Hello Decorators!

I ordered a matte fondant cake and matte fondant decorated cupcakes for my daughter's birthday but the cake showed up shiny and once I cut into it the icing on the cake it was very creamy, could this be an edible varnish, seems too thick to be. The owner of the bakery said it is the same matte fondant used on the cupcakes but from this video link the matte fondant straps on the cake and the matte fondant cupcakes the texture is completely different from the other fondant. Is it in any way possible this is fondant? 

Thanks for any help! 

looks like ganache on the cake with fondant decor

Chocolate modeling clay, maybe?  How hot was it?  Temps may cause it to behave oddly, and could cause the shinier finish.  (Did it not taste/look good?  Other than the not-so-matte feature, I thought it was pretty nice looking.)

Thank you K8 and birdsbug. The cake tasted fine, it's just that I wanted a matte finish, which is what I paid for and just didn't want to be lied to because I am not a professional so they think I might not know the difference. It was around 72 degrees I would say, but the straps when I poke them with a knife don't even budget in the video but as soon as I touch the dark chocolate portion its like melted butter. They would have thawed at the same rate so I just dont see how they can both be the same composition as the bakery is telling me.  Is it possible that an edible varnish could be that thick?

Looks like chocolate ganache with fondant accents. 

It looks like ganache with fondant decorations as K8 said.  I use modeling chocolate to cover cakes and it never gets that soft, even in our 100+ heat.  I would hate to think that your decorator lied to you, but unless she absolutely doesn't know her spatula from her cake boards, she did.

There is such a thing as an edible varnish, but it's usually sprayed on candies to make them shine and there's no way it would go on that thick. 

it sounds like the cake was frozen -- that has the potential to change the finish -- and however the cake was ordered could play into your dilemma -- of course i don't know what transpired there but what fondant is on there is matte finish -- 

a lot can go on during a cake order -- different things are discussed and discarded and decided on -- what works with one element won't work with the next so things can inadvertently  get agreed on that can't work together --

did you present a picture to be copied? did you request chocolate icing? whipped ganache is more matte but it streaks a little -- but regular ganache is not as always as shiney as your picturepicture --

so i guess I'm asking how did you order the cake -- all the fondant is matte -- then the icing which i think was previously frozen is another matter kwim

and what does it taste like? the shiney brown icing

Ah, yes!  Ganache!! :)  Silly me!

Thank you all so much for your helpful feedback! I really do appreciate it! K8 thanks for your questions, I only sent these two photos below in an email to the bakery, a matte fondant cake and matte fondant cupcakes; the bakery is known for fondant cakes as that's really all they post on their social media accounts.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3f/4c/4a/3f4c4ac6ff32d148c17fe386f54df5e2.jpg 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/55/97/d3/5597d3549e1f0ac1b18670b932d91617.jpg

I said I would like to have the cake in chocolate and the cupcakes in vanilla. There was no mention of the icing because it seemed obvious to me what was in the photo and the fact that she got the cupcakes and straps on the suitcase right in fondant, why not the whole cake? When I told her the cake icing was wrong her reply was "There is only one type of fondant and they are all matte by default. The same fondant was used for the cake and cupcakes. The cake was shiny because our chef usually sprays all our cakes with an edible varnish to protect the fondant from humidity."

However, a spray varnish would not be this thick and why wouldn't the straps have changed texture and become shiny the same way the dark brown icing did, if she sprayed the whole cake the varnish? It tasted like a sweeter, creamier, and a tad thicker, Hersheys chocolate syrup. 

Thank you again and I welcome any more comments! :)

On looking at the photos and your description of the straps being hard and the surface of the cake being like a sweeter, creamier thicker Hersheys choc syrup, I'm voting chocolate Ganache with fondant décor too.

I would vote ganache except for the bottom edge of the front part of the suitcase. I've never seen ganache that made a curled edge like that, but fondant would. The texture also doesn't look like ganache would look as the knife is being pulled away from the surface and leaving gooey trails, that looks like a melted fondant issue. But it's so soft, if it was some kind of a fondant it's really melted.

On the other hand, it isn't realistic to say that you want a matte finish and expect that to be 100%, since fondant is affected by humidity and can take on a sheen even without being sprayed by a glaze. That's something that's out of the control of the decorator, unless they're able to control the laws of physics and chemistry.

Right around 1:45, the knife is pulled up off of the cake, and the chocolate string that results isn't ganachey, it's gummy like a melted fondant or something that has a spring to it. It's fast, but that isn't how a ganache would move.

Thank you guys, costumeczar, any ideas on how the straps, when the knife is pulled across it, it doesn't move the same way as the dark chocolate? Because they are at the same room temperature so wouldn't they also have to be as melted if they are the same material? Or does dark chocolate fondant melt differently? 

in post 4 she said "....they would have thawed at the same rate..." so it was frozen and condensation could have helped create this 

I have no idea. It could be two different brands, one could be homemade, one would have candy clay in it, I don't know. There are too many variables for a bunch of us to watch a video and say for sure that this is that and that is the other. To me it's unlikely that a fondant would be that soft, but on the other hand it isn't fair to the baker to assume that she's lying based on a bunch of people who weren't there and have no idea how the cake was made to make guesses. 

It sounds like you're more upset about the matte finish, which isn't something that they can always control, but you said the cake tasted good, so I'd leave it at that. If you don't like the interaction with the baker, don't order from them again.

Thanks again!  Yes, K8memphis perhaps that's what happened the fondant was frozen and then later the straps were applied.