making this 3 tier cake with fondant frosting and I'm also making a fondant palm tree on top. When I'm serving it, it'll be at a party outside and I wanted to know if there are any tricks to keeping the fondant from getting moist and sagging. Also, the actual cake, not frosting, will be made 2-3 days in advance, so how should I keep that fresh?

Answer 1

in a well sealed air tight container in a cool dark place. will keep the cake fresh

Answer 2

After you bake the cake and let it cool, wrap it well in plastic wrap until you're ready to frost it.  Keep the frosting under the fondant to a minimum...really, just a good crumb coat, and if it's going to be hot outside, don't use a buttercream with butter or margarine in it.  Instead use all shortening and then add some butter flavoring if you want.

Fondant stands up better to heat than regular frosting, especially marshmallow fondant.  I've had problems before with a traditional fondant absorbing grease from the cake and wilting, but I've never had that problem with marshmallow fondant.

Probably the most important thing you can do for a nice, smooth cake without sagging or bulges is to fill the cake and crumb coat it the day before you put the fondant on it.  That will give it time to settle and make it less likely to bulge or to get bubbles under the fondant.

The outside of the fondant will dry a little bit after you put it on the cake.  That's actually helpful for resisting the heat, and it might be good to put the fondant on the cake the day before the event.  Don't put the cake in the fridge once the fondant is on, and don't put fondant on a cold cake, because it will make the fondant sweat.

Keep in mind that a 3 tier cake with fondant will be pretty heavy and you may want to assemble it at the party rather than trying to carry it around already stacked (I know, they do that all the time on TV, but it's not as easy as it looks).  Usually what I will do is cut the dowels (I use plastic) and put them into the cake, leaving them sticking halfway out.  That will hold the plastic wrap away from the cake, if you're using plastic wrap rather than a box.  Also, once you put the next tier on top, the dowels will slowly sink into the cake, giving you time to get your hands out from underneath the tier.