Our low down on all the indispensable equipment you need to get started in working with fondant. This list will help make a great starter kit for the budding fondant decorator in your life!
Fondant is also known as ready to roll icing, and to do that you need a rolling pin or two ;-)
Get a big 50cm long one for making light work of rolling out large amounts to cover cakes.
Get a small one to roll out little bits of fondant to make decorations with.
Once on the cakes, fondant needs to be smoothed so it sticks to the icing underneath it and creates a lovely smooth surface.
To get nice sharp edges, grab two of these Loyal smoothers.
These flexi smoothers help get an even sharper edge. They are also really useful if you are smoothing curved surfaces as you can bend them to suit.
Fondant can get quite sticky to work with. To stop it from sticking to the bench as you are rolling it out, you'll need to dust the work surface with cornflour. Use a cornflour pouch to make an even dusting.
This Custom Cookie Cutter Magic Duster comes with its own storage pot. This Cornflour Dusting Pouch is like a little bag that you loosen the tie around the top to add the cornflour in. Keep it in a little ramekin dish or on a small plate to keep the excess cornflour from going everywhere!
Protect your work surfaces when cutting out fondant by working on a cutting mat. They are food safe and self healing, so the cut marks don't show when you roll fondant out onto it.
This pink mat is A3 size. The blue Loyal ones come in an A3 size and an A4 size.
You'll need all kinds of cutting implements: round cutters, wheel cutters, strip cutters and knives to name a few. Here are the ones you'll reach for the most:
Craft knife: sometimes called a scalpel, it has a very sharp edge and will cut intricate shapes out really well.
Round cutters: a set of circle or round cutters will be one of the most used things in your decorating tool kit. Invest in this stainless steel set with 14 cutters in, and you'll only have to buy once.
Assorted Cutters: you'll be surprised how handy this set of 24 cutters will become!
Alphabet and Number Cutters: there are so many to choose from, but this is a great beginner's set.
Straight edge cutters: with 11 straight cutters in this set, you can cut pretty much any length of fondant neatly and precisely, in one fell swoop.
Pizza cutter: invaluable when you need to cut a long strip of fondant. A knife will drag the fondant, but the moving blade of the pizza cutter will give a smooth, clean cut.
Acupuncture needles: to pop bubbles in fondant. As the needle is so fine, it doesn't leave a large, unsightly mark in the finished fondant.
Baker's Bag: These nifty bags from Savvy Cakes will keep the air from getting to your fondant whilst you go for a cup of tea! Cut out a bunch of decorations at once, and pop them in this bag to keep them from drying out whilst you work on other bits.
Modelling tools: you'll soon start to want to make figurines and models, so grab this great set of tools to get started. It's a high quality set, with no seams in the tools, so they won't leave unsightly marks and dents on your work.
