A couple weeks ago I made my own wedding cake and I used the SPS system and Satin Ice fondant...I get the cake put together at my house to make sure everything looked ok and then took it apart to transport it...I left it over night on the counter and the next morning the bottom 2 tiers were very wrinkly looking and bulging terribly. Of course I got aggravated and stripped off the fondant and tried again...It looked fine that morning but by the time the wedding started it was bulging again and the fondant looked terrible. When I fill my cakes I always try to put a little pressure on the top layer just to rush the settling I guess and make sure its not going to bulge.

I have read threads talking about letting the cakes rest and settle before covering in fondant. As soon as I bake the cakes a couple days before decorating I wrap them in saran wrap and let them sit out..The day I start to decorate is when I fill and ice them then cover in fondant..Does resting mean filling the cake, and icing it then letting it sit out? If so, how would your cake stay fresh, or do you need to cover it?

When I fill my cakes I don't use a lot of filling at all, I try bare minimum to prevent bulging and I also create a dam before filling..

Next...does anyone have issues with Satin Ice being too soft and getting wrinkled like that? I rolled it out even thicker the second time and it still looked terrible... Here is a picture at the bottom to see this catastrophe...help

When I let my cakes settle I do it after it is filled but not iced.

In a hurry I use a book for pressure, if I have the time I just lay saran over the top ( it needs to breathe and let the air out ) and let it sit overnight.

By that time some of the filling is bulging and needs to be scraped and my cake has settled. Then I ice the cake and cover in fondant.

I use Satin Ice exclusively and I have never had a problem with it.

Your cake still turned out gorgeous. 

THIS is why I don't use Satin Ice anymore.

I used to have no issue with this rippling happening, but around 18 months ago, this is what started happening to my cake sides too when I used Satin Ice - regardless of the amount of resting. My MUD cakes would ripple and they WERE rested after filling (with added weights), dammed, and covered in firm ganache before applying the SI.

So, IMHO, it's not you, its the fondant.

I used the last 10kg I had making flowers and such, and will never buy it again.

It's just too risky when a paying client is getting a wrinkled, rippling mess when they expect smoothness and a professional finish.

I'm sorry it did happen to you, and on your wedding day no less. But if its any consolation, I think its probably all because of the fondant you used. Your work otherwise is great.

If you look in my gallery, you can see that I have years of experience using fondant (its the predominant finish here in Australia), so its not like I don't know what I'm doing, or didn't know how to prep my cakes. I have not had a satisfactory explanantion from SI as to why I had these problems.

AUnsolicited, unhelpful comment--SI just smells awful too!:grin:

Thank you both very much!

Melanie- So do you not have a problem with your cakes drying out by leaving them out overnight? If not, then I need to try this..I don't think I am letting my cakes rest long enough. Literally right after I fill, ice it and put fondant on I start my decorating.

Evoir- What fondant do you use now and have luck with? I'm always open to try new things..

Haha, AZCouture :-)

I was going to add - when I have peeled it off in a rage the morning after applying SI the night before and having this happen, my ganache is STILL flat and intact. The fondant just seems to react with my chocolate ganache or something and does this ripply thing.

I'll never use it again.

I use Orchard (back to basics!) and Pettinice (also known here as Bakels RTR). I've mucked around with Fondariffic and Fondx, but it costs wayyy too much to buy it here.

I'm actually thinking about making my own fondant now, that's how upset I got at SI.

Here's the thread on getting rid of the bulge http://cakecentral.com/t/633571/my-newest-trick

I use SatinIce or PettinIce.  Love both.

I allow the Saran to drape the cake so there is some coverage, but not sealed.

I have no problem with them drying out. So far it has worked great for me.

AThank you all, I think this is really going to help.

I bake my cakes and the freeze them. The day before I need them, I fill them using a THICK dam (so thick I roll them like a snake, cant pipe it), and wrap them well in saran, after that I stack the cake like it will be when it's finished and let it settle in the fridge over night. The next day I pull them out then frost and cover if needed. I have never had bulging or bubbles.  Hope that helps!   Your cake was still beautiful!

AI have experienced bulging of the cake sides when I put very thick frosting in between layers of cake. That was on my 2nd fondant cake. That was a very bad experience when you thought your cake is good to go for the next day delivery, but when you woke up in the morning, the sides are wrinkly and bulgy. When making fondant cakes, I recommend not to put too much frosting in between cake layers. You can visit my blog to see the picture of my minion cake, I used several stacks of cake layer but no bulging at all even when left overnight. http://www.katzsweettreats.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-minion-cake-just-last-week-i-have.html

Whether you like the smell of Satin Ice or not, I have a hard time believing it's responsible for that kind of sagging. And if it had been the fondant, why didn't the top two tiers have the same problem? If those bottom 3 tiers were filled with something soft and the top two weren't, your dam isn't firm enough. Rolling it out thicker the second time would have just made the problem  worse by making the fondant heavier.

This is an old thread....again. 

AJust had the same problem last night with Satin Ice rolled fondant...wrinkly and bulging!?!?! Striped it off and finished with buttercream.

I had problem last year that look like the fondant was melting .... and them, this year i tryed the one already colored is less soft them the white color but yet too soft for me, and the gum paste does not dryfaster like the wilton brand, i dont like wilton products taste but it offers no risk at the cake design and satin ice taste great but for me too sweet and wait too soft. I live in china there is no many fondant options but satin ice for me does not work well!!