Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

You have suggested this to help prevent the dreaded “bulge” in fondant. Could you please tell me if this dam should be wide or fairly narrow. Thanks

Hi Kmmein

I use a half inch plain nozzle like this:
http://www.dennyandsons.co.uk/products/icing-nozzle-round-large-by-kitchen-craft-sweetly-does-it?gclid=CJXigOiXgcYCFevJtAodzBAAlA

To see how to make a buttercream dam just google ‘how to make a buttercream dam’. You’ll have a choice of viewing lots of different quick tutorials.

I don’t use all buttercream, I spread the buttercream on a layer for my fruit spreads to keep them from leaching thru to the cake, but I use Chef Alan Tetrault’s method of rolling a rope of fondant for the dam instead of a dam of buttercream to give the cake to rest on. It seems to keep the cake from bulging, whether it is a buttercream or a fondant cake. He had suggested that if you wanted to keep it all buttercream, to keep adding powdered sugar to the buttercream until you could roll it into a rope to do the same with it, much like rolled buttercream. He too has video’s on the subject, I believe on both youtube and on his site on globalsugarart.com

Thankyou