Smoothed-On Method

1. Buy a stencil that has a wide design that is large enough for frosting or melted chocolate to be spread in. Stencils with intricate, fine details might be too difficult for your frosting or chocolate to smooth over, and increase the likelihood that your design will bleed into itself.

2. Affix your stencil to the cake. Place it unsecured when you're decorating the top of the cake. When you’re decorating the side, keep the stencil in place using a few toothpicks.

3. Add a small amount of melted, tempered chocolate or royal icing to the edge of a bench scraper or cake spatula. Avoid using buttercream, which is too soft and doesn’t harden like royal icing or chocolate. Gently pull the icing or chocolate across the stencil without pushing it into the cake.

4. Spread the icing in a smooth, even layer to cover the entire stencil, but don’t allow it to drip over the sides. Gently lift the stencil from one side and carefully peel it off so the icing doesn't pull away from the cake.

5. Wash the stencil and spatula thoroughly before applying it to a different section of the cake.

Dusted Method

1. Buy a stencil or create your own using a paper cutout, cookie cutter or other decorative item.

2. Set the stencil on top of your fondant-covered cake.

   When using the dusting method you cannot decorate the sides of the cake, because your dusting medium is sifted on top of the stencil design (See reference 1).

3. Fill a fine-mesh sieve with cocoa powder or confectioner’s sugar. Gently dust the surface of your cake, focusing on the area where the stencil is resting. Cover the surface of the cake with an even layer of the cocoa or sugar.

4. Lift away the stencil without shaking the excess sugar onto the cake. Keep the decorated cake covered so the design doesn't shift before you're ready to show it off.