Anyone Else Having Trouble With Satin Ice Fondant??????

Decorating By MissRobin Updated 24 Oct 2014 , 10:27pm by IslandJoy

MissRobin Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MissRobin Posted 5 Oct 2009 , 2:00pm
post #1 of 27

I had two cakes this weekend that were a pain in the A**!!! I have never had so much trouble with my fondant. I am trying to figure out if it is me or the Fondant??? My fondant on my cake after applying and setting overnight, was rippled and lots of bubbles!!!! I have never had such a problem with it!!! I am so upset about it, I just want to quit doing cakes!!! It was a disaster!!!

26 replies
letsgetcaking Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
letsgetcaking Posted 5 Oct 2009 , 2:23pm
post #2 of 27

Well, I cannot say anything about the Satin Ice, as I've never used it, but I am sorry it gave you so much trouble. I can also tell you that you should absolutely NOT stop making cakes! All of the cakes in your gallery are gorgeous! You've got the gift, girl!

live2create Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
live2create Posted 5 Oct 2009 , 2:28pm
post #3 of 27

I used the same Fondant a while back and I hated it. It was so soft and I found hard to handle. I didn't know if it was just me and not knowing how to work with it, I also had bubbles I was so frustrated. This was the only time I used the fondant and I don't think I will use it again. Then I read the post on here and everyone loves the Satin Ice, so I wonder what have I missed or what did I do wrong. Is Satin Ice suppose to be so soft, and how thick did you roll yours out?
Don't give up on your cakes but I understand the frustration. Things will go much better the next time icon_smile.gif

Kimmers971 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Kimmers971 Posted 5 Oct 2009 , 2:35pm
post #4 of 27

I ONLY use Satin Ice and never have a problem. Maybe you are rolling it too thin/thick? Have too much buttercream (or whatever) under it?

KHalstead Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
KHalstead Posted 5 Oct 2009 , 2:36pm
post #5 of 27

you guys are scaring me, I've got a 5 tiered wedding cake to cover for this weekend and I bought a 20lb. bucket of satin ice for it. I used a portion of it for the tinkerbell doll cake in my gallery and LOVED it. It went on sooooooooooooo smoothly and was like satin to the feel (compared to mmf which I always used before). Hopefully I don't have the trouble you're describing for my cakes this weekend!

sthompson2k Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sthompson2k Posted 5 Oct 2009 , 2:45pm
post #6 of 27

MissRobin, I use Satin Ice on all my fondant cakes and haven't had an issue. However, I have noticed that when it's really humid out it can cause problems.
I would ask these questions:

When you applied the fondant, how long did you let your cakes "rest" before applying it?
Were your cakes frozen?
Were they too fresh (baked them that day)?
Did you roll your fondant too thin?
Was your icing under the fondant too thin?

These are issues I have had myself which caused fondant issues. I'm certainly not as talented as most of the folks on here but I do use Satin Ice on almost every cake I make so I do have some experience with it icon_smile.gif Feel free to email or PM me if you have any questions.

stsapph Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
stsapph Posted 5 Oct 2009 , 2:51pm
post #7 of 27

I just did my first wedding cake and used Satin Ice for the first time for it. I learned a lot! I found that the corners would crack if I rolled it out too think, I was going for 1/8" originally. I ended up going with 1/4" and had no issues with the corners cracking. I had a couple of issues with bubbles, but I used a pin to pop them and then rubbed a little bit of crisco over the holes to blend the fondant back together. HTH!

MissRobin Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MissRobin Posted 5 Oct 2009 , 3:30pm
post #8 of 27

Thanks for all your responses!! I have used Satin Ice many times, and never had all of these issues. I just did a wedding cake last week and used SI, and the problem with that one was the cracking around some of the edges. I attributed that to it being to thick, so this time I rolled it a little thinner, 1/8 of an inch. No cracking but I had rippling and bubbles, it honestly was horrible. I baked my cakes and the settled overnight like always and my icing was the same thickness, crumbcoat maybe just a little thicker than that. The only thing that I can think of, is, it was rainy last week for serveral days. I just don't know really, All I know is, it really upset me.

liz_isa22 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
liz_isa22 Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 6:42am
post #9 of 27

I decided to buy satin ice after reading all these great reviews online. I am also pregnant so decided I would buy fondant instead of making it because I havent been feeling well. I was so disappointed. It began to tear after I began to roll it out. It was so dry and cracked as I try to lay on it on top of the cake. I had to make my fondant because I couldn't make the fondant work and I tried everything from microwavinig it and adding some water. I really wanted to cry. It was for my friend's wedding and I thought I was going to disappoint her.

madgeowens Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
madgeowens Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 6:51am
post #10 of 27

The one time I used it for a leather jacket, the colar cracked real bad and I had to replace it........am not a fan

AmysCakesNCandies Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
AmysCakesNCandies Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 1:02pm
post #11 of 27

I bought satin ice once and I never will again, I had nothimg but trouble with it.

susgene Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
susgene Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 1:26pm
post #12 of 27

I use Satin Ice almost all of the time. I have experienced some of the cracking type of issues and what I do now is mix it with Fondarific and I haven't had a problem. I love the way it works together for covering cakes (but I only use the SI for decorations) and I like the taste of the two mixed better too.

springlakecake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
springlakecake Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 1:42pm
post #13 of 27

I always use satin ice and havent had any problems except that the chocolate fondant always seems REALLY hard. I don't know if that is normal or not.

When you say bubbles, do you mean in the fondant or under the fondant? If it is in the fondant, you may need to work the fondant more before rolling it out. If it is under the fondant, I don't think it has to do with the fondant.

I have only had the fondant buckle on me once, and I think it was due to the humidity. It was august and I didn't have the air on!

springlakecake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
springlakecake Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 1:43pm
post #14 of 27

if it seems too dry, add some shortening...don't add water to it.

leah_s Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
leah_s Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 1:45pm
post #15 of 27

It really is interesting the different experiences witht he same product. I've used SatinIce for years without problem. I switched to PettinIce recently and like it also, although it's very soft, so i don't think I recommend it for a first time fondant user. Fondarific is too expensive for me to even try. I just bought 30 pounds of the SatinIce buttercream flavor and although I don't think it tastes appreciably different, it does smell really, really good.

I've found that with SatinIce I always roll it out over a veg shortening filmed countertop. With the PettinIce I have to use a cornstarch dusted countertop. Each product acts differently.

wrightway777 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
wrightway777 Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 2:07pm
post #16 of 27

I agree with mixing it. Many people have made the comment of it cracking or more commonly described as "elephant skin." 1/2 and 1/2 SI with a softer fondant like Fondx, Fondarific and even Duff's brand (its hard initially but softer in microwave per container instructions), etc.

If it does crack you know the trick to fix it right? Use royal icing and I rub a little bit into the crack. Easy when its just going onto white fondant but if you have it going onto a colored fondant...well you'll have to color you RI.

One thing though, IMHO, never add water to fondant. Water literally "eats" at the fondant. Get some glycerin...work a little bit into the fondant until it feels "right" to you. Its a must have when working with fondant or GP (ranks right up there with needing cake pans). icon_smile.gif

pinkpiggie78 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
pinkpiggie78 Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 2:44pm
post #17 of 27

I read on another thread that Satin Ice replaced some of their machinery recently and it caused some issues with their fondant. I bought a 5 lb bucket of red, blue and green at the same time from CK and well.... The red is beautiful, as is the blue, but the green is a dry, cracking mess. My husband was helping me with some molding (first time) and even he noticed the different texture.

Anyway, I would definately agree with mixing it with a softer fondant. I threw in just a golf ball size of Fondarific to a softball size piece of the green Satin ice... it felt so much better! I know Fondarific is more expensive, but I love it!

TartletteTreats Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
TartletteTreats Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 3:24pm
post #18 of 27

I'm beginning to suspect that it might have something to do with the suppliers that people have been getting the Satin Ice from.

cakesbycathy Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cakesbycathy Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 3:36pm
post #19 of 27

There have been several previous threads about others having problems with Satin Ice. One of the reps had replied that they had problems with their equipment or changed equipment or something and that it had resulted in a small number of batches being affected.

Based on the amount of complaints I would say that it was way, way more than a small number of batches. I've stopped using it. I was having way too many problems.

apetricek Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
apetricek Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 3:56pm
post #20 of 27

YES YES YES I have been having multiple issues with satin ice lately!!!!!!!! I actually had one bucket sooo dry, all it did was crumble, and crack. Then I had two recently (from the same batch unfortunately) that was so gummy. It was like trying to cover a cake in bubble gum. I threw most of it away. I actually emailed them to see if they were having issues, and to tell them my problems, and I still have yet to hear back from them. I may opt to change companies. TOOOO many issues all back to back. I have only ever used satin ice, so what is something people would reccommend as comparible or better? It is very frustrating though to spend all this time on a cake, and then the fondant gives you nothing but issues....can also make or break your outcome, and then it looks like you did a poor job on the cake, and not the materials.

sookie77 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sookie77 Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 4:14pm
post #21 of 27

I've had issues with Satin Ice lately too. I bought two 20 lb buckets of it and it is SO dry. I bought it from CK products. My hands are killing me today from all the kneading. Ugh... what a waste of money!

Torts Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Torts Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 4:37pm
post #22 of 27

Wow wrightway! Thanks for that royal icing tip!!! That'll save me a lot of frustration in the future.

I tried Satin Ice once- it looked great at first but then ended up cracking all over the place. I rolled it out on powdered sugar though, so I suppose that's what made it too dry. I'll have to try crisco. Thanks leah_s for that tip!

Ariel22 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Ariel22 Posted 13 Nov 2010 , 4:39pm
post #23 of 27

I've had issues with it also. I usually make Jennifer Dontz's White Chocalate Fondant but I had bought a bucket of the Satin Ice to have on hand just in case I needed some fondant in a hurry. I too had read the raves about it so I wanted to try it sometime. I made a cake for my mother-in-law's birthday last month when I was visiting my daughter in Arizona. I took the bucket of Satin Ice with me so I wouldn't have to do any mixing & to make it easier on me since I was using my daughter's kichen. It rolled out nicely but as soon as I got it on my cake, it cracked & just fell apart on me before I could even trim it. It was a huge mess! I swore that I would NEVER use Satin Ice again! I managed to salvage it since it was just a family cake but I was so embarrassed how it turned out! It also tasted so dry...I thought it was horrible! I will never buy it again! icon_cry.gif

TammyRiley Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
TammyRiley Posted 14 Nov 2010 , 2:33am
post #24 of 27

I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one that has been having problems lately! I have used Satin Ice for about 3 years, and just in the past 6 months or so it has been crap! I have asked many questions to those who use it and sell and I don't believe that I am doing anything wrong. I had to roll out a large piece for a 12" round tier, so I tried cornstarch and it cracked and even tore while I was lifting and dropping it on the cake. I tried using icing sugar and had the same problem. I had the disaster experiences with this one 20lb bucket and I emailed Satin Ice with my complaints. They replied and asked for the stock no. etc, and haven't heard back, even after my third attempt at resolving this. I tried one more time with the same batch, on a small 8" round cake. I had to tint it green (soccer cake) so it was kneaded well. The cake turned out perfect and half hour before pick-up, the "happy birthday" letters that I glued on the satin ice covered cake were peeling off and tearing the fondant underneath away from the cake! I have NEVER had this happen before! I tried to fix it by putting tiny pin holes in to let any air out, stuck it real good and put it in the fridge to settle. The customer said the letters were peeling at the party! I had to discount her next cake. So embarrassed. Do I tried Dawn fondant, first batch was totally fine, just had a lot of air bubbles. Second batch I bought had sugar-like crystals all mixed in which caused tiny holes that stretched as I rolled and smoothed on the cake. So, I tried one more time with a medium size bucket of Satin Ice. This time, I rolled in on shortening, as I usually do with smaller cake, and anytime I roll out coloured fondant. Absolutely no problem when rolling on shortening, turned out really nice (open book baptism cake). So, I figure that I can't roll Satin Ice on anything but shortening. But that doesn't explain that large pail (which is still in my cupboard) b/c I used shortening for the cake that peeled! I haven't tried Fonderific, but I heard it is fabulous. I also heard that Duff Fondant is really Fonderific with his name on it, and if get a 40% off coupon at Michael's, it is probably worth it. That is my beef. Really annoyed at Satin Ice's customer service, lack of, and do strongly believe that something is definitely different with their product.

cheriej Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cheriej Posted 14 Nov 2010 , 2:43am
post #25 of 27

I'm just a novice but I've used SI and I have really liked it. I love the smell/taste of the new buttercream fondant. I have tried Fondarific which was a lot more expensive and really difficult to work with in my opinion. My 2011 resolution is to try to Massa fondant which I did taste at the ICES and it was the best tasting fondant ever!

Margy t Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Margy t Posted 11 Apr 2014 , 8:56am
post #26 of 27

AAfter many yeRs of cake decorating have just had a disaster. The base cake has cracked severely --- never had this problem before! Not happy with SI

IslandJoy Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
IslandJoy Posted 24 Oct 2014 , 10:27pm
post #27 of 27

I have been using this product since 2009.  I find that rubbing a bit of Crisco unflavored lard does the trick.  Did a wedding using this to cover 15 cakes. 14 2 layer six inch cakes and 1 tiered bridal cake.  The lard worked perfectly and there was not a crack to be seen, and it also gave it a really nice sheen.

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%