How to Make Marbled Fondant Icing for Cakes

Sometimes a plain cake covering just won't create the effect that you need. For my latest cake project, a Christening cake with a froggy theme, I needed to make the cake look like a pond for the frog. The frog also needed lily pads to sit on.

I decided to try out a marbling technique that I'd read about many times before, and the results were very pleasing, to say the least!

Although it was my first attempt and experimental, I decided to take pictures of the process and share them with you here in this step-by-step guide to marbling fondant icing.

• Equal amounts of ready-to-roll coloured fondant
• Icing sugar
• Rolling pin
• Sharp knife
• Cake, ready to ice!

• Take a quantity of fondant icing that's already coloured to your required shade.

• Make sure you have equal quantities of coloured and white icing. You can use two different colours instead of white if you prefer
• Knead both colours into pliable balls so that they are ready to work with.

Tip: If you require a large quantity of icing it may be easier to buy some already-coloured fondant. You can also colour it yourself. I use paste food colours and knead them into the white fondant icing, adding more until I reach my desired shade.

• Take each chunk of fondant and use your hands to roll it into sausage-like strips.
• Lay the sausage strips alongside each other, ready for the next step.

Tip: You can vary the thickness of the strips to make the marbling effect more or less

• Take hold of the strips on one edge and gently roll them together as shown in the picture.
• This will twist the colours together, creating an alternating colour pattern.

• Gently roll the strips together, kneading it slightly to encourage the strips to bond together.

Tip: Take care not to press too hard or you will lose the marbling effect

• Slightly flatten the combined sausage strip and fold over one more time, preparing to start to form the fondant into its shape for rolling out.

• Prepare to roll out the fondant by shaping it into a round, as you would do with pastry.

Tip: It doesn't need to be perfectly round here—you will achieve a better shape once you start to roll it out.

• Roll out the mixed, coloured fondant in the usual way to finalise the marbling effect.

Tip: Turn the fondant over to place it on the cake, the marbling will be more defined than the side you have just rolled out

Cover the cake in the usual way:

• Lift carefully, using a rolling pin if necessary, and gently lower over the cake.
• Smooth the fondant using an icing smoother.
• Trim away any excess fondant and re-smooth.