It was with excitement that I received the three DVD’s (Perfecting the art of buttercream, Successful Stacking and Flawless Fondant) from the talented cake designer Sharon Zambito. I decided to start off with the Flawless Fondant DVD as I decorate most of my cakes with fondant.
Sharon shows how to prepare the cake so that it will not only make the covering easy but also make the cake look beautiful when it is finished.
You will see what kind of equipment she is using for the job. I really love the blue silicone mat so I just had to buy one;-) Then you will be guided through different ways on how to roll out your fondant, cover the cake and how to smoothe the cake. She shows that on both round and square cakes but also on difficult shapes like petal and hexagon. You will also see how you can decorate with impression mats, crimpers and pearls to make it look even better.
The part I love is where she shows how to get rid of air bubbles, white dust on the fondant and how to cover up small marks on the cake. The Flawless fondant dvd have also a bonus dvd with a small taste sample from Perfecting the art of buttercream. I think it is a “must” have if you are new into cake decorating because of the great step by step guides and it will help you to not give up if you have problems with your fondant. I also think that those with more experience including myself can learn from it aswell.
Happy Caking
Louise
May 15th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Thank you Lousie for that wonderful review. I thank you for taking the time to do that. I hope that the DVDs will be helpful to many who struggle like I did! HUGS, Sharon
May 15th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Hi Louise,
I am going to order these soon…and cannot wait to get them. Sharon’s work is flawless!
May 16th, 2008 at 5:50 am
Good morning Lousie!
Have a wonderful day and go on with your dreams!
These dvds sounds fantastic to me!
I wish I had you talent in my hands!
Silvia
May 16th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Tnanks Louise for sharing your sources, i will add this DVD to my wishing list… i just bought Peggy Porschen’s Pretty Party Cake’s book, because of your recomendation, it is beutiful…..thanks for being do kind,
Jackie
Las deilicias de vivir
May 16th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I have the first two of Sharon’s DVDs and I agree, these are MUST HAVES! I LOVE them! That reminds me, I need to order the third!
May 16th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Great review Louise! I think Sharon is a wonderful and warm person and it really shows through on her videos. I have all 3 videos and would definitely recommend them all. I believe my work has improved greatly due to the many tips given on these DVD’s. Love the “lagniappes” (bonus material)!!
May 16th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Louise, your CakeJournal is absolutely wonderful! Thank you for sharing your time with so many. I have Sharon’s DVD’s and highly recommend them! She is very talented and so very nice to share her lessons learned to make our cake decorating much easier. Thanks to you both!
May 16th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
I am going to order ASAP. Thanks for the tips.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Sharon is the bomb. You will not go away from any of these dvds without learning something valuable. I have all 3!
May 16th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Great news. Sharon and I are from Louisiana. It’s great hearing that she is getting the recognition she deservers. I have pondered about purchasing the vidoes, but this is confirmation that I need to.
Thanks Louise!!!
May 16th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Thanks for sharing the DVDs! I think that actually being able to watch how its done will help alot! I am putting these DVDs on my wishlist for my husband! Although my wishlist is very long these will go to the top!hehe!thanks again Louise!!Hugs!!
May 16th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Louise, hi!!!
Where can I buy it?
May 16th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
So nice to see that many already have the dvd’s from Sharon. I think with the blue mat & the bench scraber on its way to me I only need to make my own large turn table…. As I said buttercream covered cakes are not commen here in Denmark and I have heard of the paper towel method but I never thought of using it under fondant covered cakes. Ohh cant wait to try.
Fabbys: If you click on the “Flawless fondant DVD” in the post it should take you straight to Sharons site.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I received them mine too! I am rand new at decorating and al her DVDs are wonderful and very detailed instructions..I recommend everyone to try them! I have yet to try her buttercream recipe it looks sooo smooth! I just bought the pink kitchenaid mixer and i cant wait to get “caking” :}
May 16th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
This DVD set is definitely on my list of things to buy now! Thank you so much for the recommendation! I love this blog!!
May 18th, 2008 at 4:38 am
Hi Louise, I checked out Sharon’s website, and her work looks AMAZING! I have no doubt that her DVDs are great, but in your opinion, could they take the place of attending a cake decorating class? I have been wanting to do that for some time, but all I am finding are the wilton classes (how to make a basket weave decorated cake, and roses…blah!) Do you think I can learn enough from her DVDs to skip having to take a formal class? Thank you for your time and devotion to us novices!
May 18th, 2008 at 6:12 am
Great review for Sharon!!! I have the buttercream DVD and love it and I’m excited to order the fondant one.
I’m a big fan of the blue mat too - just bought my second one because I cut my orignal by mistake while make some fondant cutouts.
May 18th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
oh… wish i could have that dvd!!! im really struggling with my fondant… hay…
May 18th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Daya: Lucky lucky you. I soo want a pink KA.
Shannon:
They are really good all three. You will hear yourself say: ahhh and ok to many of the things Sharon shows.
jenni: What Sharons teach/show is how to get your buttercream & fondant covered cakes smoothe and how you stack cake tiers. So if you want to learn how to make sugar roses, modelling ect. then you will have to look for classes.
have you tried to look on ICES? http://www.ices.org/index.htm maybe you can find help to look for other classes than the Wilton courses?
Dana: Well nice to now that I should not use the blue mat when using my fondant cutters.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:14 pm
HI Louise.. I just want to say - You are such a talent!! I found your blog few days ago and I love it. Thank you for your inspiration.
Do you have a favoritt place for some nice cake here in Copenhagen?
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:06 am
Hi katarina,
Thank you! Well a favourite place I am not sure because it is mostly bakeries and confectioner’s shops here. But a nice piece of “lagkage” from La Glace is always yummy
Do you live in Copenhagen??
Louise
May 24th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Hi Louise,
I have the silicone mat you are talking about- it is amazing! It is so much easier to work on it and you don;t need any powdered sugar at all!
It is really a must have!
May 24th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I just found your blog by accident while searching for a cake recipe for my little girl’s birthday. I’m so blown away by all the beautiful cakes you made.
May 24th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Hi..Thank you for your answer…I hoped maybe you could recommend another place…a secret one you know…:-):-) But La Glace is absolutly “the place” everyone should eat cakes. I have never eaten cakes there, because it always have been som much people there
:-) So thats is a nice sign.
Yes , I live in Copenhagen. Near Rikshospitalet
May 26th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Tandoori: That sound good. I would like to try it like Sharon does by rubbing it with a thin layer of Crisco before rolling out.
The cooking ninja: THX
Katarina: Hmm I am not sure I know a secret place;-) but have you tried Dessertdragen: http://www.dessertdragen.dk/ ?? it is also here in Copenhagen city.
May 27th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Hi Louise,
I am finding so many useful things I want to buy that I am worried the kitchen can’t take any more and I’ll have to move in the basement lol 
I haven’t seen the video you are talking about, but I’ve tried with Crisco on the mat ( I read a review in Amazon that stated it was better), but I wasn’t very happy with the result. Probably I’ve put to much, but instead of sticking a little bit ( just so you can roll it out evenly), it was sliding really bad, I had to knead it again, and wipe the shortening. But as I said, maybe I’ve used too much, I was so sick yesterday that I could barely stand, let alone measure perfectly the Crisco :-), but it turned out to be a really nice Lightning McQueen cake . The mat is definitely one of the best things I’ve “invested” in
June 1st, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Tandoori: it was only a very very light coating of crisco on the mat shown in the DVD otherwise i too think tat it would slide off the mat;-). I hope you are feeling better by now.
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:17 am
Thank you, Louise, I am much better now. Having a kidney stone is never fun but I am just happy I finished the cake and the kid was happy.
Are you planing to visit the Tulsa show (Wedding Cake competition and sugar art show) in September?
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Great review! It’s so good to know that such a great source is out there. A lot of my experience with fondant has been simply trail and error. I’m slowly working it out, but it sounds like this video will help me tremendously! Thanks so much for sharing!
June 8th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I really love your website, i have a question about the difference between icing sugar and confectioner sugar!! Are they the same?
June 9th, 2008 at 9:51 am
They are both the same product. I guess it it different from place to place what name are used.
June 14th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I have just received this dvd and it is amazing. Sharon is great and her techniques are really confidence inspiring…..
I have been struggling for so long with fondant, and now its not a problem. I even have the buttercream cracked…..Thank you so much for recommending this dvd and to you Sharon for making it
June 19th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Julia Mooney: So nice to hear that
July 4th, 2008 at 12:59 am
My cakes improved 100% after watching Sharon’s DVDs. A must have for any decorator!!!!!