Please Tell Me Why My Fondant Is Always Cracking
Decorating By pattycakes55d Updated 18 Jun 2014 , 11:32pm by tnovot
Want to add my ticked off 2 cents about Satin Ice recently!!! The last two tubs I have bought have had elephant skin from the beginning and it stays that way no matter how much shortening I use. Sooooooo frustrating! Does anyone seriously know if they have changed the formula recently? If all of us are having the same problem (and didn't have it previously with the same brand!!!), there must be something to it. Ugh.
here's Rhonda's recipe. It works quite well.
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf
pettinice is wonderful.. don,t use it often.. but like it better than satin ice. jennifer dontz uses this brand also.. her cakes are amazing...
okay, this may be a crazy question, but why do all the recipes call for 15 ozs of mm when i can't find anything except 10.5 oz bags, am i missing something or is this a result of living in the sticks - lol????
At krogers I can find the bag of marshmallows that is 16 oz. I use the whole bag for one batch of mmf. When I buy it from Walmart or anywhere else, I use 1 1/2 bags because they have the small bags.
I read on a different thread that SI had a problem batch. call them, they may replace it for you.
I just used satin ice for the first time yesterday. I had heard such good things about it. It was a disaster!!!! It was extremely sticky... no matter what I did to it, it cracked. I wanted to try it because the wilton brand tastes awful, and making my own mmf was a messy experience for me. But after the experience i had with satin ice yesterday. I don't think i'll be buying it again.
i have started to used the satin ice fondant and yes it was sticky at first and it was because its to hot in the area , I mircowave it for a few secs and it worked out well,. its easier then using the wilton fondant , Good luck for all those that are having issues with it , I give it a thumbs UP
powdered sugar is a big NO NO for me when i'm working with fondant... Cracked fonant garanteed!! I spray the surface lightly with pam olive oil spray, works like a charm. haven't had a cracked cake in a very long time. Crisco is to messy, but if you do have any cracks crisco will help, just rub some between the cracks and WALLAAA cracks will disapear.
Oh my gosh, I am so glad I'm not the only one that had problems with SI (well, not glad, but you get my drift ) It cracked and had elephant skin no matter what I did. I started making my own, Rhonda's recipe, and oh my gosh SOOOO much better. No tearing, cracking or elephant skin EVER! I let mine rest at least a day if not longer. Also, making your own allows you to add the coloring at the beginning of the process. No more big batches of kneading,etc! Her recipe tastes good as well. I use the princess cake in it and it cuts the sweetness down. Has anyone recently used the SI gp? I need to buy some but am hesitant to buy SI because of the problems I had with the fondant. What brands of gp do you all buy?
if you work with SI long enough you'll get the hang of it, I tried using Petinice but its to soft, kept tearing no matter how thick or thin i rolled it out. I'm going to try the vinyl mat, sounds like a good idea.
I had these problems with SI right after opening the bucket. And again shortening nor cornstarch works. I didn't have this problem a month ago. Could the formula for SI have changed?
Laura
I had the same problem about a month ago! I go through 20 lbs of fondant a week... but one bucket was a dryer texture, the next 2 I've gotten were fine.....not sure what the deal was!
I used to have loads of problems with fondant until I went to the local Walmart and spent about 4.00 on a piece of clear vinyl (in the fabrics section). I lay that out on my countertop, rub on a miniscule (sp?) amount of shortening, roll out my kneaded fondant, roll up on my rolling pin and apply to the cake. You don't get that dry look to your fondant, no sticking. Almost effortless. For 4.00. I couldn't believe the difference.
can someone help me. I made MMF. I think I added to much PS and it seems a little dry. I kneaded Crisco into the fondant it's just not helping. Is there something I can do? I do not want to make another batch.
I was reading all of your answers on cracking fondant and here is my question...The only time I have problems with cracking fondant is when I color it. Today I did a three tier cake, the bottom and top were just the regular white pre made fondant and I had no problem. The middle tier was purple and the second I put it on i had separation everywhere. Is it too soft? Can it be too soft? I only added about 1/4 tsp of the paste and i covered a 9" cake. I hope someone out there can help me.
It's no fun decorating a cake when the fondant looks like crap!
I'm having those same problems with SI tonight. 7 tier wedding cake, only 1 tier covered at this point and elephant skin all around the top of the cake. Used Crisco and rubbed it in all the cracks. Waiting to see what will happen. I am tired and worn out and still have 6 tiers left to cover. I had similar problems with SI in March and we finally kneaded some Wilton fondant into it and it seemed to help. But not today.
Also, no matter what I do, I seem to get specks in my fondant. I have scrubbed and cleaned my kitchen to no end and still have this problem. Does anyone else have this problem?
2 things - if you are having drying problems try mixing Duffs with SI...I know...probably too late for this cake but I have read rave reviews about mixing these two and what you get is perfect.
My last cake was all Duff due to what it was. I usually swear by SI but have gotten elephant skin on occassion with it. I will be mixing on my next cake for sure as I need to try this for myself.
As far as the specks...wear synthetic clothes...not cotton. If you have to wear cotton match the color of your clothes to the fondant color. Also have a spare piece of fondant. Rub your hands with it, rub your mat with it and your rolling pin. This will help a lot! Never a cure all but it really helps!
Suzi
As far as the specks...wear synthetic clothes...not cotton. If you have to wear cotton match the color of your clothes to the fondant color. Also have a spare piece of fondant. Rub your hands with it, rub your mat with it and your rolling pin. This will help a lot! Never a cure all but it really helps!
Suzi
Forgot to add that this was advice that was given through a different post from another caker here on CC. I have been doing this since I read that post and it helps so much! I had to start doing something because even one little fleck or fuzz and I pick my stuff apart to remove, it just was such a gross out factor for me (even if I was not the one eating the cake).
Hope this helps, it did for me....I even run the piece through my pasta roller before I use it.
What is SI? I use the wilton fondant. I haven't found a place that sells Duffs yet.
can fondant crack when it is too moist? Maybe this is my problem. It's weird that it is only when I add food coloring (paste). I have to do a lime green cake tonight and I am a bit worried.
AWh
Original message sent by pattycakes55d
I got Rhonda's mmf recipe and made it. My gosh, there was no way that I could use that many cups of cf. I used 5. I noticed right away that it "felt" different, drier, not as droopy like the other fondants, so my hopes were high. I just put a tiny bit of crisco on the counter and my hands and without anything else, I rolled it out. I kept making sure it was not sticking and I could even pick it up. I was so pleased I started jumping up and down. YAY!!!!!!!
I found the recipe doesn't make very much, so I will make 3 more batches which should cover both cakes for Sunday. I hope everything goes ok and this wasn't a fluke thing.
After making the homemade mmf fondant, I went back to the commercial one I had, it was very soft and drooped when I picked it up. Now that I had something to compare it to, I thought it needed more cf and kneading. Tried that and then when I rolled it out, it tore like before. Very weird !!!
I'll let you know how it works out and if I can figure out how to post a pic here, I will be brave and post my first one. Thanks so much for your suggestions and support. This is such a great community with very kind people !!!
Which nmff recipe do you use? I made one today and it is very dry and tears
A[IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3230084/width/350/height/700[/IMG] When I use shortening, or powdered sugar my fondant comes out awful! I just don't know what to do! I tried little cornstarch as well and it was major elephant skin. Using shortening makes my fondant very sticky and hard to work with all I do it's put a little on my mat and roll it out. Today I used powdered sugar, just a little of it and it cracked as soon as I put it on my cake. I lifted it, first to see if it was good enough to transfer and it was, but as soon as I put it on the cake it started tearing. I don't know if you guys also have this problem with the butter cream, it seems a bit mushy when I put fondant and it's really hard to work with once I put the fondant. Any advice would be awesome! The picture shown I tried to fix the tear by adding fondant, but the buttercream didn't help when I tried blending it in
One other little tip we have is when you place it on the cake...quickly adhere the top inch of the sides securely to the cake and ensure you are not pulling it down from there as you attach the rest to the cake..
If the fondant is white, cracks can be filled with this....
250grams (VEGETABLE SHORTENING)
1 kilo of icing sugar
1 cup of water.
whoever did this recipe must live in Europe and has made a LOT of cracks so we follow the recipe quire loosely but as you can see its basically buttercream so if it matches the fondant in color it works perfectly. Pure shortening tends to absorb in if the crack or tear is significant.
If you have a color in your fondant,...be careful....lol.
A generous cake maker revealed her "secret" fondant recipe that was coveted by cake makers and cake tasters. She made MMF and then added Wilton Fondant so it was about 50/50. She says that way she gets the great pliability and texture of Wilton fondant, enhanced by the nice flavor of the fresh MMF. I wish I remembered who she was and I could attach the link.
We haven't tried this yet because we have a good supply of Satin Ice but next time I am short...and not so darn lazy...we are going to try it out.
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