Hi, Everyone,

I'll try to make this as short as possible! LOL I just started working more with fondant because I never liked it. I make my own MMF. Today was my first time covering a cake with it. Two tier squares, 10 and 12 in.

This is my problem. It was a light sage green color. I greased my counter with shortening. I rolled the fondant out and it looked so greasy and shiny. I have tried cornstarch a couple of times, but it still sticks to the rolling pin and the surface I'm rolling it on. Also, the fondant wouldn't smooth at all. It looked terrible. I used it before for a lingerie cake and it was fine. This time I used the recipe on this site. I'm sure the recipe is good. I'm sure it's just me.

Any advice? This was a practice cake. I'm making the real cake for a shower next weekend and I really want to use fondant.

Thank you!

Michele

i haven't much experience... but when i do fondant, i use powdered sugar. i haven't had any problems with it sticking, unless there is not enough sugar underneath. hope this helps.

The first time I made MMF I greased the counter too - it didn't stick, but it was too shiny for my taste. Since then I have used powdered sugar on the counter when I roll it out. As long as you keep turning the MMF and adding sugar as needed it doesn't stick. (I have done this with cakes as large as 14 inches) Then when the MMF sets you can just brush off the excess dust and you are good to go....hope this helps. Good luck!!

It maight be a good idea to add a bit less moisture (shortening, water, flavorings) to your recipe.... especially if you are in a humid area.
Are you using Rhonda's Ultimate MMF??? that is the best recipe I have found on this site... easy to make.. and you can modify for heat and humidity.
I would still try using the shortening to roll it out. My experience with cornstarch and PS is that I have trouble brushing off the excess.
I make the MMF in the microwave... but instead of kneading all of the sugar in I have poured the marshmallow and liquid mixture into my KA and then add the sugar gradually... dough hook attachment.
Add the coloring when you mix the liquids... save a big chunk of time kneading in the color.
Good luck!!

edit to delete re-post

I'd like to suggest you try sugarshack's smooth buttercream recipe... there is a large post in the formms that cover how to make it & how to smooth it so it looks like fondant.... if I could attach a photo I would but I can't figure it out.
i used to use rolled buttercream exclusively.. this new recipe is just a smooth with less fuss. good luck!

powdered sugar is the way to go when covering the plain cake. i use shortening when i have fine detail to put the ondant into.

I'll be the fly in the ointment here -- I use Crisco. I almost never (or very rarely) use the "poofy" with cornstarch on fondant -- only in special circumstances. Remember, the Crisco will absorb into the fondant, making it less shiny overall and help reduce cracking. Marshmallow fondant (MMF) has a tendency to crack and one of the gals in my cake club showed me a trick using extra Crisco when making it -- we haven't had a problem since. Hope that helps some!

When this has happened to me, I realized it was because I needed to knead in more sugar to the fondant. It wasn't ready for rolling. Once I kneaded it quite a bit, then I found it was easier to work with and still use Crisco. HTH