I've never made petit fours, nor have I used poured fondant. I used the Wilton recipe. I'm not sure if it's me or this recipe. I followed all the instructions, watched videos but I just couldn't seem to get them covered properly. I have been cake decorating for many years so it's not new to me...Maybe it wasn't hot enough? or runny enough? Or I need another recipe?

  AND I really don't want to start over with baking another cake! Can I scrape off the fondant if I freeze them?

Advice?

TIA

What exactly is the recipe?

 What are your petit fours made of?

 And what is happening exactly? Does it harden before it runs down the sides? Does it completely run down the cakes not leaving a thick enough layer to cover them? Do you dip or pour over?

Hi,

Thanks for your reply!  I had a photo to attach, but can't seem to find a way to attach it! I haven't been on CC for a while and they seemed to have changed a lot.

 Anyway, the recipe is the Wilton poured fondant, the petit fours are a white cake recipe from Taste of Home website and the poured fondant will not attach to the sides, I am using a pastry bag (plastic - cut hole in bottom) and I tried every technique that I saw on the videos I watched,  to get it to stick to the sides. But it sort of rolls  over and leaves the sides bare

 I've been researching a bit more and I think the cake isn't dense enough, it's also too high, but most importantly, the fondant isn't thin enough and I believe it has to be warmer to be thinner? The recipe said not to warm beyond 100 degrees F so I guessed, as my candy thermometer is so out of whack. I also put the petit fours in the freezer after I iced them on top (as recommended several places ) before I poured the fondant.

I would appreciate any advice or tasty tried and true recipes you may have. . I think I'll give it another go - get back up on that horse!

Thanks!

Terri

I forgot to answer your dip or pour over question. I am pouring, not dipping

Actually it sounds like it's just too thick. You can thin the poured fondant down until it has the right consistency. Try it over the pot on the back of a spoon.

 Don't be too strict following exact measurements from the recipe. It's more like a guideline. And depending on where you live (climate etc) you might need to alter it a bit.

 I've even used it on unchilled cakes. Yes, it will obviously run down the sides way easier, but it's a bit thinner of a coverage. Maybe you cakes were too cold and sort of shock frosted the fondant immediately?

 And the density of the cake doesn't make a difference as you covered it in BC anyway.

 I'm actually just wondering how many times you tried reheating it? By now all the water from the fondant might have evaporated anyway... Like I said, add water until it pours easily and maybe just use a big spoon or something similar to pour it.

Thanks for the advice! So, you are saying that the density doesn't matter? 

Also, I didn't do the sides of the cake with BC - I assumed I didn't have to?

http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-make-petit-fours/

I would definitely cover top AND sides with BC. Because it a) gives it a smooth sleek appearance and b) if your cake is not dense and maybe even crumbly, then it WILL be a problem.

 My neighbor is a poured fondant master. Whenever she burns a cake and has to cut bits of or whenever her cake gets stuck in the pan, she's making her (in) famous poured fondant...which is like...every time, LOL. She would just pour a thick layer over the entire cake.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say, a petit four is a delicate piece of an exquisite mouth full of cake, looking perfect, tasting amazing with a variety of cake, filling, BC , fondant, and in many cases even much more combined in one bite. Making them is an art on it's own, especially if they shouldn't look like a five year old throw them together, making them all look absolutely uniform is even harder.

 Cover them in BC and then pour the fondant which is thinned down a bit with water.

 Otherwise you could use chocolate to cover them.

Or if they have an interesting layering, contrasting colors or distracting topper (f.e. Pulled sugar piece), they don't need to be covered at all...

Thanks!

i've also worked with people who are petits fours masters however i was born sans the petits fours gene -- 

my co-worker would cut the cakes mostly uniformly -- lined them up on a rack on a sheet pan then she dipped a pie pan into the bucket of icing and poured it all over the cakes -- done -- bam -- perfect --

not in my dna -- i hate doing petits fours and i suck at it -- am probably a little bitter too :)

but i do wish you the best

Haha K8Memphis! ...not sure if it in my genes either...I ran out of time, so I bought the cake, the icing, melted the icing, then poured! They tasted super crappy, but they looked okay! One day I will try them from scratch again.... I may try dipping instead. That seems to work for a lot of people!