Lumpy Fondant For Wedding Cake, Please Help!
Decorating By texas_c Updated 28 Jul 2011 , 6:07pm by LisaPeps
Ok, I have really tried everything i can think of to keep my cake/fondant from looking lumpy. This is a practice cake and I am doing the real thing next weekend. Please help me figure out what I am doing wrong. I want clean sharp edges/corners, no lumps or bulges. I realize some seams are showing and some lines aren't straight, hence the practicing!! 
Please help me get this right! I have a crumb coat of buttercream and another thin layer to glue the fondant. I let the cakes settle over night after filling and dirty icing them. I smoothed my edges before applying fondant and I just feel like it all just rounds out and looses its edges. Btw, this is MMF. I let it set overnight before using it. Thanks for any info!!
There's a glitch in the attachment to post software.
How to add an attachment using flickr/photobucket:
First upload the photo into an online photo site like Photobucket (getting a photobucket account is easy and FREE) then just copy the photo's image code (IMG Code) from photobucket and paste it into your post (on a line by itself, so it doesn't have any other text or punctuation against it). Then when you hit 'submit comment' the photo will display in the thread. Easy.
Photobucket is here: http://photobucket.com/
I'm pretty sure you can also use Flickr like this too - just look for the image code (IMG code) and copy and paste it.
HTH
http://cakecentral.com//gallery/2109929
maybe this will work! Thanks!
I'm new to the fondant thing to.. I'm also working on getting everything nice and smooth... What about putting it on a cold cake and icing?
Woah! I gotta give it to you, you are attempting a pretty hard cake! Squares are a pain and takes a lot of practice to get sharp corners.
I might not be much help because I don't use crusting icing or MMF, but I think it's the same as what I use - you have to have a chilled cake. Icing won't hold shape once you put weight on it. And with squares you might want to roll your MMF extra thick to prevent tearing.
Keep practicing!
Jen
I've also found that with the square cakes more icing underneath the fondant stays sharper. So before you cover it, make sure your BC has sharp corners & your fondant will follow suit....& also the tip FromscratchSF said will also help
You're not that far off.
HTH.
As has been said, get your buttercream sharp, chill it solid. Then cover IMMEDIATELY, before it has time to soften. Then some people recommend putting the covered cake in the fridge for an hour. This gives the fondant a chance to st up in that sharp-edged shape. Keep it covered, airtight, when you take it out so that no condensation forms, as condensation will soften it up again and you'll lose the benefit you got from putting it in the fridge in the first place. Once it sets up that way, it wont matter so much when the buttercream eventually softens under it.
I'd say it's pretty difficult to get very sharp edges on a square cake using buttercream though. No matter how hard you try, you'll almost always have slightly rounded edges. The only way to avoid it and get really clean, sharp edges is to use ganache instead of buttercream. You'd probably want to clear a change like that with the bride first. But if she goes for it, search under Planet Cake ganache for instructions on how to do that.
As has been said, get your buttercream sharp, chill it solid. Then cover IMMEDIATELY, before it has time to soften. Then some people recommend putting the covered cake in the fridge for an hour. This gives the fondant a chance to st up in that sharp-edged shape. Keep it covered, airtight, when you take it out so that no condensation forms, as condensation will soften it up again and you'll lose the benefit you got from putting it in the fridge in the first place. Once it sets up that way, it wont matter so much when the buttercream eventually softens under it.
I'd say it's pretty difficult to get very sharp edges on a square cake using buttercream though. No matter how hard you try, you'll almost always have slightly rounded edges. The only way to avoid it and get really clean, sharp edges is to use ganache instead of buttercream. You'd probably want to clear a change like that with the bride first. But if she goes for it, search under Planet Cake ganache for instructions on how to do that.
I agree with almost everything except the above, I use SMBC (not crusting icing, which yeah, impossible to get the same type of edge) and get knife sharp edges just like ganache. Only difference is ganache stays rock hard without being chilled, SMBC softens back up like pillows of yumminess under your fondant. Not that ganache isn't super yummy also, just different.
I have a square wedding cake I just did over the weekend that if I would have covered in fondant it would have held those corners.
Another thought to the OP, maybe try doing panels? I've never tried it with MMF but since you are already dong a modern cake it would look great.
Which reminds me, saother tip to get your ribbon accents really straight is to freeze them after you cut them out. Helps them to not get all wobbly when you attach them.
I cannot for the life of me work with buttercream under fondant. I've tried IMBC which I've got perfectly smooth, put it in the fridge for an hour. Took it out to cover with fondant and it just doesn't hold up at all. I only offer ganache because of this. Maybe it is just me!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%