Im so upset right now. all I ever do here is ask questions.Why do I have so many cake problems? Most of the day I was working on a large drape that I finally accepted w/ a tiny rip that I patched. So then I went to roll michells fosters fondant which I think i may have added too much sugar to. How do you know when its the perfect consistency? Anyway so i softened it w/ a little shortening. but every time I lay it over dummy cake it rips at corner. Does tis happen to anybody? I,tried like 10 times each w/ alittle more shortening. I'm going crazy!For every fondant I tried I have a problem.MMf=too hard to work with, Toba garett=too soft ,no elasticity, satin ice= very soft, had too add sugar.I feel like giving up. I'm tired of making fondant w/ bad results. Do you guys have a favorite premade? Cn i repair the fondant I'm using now?

I use MMF and found if it's rolled to thinly I have problems with tearing. Try rolling the fondant a bit thicker and see if that helps. As for consistancy, it's like play-doh. Don't give up, you'll find the correct balance.

Maybe you're rolling the fondant too thin?? Just a thought...

is it hot in your house right now??? All of the problems you've described are issues I have when my kitchen is too hot.....so now I always try to bake one day and decorate on a different day

I'm so sorry you are having trouble! I have really only worked with Wilton's (Ugh! Yucky!) and the MMF that I found on this site. The MMF works like a dream for me! The only change that I have made from the directions is that I don't let it rest, as is suggested. I use it as soon as I have enough sugar worked in (I also knead by hand, not by mixer), and put it straight on the cake. It's even still a little warm! I have never had any problems this way.

I hope things start to pick up!

<S>

Starkie - It's funny that you said you never have problems using it right away. I did that for the first time just a few days ago and I swear it was better to work with than letting it sit!

Stacie

Im rolling 1/4 inch and here in sunny florida with the tropical storm going by it is very warm and humid, but not in the house. im actually thinking i liked mmf best even though it killed my arms. Its just that iI soon may be hired as a pastry chef in ahotel to cakes and I wont be able to spend all day rolling fondant for one cake. I'd like to find a good reliable fondant,do you guys prefer pettenice or fondx?

try making Rhonda's MMF. The others killed me too, and they always tore. Also, are you putting BC under your fondant?

I roll all mine 1/8 iinch thick. I also never sand down the edges of my dummys either. Cracking can occur for various reasons. The most common is not kneading it enough. Kneading will make it stretch more. Thick fondant will rip. It will be heavy. I also coat all my dummy cakes with piping gel. HTH!

If you are covering a dummy, are the edges really sharp? If so that could cause your tearing. Sand them down a bit and that should help. I've been told to sand the edges on my dummies before covering with fondant.

HTH

Judi

phoenix13,

Humidity can be a problem for fondant (I have that problem here) it makes the icing sticky and stretchy and harder to work with.

I have been using pettinice mostly and it is pretty good but I have heard that fondx is better (supposed to go well in the fridge and less likely to get crazing - the fine little cracks) so I have bought some of that but I haven't had the chance to try it yet (hey it better be good I bought a heap of it )

good luck with the fondant & the job

Its like playdough consistency. I trimmed the edges of dummy w/ sciscors.So i may round edges a little more and add a bit more shortening. What do you use to soften it besides shortening? I will have to try rhonda's fondant. But what about your favorite premade fondant...anyone?

So pettinice doeesn't tear for you ozcake, and your happy w/ it? thanks for all your advise as always

I love fondx. I used to have to problem of rolling it too thin and then it would tear but since i have realized that and started rolling on crisco it has been a dream. i put it in the fridge with no problem and don't ever really get cracking. It also tastes pretty good, better than Satin Ice IMHO. Never tried Pettince so I can't compare.

you really do not need to soften it. Kneading will make it softer by itself. Too much shortening will make it harder to work wit. I cover dummy cakes all the time.

l have always been taught to add some gum-tex to make drapes. Or use a 50-50 gum paste/ fondant mixture. That will give some elasticity and stretch to your fondant and keep it from tearing. Works for me. Truthfully, I take everything they tell me in those classes with a grain of salt, I mean they just want to sell more gum tex, right? But I really did see a difference with this.

Randi

Sorry, I misread your original post and thought the problem was with another drape....Teach me to try to read while making dinner and keeping track of toddlers.

bought fondx for the first time....such a dream! i will pay the extra money to keep from spending a hunk of my time making mmf. i like the reliability of premade fondant. i think i like fondx better than pettinice (white). i do like the pettinice chocolate fondant though.

Don't know if you saw this discussion, but you can request free samples from the website provided. It's a great way to "test" it out to see if you like it, before spending $$ onit=) I got mine in, and they were darn yummy! My favorite was the dark chocolate fondant=) Jen

http://forum.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=287163&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

I am a Satinice user. The last cake I covered was a 3 tier square and it had to be perfect...had problems with tears b4 too. This time I made sure not to roll it as thin as I had b4 and it worked like a dream - easier to pick up and drape over the cake and no tears at all. Rolling thicker seems to be a key factor here.

I should probably start a new thread with this one, but I saw someone mention using shortening to roll out their fondant on and I had to jump in to give my tip - it's so easy it's silly:

I place parchment paper down on my table and roll out my fondant on that! I have never had a problem with sticking and it is so easy to lift the fondant off of - and much, much cleaner. Of course, I have so far only used MMF so I will have to see if the softer Fondx is just as easy...

Stacie