Butter Cream Slump/ Fondant Bubble

Decorating By oopsydeb Updated 11 Jun 2010 , 12:36am by Karen421

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oopsydeb Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 2:00am
post #1 of 10

I need help, I've made a few cakes and have the same problem every time! I stack the cakes with filling in between using a dam of butter cream to keep it inside. When I add the crumb coat I smooth the sides making sure I don't have "bubbles" of butter cream protruding out of the side. I give it a nice tight crumb coat and put it in the fridge, then when ready to finish, I take it out and apply final butter cream all over, put in fridge to firm while I prepare fondant. Once the fondant is ready, I put it on the cake and finish the decorating, it goes back in the fridge until party time. When I take it out and give it time to come up a bit in temp, I notice the fondant starts to bubble around the layers. Why is it doing this instead of keeping it's shape????
LL

9 replies
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PiccoloChellie Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 2:15am
post #2 of 10

Let your cakes come up to room temperature fully before putting fondant on them. The condensation is getting trapped under your fondant and either softening the buttercream or softening the inside of the fondant where it should be adhering to the icing. Many decorators don't refrigerate fondant covered cakes, either, because the condensation of going from fridge to room temp can muck up the inside of the cake as well as the outside.

Think about when you take a cold bottle of soda out of the fridge and set it on the counter for a bit. All the water that forms on the outside of the bottle is what's bubbling up your cakes!

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robyndmy Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 2:46am
post #3 of 10

Agreed, I think pulling your cakes in and out of the fridge might be adding to this issue a bit. Really, unless you have perishable fillings like cream cheese, etc, there's no reason to put it in the fridge. It's definitely a well discussed topic here if you want to search it and learn more.

Your design and your figures are great though!!

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oopsydeb Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 3:12am
post #4 of 10

Thank you, that makes sense. I'll try one with no fridge and see how it works. Thanks, the chipmunks were fun to make. I'd love to preserve them now that the party is over... any ideas??? If I don't do anything how long will they last?

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Karen421 Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 3:19am
post #5 of 10

Very cute cake!!! Is it possible you haven't let the cake settle long enough before putting on the fondant?

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oopsydeb Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 1:58pm
post #6 of 10

How long do you let it settle? I thought by putting it in the fridge it would set. I'm not very fast with fondant so it's usually in there for an hour or so.

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robyndmy Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 5:17pm
post #7 of 10

Well, because most cakes are kept out at room temperature once they're finished, you want to let a fridged/frozen cake fully come to room temperature before covering it with fondant. Most people will fill the layers, and just let the cake sit out for a while before crumb coating or anything else. That way the cake can come to room temperature and finish any shifting that will happen, without causing any of the condensation or bubbling that was mentioned above.

Basically, once you pull your cake out of the fridge/freezer to start decorating, you don't put it back in again. icon_smile.gif

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oopsydeb Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 8:13pm
post #8 of 10

Thanks everyone!!!

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emrldsky Posted 10 Jun 2010 , 8:47pm
post #9 of 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by oopsydeb

How long do you let it settle? I thought by putting it in the fridge it would set. I'm not very fast with fondant so it's usually in there for an hour or so.




Without something to "help" the cakes settle, I like to let mine settle overnight. Leahs started a thread a while back about how she uses a ceramic tile to speed up the settling. Wrap your torted and filled cake in plastic wrap, place the tile on the cake (I like to add a small level to make sure the cake will settle level) and let it sit like that for a couple of hours.

Since doing that, I have had no cake dunlop* disease! icon_wink.gif



* Donlop disease - the phenomenon where your belly done-lopped over your jeans! Applies to cakes, where the filling done-lopped over the side of the layers.

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Karen421 Posted 11 Jun 2010 , 12:36am
post #10 of 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by oopsydeb

How long do you let it settle? I thought by putting it in the fridge it would set. I'm not very fast with fondant so it's usually in there for an hour or so.




I let my cakes settle overnight, (had the bubble before!) but at least 5 hours. Leah_S method seems to work for many people, I haven't tried it myself, but she is very knowledgeable.

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