I had a baby shower cake that the customer requested rolled btrcrm fondant. I have used this one other time and it was o.k., but very hard to work with. Well, today was no exception and when I finished with it I was disapppointed with the outcome. I took it to the customer and the look on her face said it all. I was sick and by the look on her face, so was she.
My question is: Has anyone used this before? It was so hard to work with, the recipe called for 2 pounds of powder sugar, I used 3 and it was still wet feeling, so I continue to add more sugar, nothing made it any better. I am wondering if the humidity here has an effect on it and if so, what do I do?
I also made the bow for this out of Wilton fondant, and it still did not dry very good. I had 3 of the loops broke, keep in mind I made the parts on Monday. So it had 3 full days to dry. So when that happened I filled it in with ribbon. To say the least she looked disgusted! She offered me $10 for my supplies and then asked me if i would make her daughter a castle cake for her birthday. I dont get that. What would you do? The cake is the blue and white w/baby feet. Feedback please!

I've never worked with it before so I have no advice...this recipe seems to have decent reviews http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rolled-Buttercream-Fondant/Detail.aspx

Anyhow, the cake isn't perfect but it isn't horrible either. If she was so disappointed as to only offer to cover supplies (assuming she didn't keep the cake) I wonder why she turned around and place another order.

Fondant can be pretty hard to deal with especially if you are making it from scratch. And it is hard to say what went wrong when I am not really syre which recipe you used. I have made the fondant where you have to cook the sugar and water to a certain temp and let it cool slowly to a certain temp and if any of that goes wrong you might as well start over. And most definatley can be the humidity. Humidity has a tendency not to let things dry or when they do dry it id very brittle. If I was you I would probably try the pre made fondant more and try and work with that to get it to work. You can always add moisture and powder sugar to get it to the consistancy you need. You will just have to play with it more. Practice, practice, practice..... Hope this helps

I only made rolled buttercream once. I've been wanting to make it again, but just haven't had a reason to. I think I'll just make a cake for fun though, I'd like to play with it some more.
It definitely has a different texture to it than your regular fondant (I generally use homemade marshmallow fondant) I think that if you were having things break you probably had too much powdered sugar. The one time I did make it I was surprised at it's slick texture. It was very shiny. I wondered if I measured properly. However, aside from the shine it tasted wonderful and looked great. I didn't have any problems with cracking and it didn't seem as delicate as mmf. Humidity does have an affect on all fondant. Icing too. So you will need to adjust if you are in a humid area, but I think an extra pound of sugar sounds like a lot. Not sure what went wrong there. Give it another try on something that doesn't really matter. It's not like regular fondant, thats for sure.
As for your customer placing another order...??? weird! Is this someone that you know? Is she just trying to rip you off? Was the cake really that bad? Her next order, was it still requesting rolled buttercream fondant? If you wanted to do it because you need/want the business go ahead but let her know that you have a $XX minimum order. $10 is a joke and doesn't cover supplies.

I just wanted to add, rolled buttercream is not the same as fondant. Rolled buttercream is simply a thickened buttercream. It does not have anything in it to give the elasticity that fondant has. Rolled buttercream can be used to cover cakes, but it is not as easy to work with as fondant. I would recomend using marshmallow fondant, or a ready made like Satin Ice, until you get the hang of it. Don't give up on fondant because of this!

Rolled buttercream and good fondant are two very different animals and in no way act the same when it comes to covering cakes.

When I work with RBC, I'm usually covering some odd shape like a sphere. I measure out how much I'll need for covering, roll it out, and then transfer the piece to the fridge or freezer. I let it stiffen up completely and then put it on the counter for a few minutes. I drape it over the object to be covered, rub my hands with a combo of CS & PS, and mold the RBC to the cake. I then buff it more with a combo of CS & PS.

I like the RBC for some things, dislike it for others. It's self healing with the heat of your hand, so repairs are easy, but fact is, it's hard to get it completely smooth. I also find that I have to roll it much thicker than fondant in order to work with it. It's also just too sweet in any quantity--it makes your teeth hurt.

That woman got a great deal for $10. Personally, I'd have taken the cake home if she'd offered me $10 and told her to go to the nearest grocery store and spend the $ there.

Her asking for another cake makes me wonder if she thinks she can get another one so cheap. If you really want to do another cake for her, I suggest making certain that she understands that the final price is it--or no cake.

HTH
Rae

From what I've read here at CC, rolled buttercream seems to work very well for covering cookies, not cake.

For cake, you should combine it with fondant...2/3's rolled bc with 1/3 fondant, or 1/2 and 1/2.