How to Cover A Cake With Fondant

By Elizabeth LaBau, About.com Guide

Dust your work station lightly with corn starch, and begin by kneading the fondant like bread dough until it is smooth and pliable. Fondant, especially if it has been sitting unused for a while, has a tendency to get stiff and crumbly, so you must knead it until it is soft and supple. In the picture above, the fondant is still somewhat stiff, which is obvious from the cracks along the edge of the ball. If, after a lot of kneading, it still feels very dry, you can knead in a small spoonful of vegetable shortening to soften it up. By the end of your kneading, you shouldn’t have any cracks along the edges of the fondant ball.