Is It Me, My Mat Or The Fondant?

Decorating By forcupscake Updated 1 Aug 2011 , 8:16pm by jennifercullen

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forcupscake Posted 31 Jul 2011 , 5:58pm
post #1 of 16

I always get small elephant skin lines when i cover a cake with fondant - is it me, the silicone non slip mat I use (not THE MAT) or the fondant?

What am I doing wrong? Maybe im not preparing the fondant enough. I am based in the UK and use the brand by Dr Oetker?

15 replies
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Mandyjb74 Posted 31 Jul 2011 , 6:06pm
post #2 of 16

i'm in the uk too, i used regal fondant but when i have had this problem it is because either i haven't kneaded it enough or used too much icing sugar.
try kneading in smaller amounts (1kg of fondant cut in four or six) and then put it together once it is soft

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jennifercullen Posted 31 Jul 2011 , 6:40pm
post #3 of 16

Is that the one in the blue box? If it is I used it for a while until other seemed to disappear...I went through a patch where my fondant didn't seem to go very well at all. On one of my cakes I tried rubbing a bit of TREX into it once I had rolled it out and it seemed to work better... a time after that though it made absolutely no difference lol. it is a common problem though, I think a lot of brands of fondant do it as I've heard about it a lot of times. I think it might also be affected my the warmer weather here at The moment.

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Mandyjb74 Posted 31 Jul 2011 , 7:51pm
post #4 of 16

Sorry it's Regalice and it is not in a box just a wrapper you get it from cake decorating shops I have used the stuff you are talking about and I tend to rub vegetable oil into my hands before I need if the weather is hot I have a fan on me especially if I'm using chocolate paste very messy lol

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Ashleyssweetdesigns Posted 31 Jul 2011 , 8:38pm
post #5 of 16

I always use satin ice fondant. Not sure if you can get it in London but it's the best!

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Sorelle Posted 31 Jul 2011 , 9:01pm
post #6 of 16

Sounds like a fondant issue, ever tried "chocopan" ? creamy stuff never have the yucky elephant skin!

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forcupscake Posted 1 Aug 2011 , 7:14am
post #7 of 16

What is Chocopan?

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jillyscakes Posted 1 Aug 2011 , 7:32am
post #8 of 16

Chocopan is available in US not over here. I don't use Dr Oetker I use Renshaw or Almond Art own brand some times Shepcote. The last one claims that you don't have to knead it as much but all of them need lots of kneading to get them elastic and supple. I have had elephant skin before and it was because I totally under estimated how much kneading was needed.

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LisaPeps Posted 1 Aug 2011 , 8:45am
post #9 of 16

I make my own fondant. I hate all of the brands you can buy in the shops, they have absolutely no elasticity. The only time I can get them to work is when I add candy melts and corn syrup to it, but it is cheaper and easier for me to make my own chocolate fondant.

OP you could try adding some glycerin (in moderation! You can add but can't take away), see if that helps.

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Davwattie Posted 1 Aug 2011 , 9:06am
post #10 of 16

regalice is terrible for elephant skin and tearing, its even worse now they have changed the recipe.

I love covapaste as it is alot easier to work with and I never get elephant skin or tears, it only comes in white but Id rather colour it than use regalice now.

It only comes in 5kg boxes but well worth trying.

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Mandyjb74 Posted 1 Aug 2011 , 9:29am
post #11 of 16

I've never had a problem with regalice

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nanefy Posted 1 Aug 2011 , 3:21pm
post #12 of 16

If you guys want to try a Fantastic brand of fondant in the UK and like me are sick of the rubbish regal ice etc then you should try Massa Ticino - it is available through Town and Country fine foods - it comes in a 7kg tub (you can only buy white) and it costs close to £50 - it is pricey, however I roll it to 1/16th of an inch thin and it is marvellous to work with - it doesn't tear or get elephant skin and it's really elastic so great for covering difficult cakes. I can't recommend it enough!

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jennifercullen Posted 1 Aug 2011 , 5:31pm
post #13 of 16

I have heard of this massa stuff, but if I bought 7kg of it, and only make 1 small cake a week, would it go off or dry out or whatever? I'm dying to try it. It's pretty pricey as a one time buy, but is only 15 pounds more expensive than the same amount of regalice bought over the period, so i'd love to give it a go! Lately iv not had any problems with regalice as long as I roll it thick enough, I realised I'd stopped measuring and started rolling it thinner and thinner and it ended up tearing all the time.

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nanefy Posted 1 Aug 2011 , 7:00pm
post #14 of 16

hey, if you phone Town and Country to place your order you can request that you get a tub with the longest use by they have, which is 1 year, plus it's inside a blue heavy duty plastic bag and then also in a sealed tub (very much like how satin ice is packaged).
You honestly won't regret buying it, it is fantastic - plus I can almost put my life on it that it will work out cheaper than regalice if you roll it 1/16th of an inch - fondant in the UK is way too thick anyway, so roll it thin and this stuff will still work like a dream - that way you'll get more out of the tub that you would if it was filled with regalice.
The only downside is that to place an order with T&C you need to spend at least £80 HOWEVER that being said I do buy other stuff from them and always manage to spend at the very least £80 lol - you should try out their Fruit Compounds - they are AMAZING for flavouring buttercream and you'll wonder why you've never used them before - they are simply the best thing for flavouring.

Anyway I double dare you to buy it.....lol........you won't regret it icon_smile.gif

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krumbledkakes Posted 1 Aug 2011 , 7:15pm
post #15 of 16

I just posted this in another topic, but here is a great video about fondant. The first topic she covers is elephant skin (from the company that makes The Mat):
http://www.youtube.com/user/SweetWiseInc?feature=pvchclk#p/u/6/NwlMfX_mnEU
It should be Fondant Survival

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jennifercullen Posted 1 Aug 2011 , 8:16pm
post #16 of 16

If my boyfriend saw that right now I was discussing spending £80 on fondant and cake ingredients I think he'd ban me from the computer lol. I will have to have a proper look at their stuff later, I find it a bit confusing as I dont know what I'm looking for so I don't know what some things do so I'll have to have Google at the ready! I'm so excited haha

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