It's only 95* in my little house 
(those aren't hot flashes!) and my fondant is almost melting off the cakes I'm trying to cover.... 
As soon as I place it on the cake it starts to crack then goes into tearing from stretching.
Is there a way to firm it up some, besides waiting to do the rest until around 2 a.m.! 
I've been kneading it in cornstarch, maybe I should switch to p. sugar?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Is it on the cake yet? If not you have to let it rest for 24 hours before using it. Also, you may want to put it in the fridge for a bit.
Joe
The only thing I could think of is that you might have kneaded in too much cornstarch. If fondant gets too dry it cracks and breaks. Hope someone else knows... good luck!
Oh... you cakes were so beautiful! It doesn't look like you had any trouble with them. They look perfect!
I've been reading and re-reading an article in the March/April 2003 ACD magazine about fondant where they are saying to knead 1 tablespoon of shortening into each pound of fondant. It says "fondant manufacturers could add this to their product, but choose not to because it shortens shelf life and is not appropriate for all climatic conditions". Further, it says "Really, it boils down to the fact that fondant absorbs cornstarch and powdered sugar like a sponge absorbs water, which is detrimental to eating and handling".
Anyway, maybe you could try adding a little Crisco to your fondant instead of drying it out, make it softer and more flexible. You need to have some on your hands and work space too, to keep it from sticking.
This article also says with this, you can roll the fondant much thinner, it can be cut and will heal itself, and is better to eat because it is thinner and not so chewy (they claim it is the chewiness people object to, not just the taste.)
Next time I work with fondant I am going to try this, maybe at this point it would help you. Janice
peacockplace~thanks for the compliment on my cakes, I appreciate it. The side cake/groom's cake was the just awfully dry and crackly looking and I couldn't get the bottom edges to smooth, it was awful.
Janice, that makes a whole lot of sense with the fondant. I ended up putting shortening not only on my hands, but on the counter as well with minimal cornstarch. It cooled down somewhat after 10 and I ripped off what was left of the fondant on the first 2 layers. Thank goodness I had enough fondant to re-do them!
I'll be keeping these little tid bits of information handy now for future reference, thanks to both of you. 
Hi, J's cakes! Hope it helped a little! I've been intrigued by this article, wish I had a print-out of it. They are saying to make the fondant thin enough to read through, about 1/32 of an inch, rolled out with a heavy rolling pin on a silicone mat. It also says that keeping the cake refrigerated keeps the fondant soft and creamy, and if it is thin, soft and creamy nobody will mind eating it. Sounds good to me! Janice
jscakes,
I agree with with vjaaytx. I "grease" the surface where I will be kneading the fondant, my hands and the fondant itself with shortening. When fondant starts to get a little sticky, repeat the process. It will look a little greasy when you cover the cake, it will go away after a while. By the way, your cakes are georgeous!! 
Just saw this and your room temperature and likely also the humidity was the problem. At 95 F that is too hot to work with almost anything. Plus your hand temperature doesn't help. Yes, if the fondant is not sticking to your hands, do not add cornstarch or icing sugar. That causes a lot of cracking and wrinkling and dries it out. Fondant rolls out better on a very lightly smeared with a tad of Crisco shortening, surface. In fact I even smear the tinieist amount on my rolling pin.
Don't refridgerate a fondant covered cake as the humidity will cause shiny and dull spots on your fondant. Only chocolate fondant is not affected.
I don't agree with rolling out any thinner than 1/4 inch, that is the old standard and still pretty much the standard with any of the fondant experts.
The shortening in the fondant starts a melting process somewhere between 89 and 99F and that was the problem.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
hi Squirrelly Cakes,
Oh yeah it was hot in here, my hands were hot, I think even the counter was warm to the touch! I was thinking aftewards that maybe I should have gone with the mm fondant with the warmth in here, would have been great I think to work with then! No, I didn't refrigerate any of the fondant covered cakes because I'd be afraid of the condensation after taking it out.
On a good note, I did post it with the picture, that everyone loved the cake and I received nothing but positive feedback... but I'm still not 100% sure that I'd venture to do another fondant cake too soon...
Thanks again for all the help and information all of you!
I have just re-read my post - I was going to change it but I don't think I
will. The last bit is directed at the artlicle referred to by veejaytx.
========
As "It's only 95oF", your rolled fondant is not melting off the cakes, it is drying out as soon as you place it on the cake. The cracks, tearing and stretching are the results. DO NOT try to cool down with a fan! That will compound the problem.
Wilton White Ready to Use Rolled Fondant contains gum tragacanth and carboxymethylcellulose [CMC]. These are the ingredients that are used to dry out and harden gumpaste. Consequently, their product dries quicker and harder than you may expect rolled fondant to do.
Try not to use cornflour[starch] when rolling out sugarpaste. Use a non-stick board [laminate], pastry sheet, parchment or silicone matting with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Powdered sugar is called Pure Icing Sugar in Australia and it has no cornflour[cornstarch] anti-caking agent in it. If yours does, use it sparingly.
If it cracks;
1. make sure that it is completely worked up - knead all parts well [then rest 10 mins]
2. it is too "dry" - work in about 1 teaspoon shortening per pound. Crisco is fine but definitely not a dairy based product.
3. switch manufacturer, make homemade, try marshmallow fondant......
=============
A reply to the magazine article quoted!
March/April 2003 ACD magazine
1. "knead 1 tablespoon of shortening into 1 pound fondant"
The rolled fondant will be too "sloppy" and the surface will not set to the porcelain finish of sugarpaste
2. "fondant manufacturers could add this [shortening] to their product, but choose not to because it shortens shelf life and is not appropriate for all climatic conditions".
Lots of chemicals are added to prolong shelf life. Wilton's Pure White Rolled Fondant ingredients include hydrogenated vegetable oil [to lubricate], Corn starch [to dry], Gum Tragacanth [to strengthen] and CMC [to harden]. Most commercial sugarpastes have hydrogenated vegetable oil or shortening as an ingredient.
3. "fondant absorbs cornstarch and powdered sugar like a sponge absorbs water, which is detrimental to eating and handling."
Use cornstarch sparingly, if at all. Sugarpaste is like any paste - the fluid in it will keep absorbing any powder until it reaches its limit .
4. "...little Crisco to your fondant.. softer and more flexible."
True but only a little! It is not suppose to be soft only flexible - think playdough consistency. Take a piece and pull apart - it stretches slightly then "snaps" apart.
5. "roll the fondant much thinner"
Why - it will not be easy to manipulate - softer, stretchier, saggy? The "imperfections" of your cake will shine through at any thinner than 1/4". Then, there is no way to hide or cover up....
6. "it can be cut and will heal itself"
How? being more fluid, it flows together? Rolled fondant is a sugar paste.
7. "and is better to eat because it is thinner and not so chewy (they claim it is the chewiness people object to, not just the taste.)"
Possibly..we grew up with sugarpaste and we find buttercream more difficult to consume. Sugarpaste is supposed to be porcelain hard on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. It is an essentailly bland cake covering made to cover rich boozy fruitcakes....
8. "They are saying to make the fondant thin enough to read through, about 1/32 of an inch, rolled out with a heavy rolling pin on a silicone mat."
With sugarpaste that thin and that soft, I would like to know how you are going to pick it up...? Imagine a 22" x 22" square to cover a 16" square [3" high}.....
9. "It also says that keeping the cake refrigerated keeps the fondant soft and creamy"
Rolled fondant that is that thin at that temperature would either dissolve or dry like a rock. If the sugarpaste is "soft and creamy", then the low temperature is "setting" a covering that is soft. It is not supposed to be soft. As for creamy, it is not supposed to be creamy either!
10. "if it is thin, soft and creamy nobody will mind eating it."
WHY make it, cover cakes and decorate with Rolled Fondant [sugarpaste] if you "mind eating it"?? This sweeping generalization, pre-supposes that ALL people who eat rolled fondant [sugarpaste] DO NOT or WILL NOT like it....who knows unless they try the real product?
If Rolled Fondant is used for it's "look", then destroying the "recipe" will not produce the "look" of real Rolled Fondant.
Destroying the recipe and calling it "Rolled Fondant" is misleading.
==========Enough venting!
Glad you are through "venting"! In general here in the states we do not like to eat fondant, cake servers cringe when they see fondant on a cake to be cut and served; therefore the search for an alternative...something to give the look of fondant but to be palatable enough that it isn't necessary to "peel" it off in order to eat the cake beneath.
One of our things to do here at CC is to try to find answers and solutions to problems. In quoting the article, I was merely offering ideas that might prove helpful to one or all of us! I don't think anybody said anything about destroying a recipe but you! Janice
I think one of the things we have to understand here is generally, the Australians are considered to be the forerunners and experts in sugar paste/fondant. I know from reading many posts on many sites, that Auzzi is extremely well-informed when it comes to knowledge and experience with the product. In fact, if I had any issues with fondant, she would be the person I would direct my pleas for help to, haha, poor Auzzi.
I think she is stating her views based on how fondant and sugar paste experts see the whole fondant debate.
In Australia, the icing sugar doesn't come with cornstarch added the way it does in Canada and the U.S. And she is correct that Wilton's product has hardening agents added to it, similar to the way you make up modelling or sugar paste for making models and things that require hardening. That is one of the reasons why I like it, because I can use it for flowers and such on its own or with a bit of Gum-tex added to it.
I have worked with many brands of fondant and have made it from scratch with a few different recipes. There is a bit of a difference to the texture and handling of each brand or recipe and how it performs.
One of the biggest issues with fondant is due to the fact that people don't knead it enough, this too causes cracking. Adding cornstarch or icing sugar to the surface also causes much of the cracking issues. The only time I do this is when I have added a substantial amount of colour and it has made the fondant stick to my hands. Also, as she states, letting it rest is important.
We are seeing more and more articles suggesting to roll it out much thinner and I would have to agree that rolling it out thinner makes it harder to handle and makes it tear a lot easier. The 1/4 inch thickness is still the standard for professionals when fondant is taught by experts.
I think in Canada and the U.S., we have similar attitudes about the texture and taste. It is something I find hard to understand, I guess people want the look without actually having to eat it because they feel it is like eating Play-Doh. Much the same as the general European attitude about the decorator buttercream we use, they find it sickening sweet and a bit disgusting, haha! Guess it all boils down to what you are used to. But in my mind, why go to the trouble and expense of using fondant if it is just going to be thrown out.
I have to admit that after playing with it so much, I have actually acquired a taste for it and gotten used to the chewy nature of it.
Using fondant to cover cakes is a relatively new method in the U.S. Originally, fondant was used to seal and ice fruit cakes, not the standard white cakes and such we are now using it for.
But I think where Auzzi is coming from is that by playing with the recipe as the article suggested, you no longer have the same product. Much the same as if you used margarine in an all butter pastry recipe.
She is disagreeing with the article, not the messenger. I have to admit that I am seeing an awful lot of articles from baking magazines and decorating magazines, that were written by decorators, not baking professionals and I question their validity too. There was a time when only people with extensive culinary background and degrees or pastry expertise and such, would compose articles and put out cookbooks and such. Now just about anyone can do it and sometimes there is inaccurate information and bad advice in these articles.
For example, I don't know how many times I have seen people recommend fondant for a cake that will sit in extreme heat or in front of a sunny window. Since fondant is made in Canada and the U.S. with shortening, it will hold up as well but not better than an all shortening based buttercream. The shortening will have a melting issues just as sugar does when exposed to heat and direct sunshine.
Now I am off to find these cakes in the galleries!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
Haha, ok, Jscakes, haha, I suspect you told a big fat fib and it was 70 degrees in your kitchen and you have done thousands of fondant covered cakes and are a fondant expert, because that cake looks absolutely perfect to me as does the side cake, haha! Seriously though, you would never know that these cakes gave you any trouble at all, they look perfect and gorgeous and I can see why they were pleased. Your picture taking ability makes me green with envy too, haha, because that looks like a professional cake picture. Your flowers are beautifully placed, the designs neatly done and very uniform and the fondant looks perfectly smooth. As to why you would think twice before doing fondant again, well it is really difficult to tell, by the end results. Excellent work kiddo! Love it!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
LOL~Squirrelly Cakes! Oh yeah, it was at least 95* in here or higher, it was 90* outside Friday...ughh! I live in a single wide older mobile home and we haven't gotten the AC put in this year yet.
I Thank You for your compliments, it makes me feel pretty darn good!!! This is the first store bought fondant covered cake, I thought it would be easier to work with than the mm fondant I used on the cake in March. The little scrolls were placed nicely on some wrinkles, I need to work on scrolls, hubby said they look like corn stalks...yup, they do! He heard me say a few choice words when the fondant started stretching and tearing, so he came out to investigate...his advice...call and tell them they aren't getting a cake! NO WAY! I couldn't get it to smooth properly at the base, but managed to hide some of the "bigger" wrinkles. My picture taking...trial and error! I didn't get a good one of the table and display of both cakes, but at least I have one that shows it all. Thanks for the kind words there also! Man, I don't dare show hubby-he'll accuse me of not being able to get through the doorway any longer!
OH, the flowers! They were brought to me in a 5 gal. bucket, bunches of 2 different color carnations, 1 bunch of baby's breath, bunch of the greenery, and only 3 roses in the whole bucket! Okay I said, I can do this. So I did it! My daughter was jealous because these were her wedding colors too.
Thanks again for all the help, hints, and especially the nice things everyone has said. That is probably the best motivator...like bees to honey!
Heehee Jscakes, you must dearly love your husband or he is protected by angels, haha! Hhmn, that cornstalk comment would have landed my husband the bucket of water and flowers over his head, if the kitchen was 95F, haha! Hhmn, heat and me do not mix well, haha! I did not think they looked like cornstalks at all! Made me laugh, my hubby would have said the same thing about calling them and telling them they weren't getting a cake. Like that was an option, haha! Guess he likes living life on the line, haha!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
Squirrelly Cakes ~ Definitely Angels in here! LOL! We live life on the line here most of the time, and because he knows I am a perfectionist when it comes to making something for someone else he likes to goad me a bit!
Thank you auzzi for your information. I'm always open to learning more about something that I don't know very much about.
That goes for everyone on here who has pointers, tips, and been there-done that lessons! There have been some things I've read on here for tips that I've tried, a bit unsuccesfully, but will continue to try new techniques...how else can one learn?
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