Hi my newbie started making cakes proffesionally just a couple of months back....yesterday was my first big order, a thomas engine cake complete with station n tunnel n all  the of fondant details..it was for 70 to 80 people, a night before everything was perfect....my cakes were decorated n ready,But yesterday morning just before delivering the cakes i removed for putting on the board n packing them...the fondant on the cakes started melting,n it was melting so quickly there was actually drops of fondant on the board...i tried covering it up by putting a piece of fondant on it but it jus did not help it was melting at such a speed..i had to scrap the tunnel cake entirely....thn i took the rest of the cake at venue....the station cake (which was also in a bad shape with melting...n put patches of fondant on it to cover)...on venue my station cake had completly melted the fondant had slide down....the sheet cake was not that bad...the only saving grace was the actual cake,people really loved the taste....ffeel so helpless n frustrated,though the station was one fourth part of the cake...but a visible part....guys please need your help so this does not happen again...1) why my fondant was melting even after being in air conditoned room n it did not melt when i was decorating.i live in india whr it is humid but yesterday the climate wasnt that humid n have used fondant earlier too 2)is thr anything i should add in fondant next time......please  your advice is welcome...

What kind of fondant were you using?  What did you have under the fondant?  Buttercream or ganache?  So sorry this happened to you! Did you take any pictures you could load here?

hi i used ready made fondant n i use ganache buttercream between thel layers n ganache beneath the fondant will try n upload the pic of my tunnel cake which i did not take...unfortunately got not take the pics of the cake on site as was busy crossing my fingers:) for the cake not to melt further

How hot was it in India that day?  You said not very humid but was it still really hot outside?  I find ganache under fondant holds up really well...let's see what others say. Not a pleasant thing to go through.

AYou said you removed it and then it started melting... Did you have it in the fridge?

hi JSK it was not that hot as have used fondant in worst humidity then this...n yes i had put it in fridge the way i put all my previous cakes, there is always some condensation but thats it......is it possible that the fondant was not allright ....just dont want this to happen again in future .Can i add something in fondant when there is too much humidity

If the cake was cold enough, and the air was hot & just humid enough, and the fondant was thin enough....it will begin to slide as the condensation erodes it and thus, "melt".  I doubt that this has anything to do with the brand of fondant. 

hi maybenot., the cake was not that cold as whnever i put cakes in fridge i increase the temprature of the fridge, so its jus cool n not vry cold whn i remove the cake out...anyway thanks all for your suggestions n support n planning to make another cake for trial at home only and see what happens...  

AI only asked about the fridge in case it was just condensation. Some people mistake melting with the condensation that forms-you obviously know the difference. Your fondant looks thicker on the sides but I see where you said you tried to repair it. I would put it in front of a nice clean fan (you don't want dust blowing onto your cake) if it happens again, this might help minimize some of the damage. I doubt it's the fondant, although I know some claim to hold up better in heat. What brand do you use? Some people refrigerate their fondant covered cakes with no problems while I've heard just as many others claiming it doesn't work for them-maybe try leaving the cake in a cool, dry place boxed up until delivery (as long as your fillings don't require refrigeration).

Hi in india we dont have much choice in fondant,there is a vizyon which is locally available but too soft n doesnt taste nice and other one fondekar which i use...this is an imported variety

A

OH MY GAWD!!!

Hi Vipscreations, don't get too down over this episode - believe me we've all had a horror story or two of our own but yes, it can be very stressful. I wish I could offer you some advice but I've just told someone on another forum not to refrigerate fondant because it turns to mush, but another poster says they refrigerate it all the time and there's never been a problem. Plus I live in the usually cold, damp UK so haven't experienced problems with heat.  I think what you suggested yourself to do a trial run again yourself on a simple cake and see if you can work out which part of the process caused the problem.  In the meantime, some other decorators from India or the hotter states in the US might be able to offer advice. I hope the party guests had the decency to see the huge amount of work you put into the cake and were understanding of the situation and treated you kindly. Take care and you'll be back in top form before you know it!

hi CakeGeekUK...thank u so much for the kind words....n the guest did love the taste but the host was very irritated infact i gave her a50% off....i wish i could click the pics of the cake which i took at the venue n show u guys...any way have told the host to pass me the pics of the cake...lets see, if she does...

Hi Vip,

Have decorated a couple of fondant covered cakes, never have experienced fondant sliding off but have experienced condensation forming on the fondant immediately after I've covered it over a cake that I've just taken out of the refrigerator. But the cake wasn't even inside that long, maybe just 15 minutes.  First time it happened to me the fondant became glossy and sticky like it had clear nail polish applied to it. Had no inkling what to do. Good thing the client was a friend so no problem.  Last week it happened again as I was in a hurry to cover and what I did was I put the covered cake about a yard away from a fan, turned the fan on to medium and after 30 minutes I noticed the gloss disappearing and the fondant drying. By morning everything was ok. If nothing in your cake spoils easily I suggest not to refrigerate, and instead just put it in a cool dry place after covering as Smckinney suggested. And do not cover when you cake is cold, let it come to room temp. Don't worry too much about what happened, but instead learn from it and do better next time. We've all had bloopers :-) 

hi Annabakesthecake. what pic i showed u here that was not the cake i took...it was a huge cake n this was jus the part which i scraped n put another simple cake in place,of it,n the part which was got spoilt was not so bad...it was a very small part a 3.5 inchesby 2.inches cake.....the rest of the cake was pretty decent....infact people loved the taste n the cake got over.. dear this cake costed me a bomb n was working on a very low profit margin....so the 50% which i charged was the cost of the cake which i put...if this was the cake i would have not charged a penny 

ADitto to Anna. Ditto ditto ditto. Sorry this happened, but ditto to Anna.

AYou should figure out what's going on before you take anymore orders. Obviously you don't want this to happen again, but you said its not the first time and I'd hate for you to keep losing money as well as ruining your name. You mentioned your not making much profit from your cakes, that's another problem. You probably need to make some changes to your pricing structure when your ready.

I realize things happen. I know how much money, ingredients, time, energy, etc. go into making a cake (especially a big one) but if you can't deliver on a promise you made ie: the completed cake as ordered then you will lose customers. It will hurt you and your business!

ADo you not have a photo of this cake?

I think post #8 is the cake that she did not send, and she is waiting for the customer to send her pictures of the one she did deliver.  Correct me if I have read the info wrong.

I am so sorry that happened to you, looks like you put so much work into it! I had that happen to me before and it was because the buttercream under the fondant was too thick and too soft and it started melting and so the fondant melted and slid off too like in your picture.  

Hi guys tried another small cake at home...thankfully its absolutely alrite n going back to work on another order...anyways thank u all for your advice

But this time tried with another brand of fondant (as the last one almost got over n thought of trying the other brand)...so still dont know the reason why it hapened... all is well if it ends well n im back to work on another order....thank u all for your advice n suggestions

AI dont think the fondant brand is the culprit. But, taking the fact that it was in an airconditioned room then taken out at an outside temperature is the real reason. Anything cold, taken out of the cold room will make the water vapor from the surrounding air to condense on the cold surface, in this case, water from the outside air condensed to your cold fondant. This is just like taking a cold glass out of the fridge, notice the tiny droplets of condensates. Now on your cake, the condensed water vapor melts the sugar ingredient on your fondant...So for fondant, make sure the temperature of room where you are making the cake is almost the same as outside air. Never never take your fondant from a cold temperature to a hotter temperature. It will surely melt. I invite you to visit my blog. Im just starting out with my blog. http://www.katzsweettreats.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-minion-cake-just-last-week-i-have.html

AHi I had the same problem with my cupcakes wiched I packed in boxes, although my fondant is not completely melted it looks very sticky. Should I wait for the fondant to dry before I packed them? I didn't use any butter cream under it. I just stick it strait on my chocolate cupcakes. :(

AThanks for your reply so next time I'll put some buttercream under :)

I should add that if your BC is not a crusting recipe AND the fondant decos are not very dry before placement, then there will still be some grease staining and "wilting" of the decos the longer they're on the icing.

To avoid this issue [my BC doesn't crust much & is heavy in fat], I have coated the backs/bottoms of fondant decos using piping gel or melted chocolate.