I'm very new to this and I plan on making MMF for the first time. I would like to make some 3D figures. Could someone please tell me how much tylose powder do I add to a batch of MMf fondant? So adding tylose to fondant now makes it gumpaste? Is it best to make 2 batches of fondant one w/ tylose for figures etc and one batch without for cut outs and cake/cookie covering??

Any help you can give would be great! I'm sorry if I seem clueless...

Thanks a bunch!

Not that I'm doing it right but I never add anything to my mmf. I've made many 3D figures with just mmf with great results. I do let my figures dry/harden in a pizza box or shoe box. I've attached a couple of recent pictures of cakes with figures. The circus cake is one that I duplicated from this website. I don't want to take credit for the idea. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply! Love your cake too...hummm so mabey I don't need tylose powder??!This is confusing LOL

I find my figuars out of MMF seem to squish down after a day of sitting out 'drying' I would think maybe add extra icing sugar to the MMF to make the figuars more stiff? I havent had to make any in a while so i havent had a chance to try that. But yeah i dont seem to have much luck with figuars out of MMF either!

Check out Aine2's website, I know in one of her little videos she mentions how much to add to fondant and shows you how to work it in. http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=profile&mode=viewprofile&u=44194

Mind you she uses commercial fondant, not MMF, and I agree that MMF is really squishy. You may still have squishier results since you're using MMF but I guarantee it will help.

You might also consider using 50/50 MMF/gumpaste (see my Remy figure in my avatar). I have used gum-tex too (in lieu of tylose powder) and it is definitely better than straight mmf. You still get some squish though, and I would advise not connecting body parts till they have had time to dry. In Aine2's videos you can see that her figures don't squish at all, but the fondant itself probably has a lot to do with that -->The first time I made figures, I made four animals out of Wilton and one out of MMF; the Wilton ones didn't squish, the MMF one (no gumtex added) did.

I don't think you can just add extra powdered sugar to MMF to eliminate the squish, it will just make your dough crack and crumble. You need the tylose, gumtex or added gumpaste.

Happy modeling!

This is the ratio I was given in class and works just perfect for me. Use 1 tsp. of Tylose powder to 12 oz of MMF. I just spread the fondant out in a rectangle and sprinkle on the Tylose. Then I knead it in by hand a little and let it rest overnight before I use it. I always make a couple of these and store them ahead for making flowers and figures. They won't squish down and they dry much faster. I couldn't make flowers without it.

lilybird, what is the difference between gumpaste and tylose powder and when you make extra and store it how long does it last and do you microwave it/add water to get it ready to use again? Otherwise, mine cracks and crumbles when I get it out to use. TIA

Drowning--sorry I didn't answer right away but I couldn't get into CC yesterday. Tylose is a dry powder and gumpaste is a finished product that looks like fondant. I guess gumpaste is a good thing to use for making flowers and figures, but I have never used it even though I have a package in the cupboard. Everyone seems to think it doesn't taste good and since the MMF is so good that's what I use with the Tylose powder in it. It works great for the flowers and figures and tastes good too. I just wrap it in good plastic wrap and keep it in the cupboard in a ziplock bag. I think it would probably keep forever. When I am going to use it, I give it a few seconds in the microwave, coat my hands with Crisco and then knead it a little bit.
Your fondant sounds awfully dry. I use the Rhondas Ultimate recipe and I throw a Tbs. of Crisco in the mixer, plus I grease all the bowls I use. I always coat my hands when working with it and it never gets greasy. I just think yours is too dry, so trying working a little Crisco into it after you nuke it a little and see what happens.

As an added note, I just bought some Wilton fondant the other day, exclusively for modeling figures that I know won't be eaten (meaning, I want them to get hard and become keepsakes) and I can wholeheartedly say that Wilton works MUCH better for modeling than MMF. I still do 50/50 with gumpaste, or add the gumtex, but it is far superior to MMF. Firmer and better stretch. Now if I was making 2D things to stick to the sides of the cake, or rope borders or pretty much anything else that might get eaten, there is no way I would use Wilton, but for figures you plan to let harden solid: go for it!

Also to add to the answer (for drowninginfondant) about gumpaste, gumpaste is MUCH stretchier (think of the name: gum) and dries really fast and HARD. Because it is so stretchy it is great for anything you want to make really thin...thus, its popularity for flowers. Also it dries hard and sturdy, I even made whiskers out of it. In fondant those things would have just broken in two. So (again as with flowers) it's good for small, thin, fragile things, or anything you want rock-hard. Adding tylose to your fondant basically is intended to get it to perform like gumpaste but gives you more working time, as with 50/50 blend. I've never tried making tiny, fragile things out of MMF+tylose, I always just use gp.