so this was my 2nd ever fondant cake, with a doll cake being my first. it is FAR from perfect, the bow cracked and dull color combo, etc etc etc...

it was just an 8" round cake. single tiered, 2 layers, with BC filling. the BC i used was indydebi's for the frosting.

i made this cake on friday afternoon, finished it at abt 6pm. by 11pm before i went to bed, i saw it was already bulging on one side (only one side), i couldn't guess what made it happened that way, but looked a bit like the icing was sliding down? can you tell from the pic? (couldn't attach in the post as the pixels are too big -- click links below)

i smoothed the fondant nicely and when it was ready at 6pm, it looked ok (at least to my beginner's eyes).
was it because i iced with too much BC (fyi, i iced as i would have iced a BC cake without fondant)?

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa272/mclaren722/beforedisaster.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa272/mclaren722/afterdisaster.jpg

Sorry this happened. Not sure exactly why this happened, could be a combo of to much bc and maybe the fondant to thick (weighing it down). Maybe try again and do less bc and a little thinner fondant. Sometimes fondant takes practice to get what works for you. What kind of fondant did you use?

I have had this happen when i put too much bc under the fondant. Once i cut some out, the problem went away.

In my opinion it is not a disaster! It is learning experience. I would say two things could happen:

1. you are right, it could be too much buttercream and the fondant was to heavy for it. The buttercream did slide down and took fondant with it.
Usually I give only thin layer of buttercream under fondant, only to have enough to stick fondant to the cake. Crumbcoat is sufficient.

2. the fondant was to soft and did stretch on the side

The only way to tell for sure is to peak under the bulged part and see how much buttercream is there (if any)

Did you let you cake sit for a bit before applying the fondant? I have problems with bulging some still and have read to fill the cake, crumb coat (a thin layer of frosting) then let is sit for a bit so the cake settles.

BTW, you cake is very cute. You did a nice job on the bow.

Dont know if this helps or not but I will put my cake in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes after applying the buttercream but before putting on the fondant. This firms up the buttercream and helps the fondant go on easier.

This works for me but i'm by no means an expert on fondant.

For the bow cracking, I would guess that maybe your fondant is too soft. Sometimes you need gumpaste for bows, or fondant mixed with Tylose. This will give the fondant some structure instead of the limpness of fondant that can collapse in on itself a little. Also, the fondant looked a little thick which means it would be heavy to support the loops. See if you can roll it a little thinner for the bow. This is 100% practice, trial and error, so you will get it!
For the bulges, prob. too much BC. Sugarshack has some great DVDs about this stuff. Good luck!

ok, thanks, thanks, thanks you guys!!! your replies do help. i know i can count on you.

so i didn't know we are only supposed to ice the cake with a thin layer of BC before applying the fondant. i iced the cake as i would have iced an only BC cake.
i did let the icing stand like two hours, even VIVA toweled it.

summer, i don't have tylose, but i mixed the fondant with some wilton gumtex, that was the best i could come with. oh, i was using michele foster's fondant for the record, but with the white choc version.

for the cake, i rolled the fondant to 1/4" thick... so am i safe to assume, it would be better for me to roll it thinner next time?

so... roll the fondant a bit thinner, and just do a crumb coat for the cake? and practice, practice, practice...

thanks!!!!