Heat And Humidity Is Destroying My Cakes!

Decorating By aundrea Updated 5 Aug 2011 , 12:46pm by AnnieCahill

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aundrea Posted 24 Jul 2011 , 6:57am
post #1 of 14

anyone else on complete melt down like me! i should be sleeping tonight but instead im re-doing 3 cakes for tomorrow because of the hot weather we are experiencing!!!
i have the air conditioner going but its not helping. other than me sitting with my refrigerator open to decorate im at my wits end!!
my frosting which i never have a problem with wont crust - ive had major blow outs with my fillings and my fondant is still goey.
just had to vent because im soooo exhausted!

13 replies
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Texas_Rose Posted 24 Jul 2011 , 2:08pm
post #2 of 14

I hope you got some rest by now icon_smile.gif

This heat wave that a good portion of the country is going through? That's called summer where I live icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif Every day this week is forecast to be over 100 degrees and it's just a normal week for us.

In the summer, I don't use any butter in my frosting. And when I do cakes, I turn the AC down to 72.

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Nazarine Posted 24 Jul 2011 , 2:17pm
post #3 of 14

Awww. I feel for you!! I have just been practicing this week but the same here. Everything seems to be acting differently than I'm used to. I'm fairly new to cake decorating so this is my first summer doing this. Our A/C is running non-stop but it can't handle weather this extreme so my house gets up to the 80s during the day (with the a/c on). I hope you got some rest and that cooler weather is on the way.

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cakestyles Posted 24 Jul 2011 , 3:20pm
post #4 of 14

I made a business decision to take July and August off from baking this summer and I'm so happy I was able to do that.

It's been 100 or above the last 3 days and I can't imagine delivering a wedding cake in this.

Last summer, even with the A/C going, it didn't really help.

When you're dealing with butter and sugar and a kitchen that's getting heated up by a hot oven the odds are against us.

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microunique Posted 25 Jul 2011 , 6:18am
post #5 of 14

While making a decorated wedding cakes it should have limited exposure to heat and humidity.

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platinumlady Posted 25 Jul 2011 , 6:58am
post #6 of 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by microunique

While making a decorated wedding cakes it should have limited exposure to heat and humidity.




WOW REALLY?? icon_confused.gif

I'm pretty sure aundrea already knows that. However, right now that's not something she can control. She is tired & trying to do the best with the situation at hand. She can't control the weather & she is doing what she can to keep the cake in the right temp.

aundrea
I hoped everything turned out well. And like Texas_rose said I hope you were able to get some rest. We're going thru a heat wave here as well Pray you get some relief soon. Hang in there & Keep your head up

Edited because I found major typos...sorry

Also cakestyles that is such a good idea wish I could do something like that but these are the months that start the family and close friends birthdays...we get a break after Feb

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fairmaiden0101 Posted 25 Jul 2011 , 7:35am
post #7 of 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by microunique

While making a decorated wedding cakes it should have limited exposure to heat and humidity.



LOL... umm ok icon_confused.gif

Hope you have got some sleep, things always look better after sleep-chin up!

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RetiredNavyChief Posted 25 Jul 2011 , 8:23pm
post #8 of 14

I know what you mean I am in Missouri and it have been terrible. I bake in my basement and last week I purchased a dehumdifier and it really helps when the humditiy is so high.

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TexasSugar Posted 25 Jul 2011 , 8:42pm
post #9 of 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas_Rose

This heat wave that a good portion of the country is going through? That's called summer where I live icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif




Yep! Ditto this!

I totally get that those up north are not use to this weather, so it can be hard for ya to adjust.

The fact that it is always humid here in the summer is one of the reasons I avoid the fridge. That just causes more issues in my opinion. While it will firm things up, that only lasts until it gets back to room temp. And it will cause problems with the condensation.

I hope you were able to get it to work out for ya.

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WeezyS Posted 25 Jul 2011 , 8:43pm
post #10 of 14

I really feel for you! I was just thinking two days ago when it reached 107 here that I was was sooooo glad I didn't have any cakes to do. I agree, a dehumidifier might help, but I found out that mine throws off heat when running. Maybe you could use a buttercream frosting made for heat and high humidity. I think you can find one on here in the recipe section. Although, it is probally too late.
I hope everything turned out o.k. for you and you finally got some sleep. Just know that we're all pulling for you and we know how bad your situation is! icon_cry.gificon_sad.gif

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loriemoms Posted 2 Aug 2011 , 8:33pm
post #11 of 14

I am having such problems with this weather (we have had 102 days for several days now) No problem decorating the cakes, and I put them in the walkin for delivery, so they survive just fine. But once they get to the venue, a few hours later blows outs happen (I see them in the photos from the photographers) that ruin the cakes. How do I prevent these?

I fill the cakes room temp and let them sit for several hours (dont have the time to have them sit overnight) We crumb coat them and put them in the walk in and then frost and decorate cold. I thought about leaving them out over night before decorating, hoping this would get rid of blow outs. But once we get them cold again, they seem to come back hours later. (I am not around to fix them unfortantly) Any ideas?

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paula0712 Posted 3 Aug 2011 , 6:26am
post #12 of 14

I just had a major blow out on my cake. I ganached the damn thing and let it sit for 2 days!!!! I put the fondant on today and finished decorating it. Something told me to go and check on my cake and there it was!!! How in the world did a blow out happen on a ganched cake??

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shaekae81 Posted 5 Aug 2011 , 11:02am
post #13 of 14

I see that we are all dealing with the same issues. While the heat is not too big of an issue here (Germany) right now, the humidity is HORRIBLE! My fondant is soooo soft and and pain to work with.

What are your tips or tricks to getting the fondant to stay firm?

p.s. I use MFF and MFF.

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AnnieCahill Posted 5 Aug 2011 , 12:46pm
post #14 of 14

I can't help but ROFL on this one. I had a cake last weekend that made me want to jump out the window. The buttercream was melting and smooshing all over the cake, and eventually I ended up having to scrap it and make a new batch with more shortening than butter. I scraped allll the buttercream off the cakes and started over. I hated to do that but I knew it would just take less time to start over than fool with what I already had.

To prevent the blow outs, don't fridge the cakes. I had a cream cheese apple butter filling in one, which is why I had to fridge it, but I will never do that again in the summertime because it developed a huge bubble on the side (which I scraped and re-iced when the cake came down to room temp). I think you should just make your BC with a larger ratio of shortening to butter that way you can leave it out. Sharon (sugarshack) has commented on this several times and she also seems to think it's the condensation along with the heat and humidity. There really is no other explanation, because I never get them any other time of year! Also, switch to shelf stable fillings so you don't have to refrigerate.

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