Whether purchased from the grocery store or made to your own recipe, fondant icing is an excellent icing choice for wedding cakes and for other "special occasion" cakes. Drying to a smooth alabaster finish, it can be applied to cakes of all shapes and makes the perfect base for the most inticate or simplest of decoration.

Fondant icing is a soft sugar-based icing that is generally rolled out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch, layed over the cake and smoothed and pressed into place before being trimmed for a perfect fit.

Despite the fact that fondant cake decorations are ideal for wedding cakes, fondant icing is not always easy to work with so here are a few tips to help you get that perfect result.

Tip 1. A thin layer of icing, referred to as a "crumb coat" should be applied to the cake before the fondant icing is added. This produces a sticky surface for the fondant to stick to.

Tip 2. To prevent it from drying out, fondant icing should be put in a plastic bag (or covered with a non-permeable plastic wrap such as Sara wrap) and then placed in a tightly sealed container. The container should be kept at cool room temperature and should never be refrigerated. If the icing dries out and harden it can usually be revived by putting it into the microwave for a few seconds and then kneading the life back into it.

Tip 3. Do not refrigerate fondant icing but store it, and use it, at room temperature.

Tip 4. For that truly professional looking finish, and to obscure any rough edges, make a decorative border to go around the cake and, particularly, to cover the join between individual tiers.

Tip 5. If the cake has a number of tiers, each tier should be iced individually before the cake is assembled. It is also advisable, when the final design permits, to store the tiers separately and then to assemble them only when the cake is necessary.

Tip 6. To ensure a smooth, flawless finish, make sure that your working surface, rolling pin and hands are clean and lint-free. fluffy clothing, jewelry on your fingers or wrists, long fingernails and long hair may all cause problems.

Tip 7. Fondant icing dries out very fast and needs to be applied to the cake quickly (within as little as 5 minutes) after it has been rolled out. Once applied, the cake can be stored without problem for several days at room temperature.

When it comes to considering the quantity of fondant icing required try to have too much icing rather than too little, as leftover icing can always be stored for use at a later date.

As a guide, for 3 1/2 inch high cake layers a 6 inch diameter round cake will need about 1 1/2 pounds of icing, while a 10 inch diameter square cake will need about 3 pounds of icing.

For some people fondant cake decorations, despite their tremendous appearance, are somewhat flavorless and this can be remedied by adding flavoring, often accompanied with coloring. There are a large number of flavorings available and typically to flavor one pound of icing you can add 1/3 cup of hazelnut or peanut butter, 1/2 cup of dried, shredded and sweetened coconut or 1 or 2 teaspoons of vanilla, almond extract or orange flower water.