I love the look of smooth fondant but I don’t love the taste, and people usually just peel it off to get to the good stuff! When they find out smooth frosting is a beautiful option my clients go for it. The first tool I have to have is my cake turner, it makes is SO much easier. Expensive or cheap doesn’t matter as long as it turns!
To get smooth and even frosting, I give my cake a crumb coat then put it in the refrigerator to chill.
Once it is chilled I fill a large zip lock bag (or a frosting bag ) and cut a 1/2 inch corner off one side. I then pipe stripes top to bottom all around the cake, right next to each other no space between! Let it sit for 5 minutes, the coolness of the cake helps the frosting to firm just a little. Then I use a dough cutter holding it sideways, and go around to smooth the stripes, wiping the excess frosting off as I go. It is amazing how well it works! Of course it takes a bit of practice and I go back over little spots with my angled spatula to fill in any little holes. IMPORTANT, when smoothing always make sure you start each stroke with a CLEAN tool, frosting tends to harden and will scratch your smooth cake. To smooth the top, pipe lines across and them smooth them in one circular direction. Use the small spatula to round up the sides and over the top to finish it off.
When applying Fondant details it helps if your cake is cold, that way it is easy to adjust your decorations. Room temp frosting will adhere like glue! (See “Tricks of the Trade” for Making Fondant)
a little faith and a lot of frosting