Using the Sweet Wise Quik Cover Mat System

Sweet Wise Quik-Cover Fondant Mat

Before we get into the detailed instructions on the use of our mat system (Patent Pending), let me bullet point its advantages:

• Dust Free Method: STOP drying out your fondant, STOP changing the recipe of your fondant, STOP making a mess, STOP causing fermentation from Corn Starch!!!
• It's Sanitary: Minimizes or eliminates contact with bacteria laden countertops and skin
• HUGE Cost Savings: With our mat, you can roll thinner, using less fondant.
• Saves time: Mat system allows you to roll out fondant and get it on the cake more quickly, PLUS you don't have cleanup!
• Minimizes effort and Stress on the User: Easy to handle the fondant, Easy to get it on the cake, Easy to get a professional looking result with first time use.
• Makes the cake TASTE BETTER: By rolling the fondant thinner, there is a less "bulky" mouth feel to each bite of the cake; Because you didn't use dust, the fondant didn't get "chalky"!
• It's FOOD SAFE: Our manufacturer uses only FDA approved materials; "general purpose" vinyl is not approved as food safe.

Use and Care Instructions

(Rather see a video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu6QpimDDDQ)

 1. For first time use, unroll mats (2 included) and discard tissue paper. Lay the mats flat, one on top of the other, and roll the top sheet back. With clean hands, rub a very small amount of shortening on the top surface of the bottom sheet, covering it fully, but with a very light coat. Wipe hands clean and roll the top sheet down on top of the bottom sheet (so it can "grab" some of that shortening). If you're not sure "how much" shortening to use, just use plenty, and then just wipe it off. The mat will take what it needs. This is a FIRST TIME ONLY necessity in order to "season" the mats. Roll the top sheet back again, and begin to knead your fondant on the top surface of the bottom sheet. NO DUST OF ANY KIND IS NEEDED. Flatten the fondant into a disk shape, as if you were going to roll out pie dough. Return the top sheet ON TOP OF the disk of fondant.

 2. Begin to roll out the fondant into the desired shape – round for round, hexagon, petal shaped, etc. pans, and square for square. The fondant should be able to cover the cake with an inch or so extra for centering purposes. The thickness should be similar to that of a corrugated cake cardboard.

 Some rolling tips: Go from the center out towards the edges, as in a sunburst shape, as opposed to side to side or top to bottom. This helps the fondant to be the same thickness from edge to middle to edge.  PUSH (as in squeezing toothpaste out of a tube) more than rolling. With the rolling pin, if you will use the last 4-5 inches of one end of the pin and focus your energy there, you will get quicker results.

If the top mat grabs the bottom mat while rolling (this may happen the first time or two you use the mat), simply pull it off and place it right back down where it was. You can rotate the mats to help you get the shape you want. You can even flip them over and roll from the bottom side. If the mat scoots away from you, simply brace it between your hip and the table.

3. Once you have the size you want, remove the top sheet and roll it up. NEVER fold the mats. Lift the bottom sheet up with the fondant facing away from you, towards the cake (which should be flat on the table, not raised up on any pedestal). Line up the bottom of the fondant circle to the bottom edge of the cake closest to you. Lay the fondant over the cake, centering it.

4. Start to pull the sheet back away from the cake with one hand, and start to pull the fondant from the sheet with the other. Once the fondant is off of the sheet just a bit, its own weight will begin to pull it away from the sheet the remainder of the way.  Keep the portion of the mat that is rolling back taught; don’t let it buckle and cause the fondant to tear. This mat works because of the combination of the surface tension you are creating and the high buff on the surface that we created. Remember; it's about the weight of the fondant pulling itself off the mat more than you are pulling the mat away from the fondant!!!

5. Once the fondant has released itself from the mat, use clean hands to flatten the top (pushing any air bubbles towards the edges, smoothing any uneven spots, etc.). Pull fondant out away from the sides, distributing the natural ruffles evenly around the cake in a skirt-like fashion.

6. Help the fondant adhere to the butter cream on the cake by rubbing the fondant with your fingers from the top edge of the cake to one inch down all the way around the cake (your hand is slightly cupped). Use the other hand to pull the fondant slightly out and away while you use your first hand to rub the fondant and adhere it to the cake an additional inch down from the top edge.

Continue this method of one inch down, twoinches down, three inches down, etc., until you come to the bottom of the cake.

***The bottom of the cake is where decorators usually encounter problems with pleating, folds, or puckering. Instead of forcing the fondant down to the cake with the plan to smooth it out later, simply pull the fondant back out away from the cake slightly, and using the fondant smoother, rub in a back and forth motion over the fondant to adhere it to the cake.

7. Using the flat edge of the fondant smoother, give a firm push down on the bottom edge to give a firm, flat edge to the cake. Cut the excess fondant off with a circular blade and remove. Smooth wherever necessary with the fondant smoother.

8. Mats should be wiped with a clean cloth between uses. If it becomes necessary to wash them, hot soapy water in the kitchen sick followed by a hot rinse will suffice. After rinsing, hang the sheets to dry. Sheets are best stored rolled up together and placed in the Fondant Mat Carry and Storage Tube; it keeps them clean and protects them from getting bent or damaged.

******One of the most important things you need to know about these mats is that they are food safe. Some people have suggested to just get the mats from a craft store. What you will find at the craft store is a general purpose vinyl, not approved for food. When we got with our manufacturer about our sheets, we asked about the food safety. Under their advisement that it literally takes years to get the FDA approved stamp, we can instead manufacture the product and it be "Food Safe" because of the size of the lots that we order. They use 100% FDA approved materials, and because we order it in the size lots that we do, it is maintained in a food safe environment. When it is "General Purpose" vinyl, it uses materials NOT FDA approved, and also runs the risk of encountering other chemicals and materials that are NOT food safe, so the product will then NOT be food safe. Some of the things that the manufacturer suggested the general purpose sheets come in contact with were, frankly, FRIGHTENING. SO GLAD we educated ourselves!!!!!

The mats you get at Sweet Wise are food safe. Craft store, no. On top of that, the polish, or buff, we asked them to provide on our mats is a much higher grade– it works perfectly with fondant!!

Mats currently sell for $11.99 plus cost of shipping. Online ordering will be available very soon, as well as a YouTube video that will show the action on the use of our mat system.

In the meantime,

TO ORDER THE SWEET WISE QUIK COVER FONDANT MAT FOR SHIPPING

Call 615-874-1445

We also encourage you to sign up for our email list on the homepage so you can get notification when we have that YouTube video posted!

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