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Designs for Rolled Fondant Cakes
by Diane Shavkin NY

Note: This is definately an advanced technique that requires a challenge.
Have fun and innovative as you learn the techniques and designs.
I suggest that you read through all the information before attempting these designs on your cake.

Basic Instructions - I 1. Take a piece of adding machine tape the circumference of the out side of your cake or dummy AFTER it has been covered with rolled fondant, and fold it lengthwise so that you have the width of the tape the size that you want the width of the design on the side of your cake to be.
2. Carefully cut out this strip which will be a band the size of the width that you want the design on the side of your cake to be.
3. Fold this band 3 times so that you have 8 sections.
4. Place this band in the exact place on your rolled fondant cake and attach it to the cake using pins to keep it in place by placing a pin at each of the folds and one pin where the ends meet. Be sure the pins are placed in areas where you will be piping such as where the dot of a design will be piped. (See instructions for each of the designs, below, before placing the pins because you will be guided in each set of instructions for each design, so that you will know where to exactly place the pins.
5. Remove the pins and the band.
You are now ready to pipe your designs on the band and/or above the band or below the band.

Basic Instructions - II 1. Take a piece of adding machine tape the circumference of the outside of your cake or dummy AFTER it has been covered with rolled fondant, and cut it so that the ends meet.
2. Fold the tape in half lengthwise. Cut out a design such as a scallop at the section where the open end meet (not the fold).
3. Place this band in the exact place on your rolled fondant cake and attach it to the cake using pins to keep it in place by placing a pin at each of the folds and one pin where the ends meet. Be sure the pins are placed in areas where you will be piping such as where the dot of a design will be piped.
4. Use a sharp, fine-lined, non-toxic pen and draw a line where the cutout design at the top and bottom of the bands are. (This will be your guide for piping tiny beads, shells, reverse shells, etc.)
5. Remove the pins and the band.
You are now ready to pipe your on the top outline, first. Do NOT do the bottom border until after the designs between the borders are piped and dried.

Basic Instructions - III 1. Take a piece of adding machine tape the circumference of the outside of your cake or dummy AFTER it has been covered with rolled fondant, and cut it so that the ends meet.
2. Fold the tape in half lengthwise. And, in half, again.
3. Open the tape and fold it in half as many times as you wish to have the repeated-numbers of designs that you want. For example, if you are going to have a five-petal, dotted flower on your cake, you would know the size of the flower and how many you wish to have on a particular "line" (the line will be invisible when done because you will be using the width folds as the spacing guides); and, therefore would know how many times to evenly fold the tape.
4. Now, open up the tape and secure it with tape on your work surface such as a table top. Use a sharp fine-line pencil to draw your design using the middle (lengthwise) fold as your guide. For example, draw a circle on each of the folds for the yellow-dot stamen. Now, draw circles for each of the five dots that will be the flower petals.
5. Finish your designs for each of the rows.
6. Place the tape (drawing side facing you; plain side of tape touching the fondant) on the cake in the area you desire and put a pin in each of "yellow dots".
7. Mark each of the other areas of your design by placing a pin on the lenthwise line of fold right where the widthwise fold is. (This will give you the "invisible line" to work with when it is time to pipe as well as the evenly spaced sections between the designs.)
8. Remove all the pins and the tape from the fondant and set it aside. (Since you have the design drawn completely on the tape, you now have a guide to use to look at when you are working on the piping on the fondant.
9. You are now ready to pipe your designs.

Blue Band Design

1. Refer to "Basic Instructions I".
2. Make two lengthwise folds in the band - one for the width of the blue in the band and one for the separation between the pink retangles and the dotted flowers.
3. Place the band template on the side of the rolled fondant covered cake and secure in place with pins. Mark the areas of the band at the top and bottom so you know where to place your fondant or gumpaste band.
4. Place the band template on a piece of rolled out fondant or gumpaste. Cut out the fondant band with a sharp knife. (An exacto knife is great!)
5. Turn the band over and apply water or gum arabic glue (do not soak; use lightly). And, tap the glue with your fingers or a sponge to make it "tacky" before applying the band to the cake. Suggestion: If this is your first try, I would suggest that you put the band at the bottom of the cake.
6. Follow "Basic Instructions III" using the "blue band design" as your guide.
Note: The area where the rectangles are is where pieces of ribbon would be placed in order to give a "threaded ribbon effect". To do this: Cut even pieces of ribbon. Using your template as a guide right on the cake, make cuts into the areas where the ribbon will be placed which is at both lengthwise sides of the ribbon. Remove the template and make the cuts to the appropriate vertical cut sizes. Immediately, place the pieces of ribbon in each section.
Work from the top down, so that the ribbon is placed before the other lines of piping.
When all are dry, carefully, make the top and bottom trims and borders of the top and bottom of the band.

Green Band Design

This design might be nice to use just below the beveled section where the top border would be if on an iced cake and no bevel. Then, turn the design "up-side-down" and use it just above the bottom of the cake. Then, in the section between the two bands of designs, you might want to make some popup flowers or some other floral design.

1. Refer to "Basic Instructions I".
2. Refer to "Basic Instructions II".
3. Refer to "Blue Band Instructions", above, but only fold the template one time for the "green band area" in the design.
4. Refer to "Basic Instructions III" if you want to use a design cut from the template such as a scallop. Instead of the green area which can be painted with petal dust or a mixture of alcohol (gin or vokka) and food coloring, you might want to pipe over the "marked guideline" for the scallop with tiny beading-type shells or a reverse shell, etc.
5. Pipe the trim at the bottom of the band (with or without the scalloped cutout effect) with piping by using green royal icing and a #00 or #000 fine-opening decorating tip. Pipe these by covering the design on your template with waxed paper and piping over the design with the green royal icing. When these are thoroughly dry, pip a tiny beaded border at the base of the fondant band and put these piped pieces in place using a dab of royal icing. Make dots of green royal icing inbetween each "leaf-shaped piece".
Note: The middle design is made by using the instructions in "Basic Instructions II".

Pink Band Instructions

1. Refer to "Basic Instructions III".
2. After you have made the initial template with the design cut such as a scallop, place this in the middle of the cake.
3. Make the scalloped design right on your fondant at the top and bottom of the template.
4. Remove the pins and the template.
5. Refer to "Basic Instructions I" and make a rolled fondant band. Glue this in place.
6. Refer to "Basic Instructions II" to create your designs.

Note: You may color your fondant with alcohol and food coloring,r petal dust or pearl dust. To get the color pearl dust of your choice, just mix white pearl dust with the color desired. You can mix petal dusts together to get your desired shade before mixing with pearl dust. Be sure to make enough powder. You can always store the left-over mixture in a small tube or jar.

White Band Instructions

Now that you have learned quite a bit from my previous instructions on this subject. Incorporate your own technique and pipe the designs.
You might want to try the following:
1. Make a band of fondant. Place the band on the area that is already dried. I suggest that the band is white and is placed on fondant that has been tinted a light color such as pink or mauve.
2. Take a foot tool and use my puffed embroidery technique by pressing downward at the bottom section of the white band which is located at the top of the band.
3. Pipe the "dot/circle" design in this white area with a #000 tip and white royal icing.
4. Use a tiny round cutter and cut out all the holes for the eyelets which are the pink circle in the bottom section of the band.
5. With a blunt, needle-like tool, press in where each hole (blue dots and yellow dots) are shown near the pink circle and make a circle movement to create the hole. Make the pink holes larger than the blue holes.
6. Use a fine-lined brush and gently touch each of the "blue holes" with blue petal dust and each of the "yellow holes" with yellow petal dust. Be very careful not to get a lot of petal dust on your brush. If you get the petal dust in areas that you don't want it to be, use a clean fine-lined brush dipped in alcohol to gently remove the color from the fondant.
7. Pipe a bow above each of the pink dots using white royal icing or a color of your choice. Pipe the little "curves" between each piped
8. Make bows and attach to the band's bottom edge by using the method #5 as described in "Green Band Instructions".
Note: The thin pink band inbetween the bows and eyelets and be piped with royal icing. Use an artist's brush dipped in water to smoth the "breaks" together to form a nice straight edged band of tiny pink. A tiny pink beaded border could be piped instead.

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