Hi all,
I have a cake due in a few hours, and my Michele Foster's Fondant is, I guess, too dry or something because it's almost crumbly. Is there something I can do to get it to bond back together or am I just screwed??? It just tears so easily and Idon't know what to do. Please Help, Anyone!!!!

Ashley

Anyone?????????????

If the fondant is dry you could try kneading some Crisco into it to soften it up. If that isn't working try adding a tiny amount of water & kneading it i completely.

I've never used that fondant before - is it something you bought, or something you made?

I've made fondant from scratch (& have bought a couple brands).

Did you by chance add a LOT of food coloring into it? That's what happened to me one time (recently). I added so much food coloring (to my homemade fondant) that it would just crumble in my hands - I wanted to cry! I just dealt with it the best I could. Covered the cake with it and tried to hide the rips & tears...

I havn't worked with that kind before, but sometimes I'll put crisco on my hands and knead it into the fondant. You may even try to microwave it for about 10 sec. or so.

Check out Michele's new FAQ page, it answers the most common questions, including this one!

http://www.thesugarfixtoo.com/fondant.html

The Michele Foster's Fondant is homemade, it has no color in it, and it says not to microwave. The horrible thing about this is, that it's a cake for a couple that is renewing their vows, so it's sort of like a wedding cake and I wanted it to be great as this is my first one. I have been up working on this cake since I got up yesterday (not even a slight nap), baking, icing, making fondant and letting it set, and all of the above, and now the cake is going to be a disaster and I hope they aren't too mad about it.

I have another cake lady here who is going to help me out, so hopefully everything will work out once she helps me. It's just very frustrating that when I try my best, nothing works out. I think I'm going to give the cake decorating a rest for a while. Maybe at least until my new baby gets a little older. Thanks for the help guys!!!

Ashley

P.S. Eventhough I'm going to give up the decorating for a while, I'm going to still be a CC junky, LOL!!!!

Ashley,
I looked in your photos and you do beautiful work. Don't let one frustrating experience make you want to quit. I am quite sure everyone has experiences like this. You probably just need a good nights sleep

I look forward to seeing more of your cakes

Uh-oh!!! Niquie its just a gliche and its happened to the best of us so relax. I remember this happened to me the first time I tried to make fondant and I remember how it was solved. Make some pastillage and knead it in and it will come together perfectly. This is my own pastillage recipe----1lb powdered sugar + extra
2 egg whites or substitute (lightly beaten)
5 level tsp Tylose/CMC
2tsp vegetable shortening/Crisco

Sift PS bowl, add tylose then egg white and knead well with the crisco.
Alternatively, make some royal icing then add the Tylose, turn out on to a board and knead in more PS and the crisco. Leave to rest for about 2hrs and then use. Usually it should be left for abt 12hrs but in an emergency-- w-e-ll
Hope things turn out right for you anyway and hey, keep up the spirit don't be discouraged its all part of the learning process .

yes, I agree....I think everyone will have at least one cake disaster at one time or other...please don't give up...your cakes are beautiful.

I use Michele Foster's all the time and have done that before too. Do you have any glycerine left? If you do, knead some in until it softens. I do not recommend adding water. It will make it a sticky mess. Deep breath! I use Crisco too but the glycerine won't leave a waxy/crisco taste and will not change the integrity of the fondant.
Next time, don't add all of the P.S. I find after it "rests" it really can firm up. If it's too soft then you can always add more sugar at that time. HTH and good luck!

Thanks for all the advice. I really needed those tips. I ended up getting help from a fellow caker (cakeandpartygirl) and without her, today would have been the worst day ever. She pretty much did the cake for me, I guess because she realized what a crapy day I was having, so thanks to her, and you guys the day was saved. I owe her big!!!!! REAL BIG!!! I guess I'll try to hang in there until and see how my next few come out, but if I can't seem to get into the groove of things, I'll have to stop and take some time to get myself together, and then come back to decorating. Thanks again for all the tips and "HUGE THANKS AGAIN TO CAKEANDPARTYGIRL aka TEESHA!!!!

Ashley

Hi Ashley,

I'm happy to hear that your friend helped you out and the cake turned out well.

I give you ladies that have small children so much credit for juggling little ones and cakes.

When mine were babies I really couldn't do any more then 1 cake a week and it had to be a pretty basic design.

Please don't let one mishap discourage you from making more beautiful cakes..........believe me I've had my share of mishaps

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Deb