Rolled Fondant Icing

2 lb. powdered sugar, sifted

1 rounded T. Greyslake® gelatin

1/4 C. water

approx. 1/2 C. glucose

1 T. solid vegetable shortening

1 T. glycerine

2 T. flavoring (vanilla, almond, butter, etc..) if desired

paste food colors, if desired

Lightly grease round-bottomed bowl. Sift powdered sugar into bowl. Make a well in the center of sugar. Combine gelatin & water in a glass measuring cup. Let soak. Put cup with gelatin and water in a pan with about 1" of water. Heat water in pan so gelatin softens & dissolves. Pour glucose into cup with gelatin until liquid measurment is at 3/4 C. line. Add shortening & glycerine to cup. Stir and heat until well blended & shortening has melted. Do not overheat. Add flavoring (if desired-improves taste) to liquid cup.

Pour liquid ingredients into well in the powdered sugar in bowl. Stir with wooden spoon as long as you can, then mix with your hands.  Knead until very smooth & pliable. To test: Pinch between fingers; if sticky, add more powdered sugar (you may not use all the sugar) . Wrap well in plastic wrap; then place in plastic zipper top bag. Store at room temperature. Reknead before rolling. If very stiff when starting to work with, put a small amount of shortening on your hands.

Prepare cake or dummy form by rounding edges. For a real cake, crumb coat to seal crumbs & make a smooth surface. Spread dummy form with piping gel. If using a cake, spread with piping gel or strained apricot preserves. This coating allows the fondant to adhere to the cake. Spray table or counter & rolling pin with nonstick cooking spray; wipe off with paper towel. Dust counter & pin lightly with a 1/2 cornstarch, 1/2 powdered sugar mixture. (Make a 'puff' out of a disposable diaper liner or handi-wipe, tied with a twist-tie) Roll fondant to 1/4" or less thickness- thicker is easier to handle for beginners- drape over rolling pin & lay on coated cake. Smooth top first, using palms or a smoothing tool, then smooth sides. Trim around bottom of cake. Tightly cover cuttings & leftover fondant. You may make a bottom border or decorations out of fondant, also.

Submitted by Elaine Cook- WI, Dairyland Decorators Newsletter

To determine how big a circle to roll out to cover your cake:

1) Measure the height of one side; multiply by 2.

2) Add the diameter of cake

For example, an 8" round 2-layer cake would be approximately 4 inches in height. So, 4" x 2 = 8", plus 8" diameter = 16". You would need to roll out a circle of icing at least 16" across to cover the cake completely. 

And finally, here's a chart from Wilton to determine the approximate # of packages of their prepared rolled fondant needed to cover different sized round cakes. The ounce amount should be pretty much the same for homemade rolled icings:

Cake size                                     Amount of fondant

6"x 4" round..............................3/4 package = 18 oz.
8"x 4"........................................1 package    =   24 oz.
10"x 4"......................................1-1/4 pkg.    =   30 oz.
12"x 4"......................................1-1/2 pkg.    =   46 oz.
14"x 4"......................................2 pkgs.         =  48 oz.
16"x 4"......................................3 pkgs.         =  72 oz.

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